Eraser 6.1 beta - TCP connection on erase?

[idecz]

Hi, I finally decided to move from 5.8.8 to the latest 6. I had an issue with a previous version of 6.0.x so I decided to try my luck with the latest nightly build.

I noticed that when I select something to erase the Eraser program attempts to make an outbound TCP connection. Is this just because of the beta build or is there another reason?

Finally, two quick questions:
1) Is there a setting to stop Eraser from prompting me every single time I want to remove something?
2) In 5.8.8 context menu I could just right click a file and press "e" to erase the file. This shortcut in the context menu is gone from 6. Any plan on bringing this back?

Thanks for the great work!

 

[DavidHB]

I'll take your points in reverse order.

The shortcut is still there (I confess I had not investigated it before), but it works a bit oddly. If a folder is selected, the shortcut opens the folder; if a file is selected, the shortcut invokes Eraser (though actually only the further sub-menu, so the complete key sequence is right-click -> e -> right arrow -> Enter. I think that, with the confirmation dialog now in place, the sub-menu is no longer needed, and I have half an idea that Joel plans to remove it.

Mandatory confirmation has been introduced in the 6.1 builds, and, given the damage that Eraser can do, I think that it is very much needed. It will seem less of a burden, I think, when the menu layer is removed.

Assuming that you have not enabled the Black Box crash recording plugin, the reason why Eraser wishes to establish a TCP/IP connection has usually been to validate the Windows Root Certificates, which it uses, though these are usually updated by Windows Update. This has in the past been more of an issue for XP than Vista or Win 7 users. It is also possible that some kind of update to .NET 4 is required, though that is something on which Joel will know more than I.

David

 

[Joel]

It's definitely the certificate validation. The OS (triggered by Eraser) will contact the certificate authority which issued the certificate used to the program to check for revocations. With the recent spate of certificate authorities being hacked, I think it's a good thing.