BillP Studios heeft versie 30.5.2014 van WinPatrol uitgebracht. In dit programma houdt 'Scotty, de Windows-watchdog' het systeem in de gaten, waardoor dit sneller en stabieler zijn werk doet. WinPatrol detecteert en stopt aanvallen van spy-, ad- en malware, virussen en kwaadaardige Internet Explorer-add-ons, terwijl het beestje ook startpagina-hijacks voorkomt. Daarnaast worden nog enkele andere zaken in de gaten gehouden, waaronder de op de pc draaiende processen, het hosts-bestand, de bestandsextensies en of een programma of proces zich aan de start-up-lijst toevoegt.
Naast de gratis versie is er ook een betaalde Plus-variant, die toegang geeft tot een database met uitgebreide informatie over programma's en processen, waarin bijvoorbeeld staat of deze veilig of juist kwaadaardig zijn. Nieuw in versie 30 zijn onder meer verbeteringen in het cookie-beheer en het vertraagd starten van programma's. De release notes voor deze uitgave zien er als volgt uit:
Check for Safe Updates
We've added a special "Check for Safe Updates" button on our PLUS tab/page. Previously this button checked for new versions of WinPatrol but it has been expanded to include version checks for a number of popular software packages. When you click this button we'll compare your version against the newest safe version available. If updating is recommended you'll see a safe link to the official download page for the software. This is critical because to many fake sites are being allowed to advertise with Google, Bing and other search engines. It's easy to find yourself on web page that tries to trick you into downloading software wrapped in a setup program that installs additional unwanted software.
Even legitimate company websites like Oracle have partnered with search toolbar and anti-virus companies. They receive revenue if they can get you to agree to installing software when you are notified you need to download a new version of Java. The WinPatrol PLUS Safe Update Engine will also warn you about these threats and show you sample screen shots of what you might expect.
Restore Deleted Files
The other new feature comes from feedback given to radio host Kim Komando. In a recent article Kim recommended WinPatrol but strongly warned her audience about the dangers of using WinPatrol to delete files that may be required. WinPatrol has always provided a History button that allows you to Restore any Startup Programs but she had a point when it comes to our ability to delete hidden files. Hidden files will now be stored in a WinPatrol vault. We will also include a command line script that can be used to restore any files that were hidden. The command-line scripts are created in a worse-case scenario when a file is deleted which is required for Windows to run by Windows. The script or .bat file can be run in safe mode or a command-line mode.
PLUS Upgrade Disount for Windows XP
The new Safe Update engine will also detect which version of Windows you're running. If we detect you're still running Windows XP we want to provide as much protection as possible. It's selfish because if a Windows XP machine is infiltrated it could turn into a "bot" which is used to send SPAM or deploy additional viruses. If we detect you're using Windows XP you'll see a link to a special Windows XP sale page. The name of this page will routinely change but it will have a PayPal button that allows you to upgrade to WinPatrol PLUS for only $2.00 USD.
Dialog Format and Positioning
Improvements are continuing on positioning of components within a WinPatrol dialog screen. Thanks to feedback from our localization volunteers and others we've improved the size and positioning of text fields. We've also updated our font definitions to use the recommended "MS Shell Dlg" font.