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File named C:Program

G
I have a Windows XP Pro machine with WRSA running (for a couple of years), and last night at 7:51pm AST a file named "Program" was created in the root directory (i.e., C:). As such, I received the Windows File Name Warning upon reboot that "There is a file or folder on your computer called "C:Program" which could cause certain applications to not fuction correctly. Renamintg it to "C:Program1" would solve this problem. Would you like to rename it now?"
 
Properties of the file indicate that it is 743 KB with a description of "Webroot SecureAnywhere" and is digitally signed as "Webroot Inc." with a digital signature timestamp of "Jan 14, 2014 7:36:45 AM". A hexdump of the file shows at the top the standard "This program cannot be run in DOS mode" and at the bottom, there appears things like "Company Name - Webroot", etc.
 
We have had WRSA installed for a couple of years and did not do anything special yesterday. Do you know what this file is, and why it is labled as Webroot? Also, is this an automatic update or something that went awry?
 
Thanks,
Shane
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Best answer by Shawn 20 January 2014, 21:05

Hello,
We have received reports that a file is located in the root directory called "program".

Customers experiencing this error may receive the following message:
 
File Name Warning: There is a file or folder on your computer called "C:Program" which could cause certain applications to not function correctly. Renaming it to :"C:Program1" would solve this problem. Would you like to rename it now?
 Typically upon Windows boot, a message appears asking what program to open "program" with which alerts us to this issue. This file, "program" is actually WRSA.exe.

If you encounter this issue, simply shutdown WRSA from the tray icon, rename "program" to "program.exe" and uninstall using a modified uninstall command since the file is in a different location with a different name: "c:program.exe" -uninstall 
 
Reinstall using the latest build which can be obtained via your online Webroot console. 
 
This is an issue that does not happen very often and was only seen in a couple older builds. Support continues to monitor this as well.
 
Thank you, and please let us know if the issue persists, 

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18 replies

Shawn
Rank
Userlevel 5
Hello,
We have received reports that a file is located in the root directory called "program".

Customers experiencing this error may receive the following message:
 
File Name Warning: There is a file or folder on your computer called "C:Program" which could cause certain applications to not function correctly. Renaming it to :"C:Program1" would solve this problem. Would you like to rename it now?
 Typically upon Windows boot, a message appears asking what program to open "program" with which alerts us to this issue. This file, "program" is actually WRSA.exe.

If you encounter this issue, simply shutdown WRSA from the tray icon, rename "program" to "program.exe" and uninstall using a modified uninstall command since the file is in a different location with a different name: "c:program.exe" -uninstall 
 
Reinstall using the latest build which can be obtained via your online Webroot console. 
 
This is an issue that does not happen very often and was only seen in a couple older builds. Support continues to monitor this as well.
 
Thank you, and please let us know if the issue persists, 

Shawn Townsend Webroot Manager, Product Support
W
This just happened to me after a full day into the free Windows 10 upgrade.
 
C
The file appeared on my Windows 8 pc on Sept 25.  I was able to rename it, but the uninstall as described above did not remove it.  There is no Webroot icon in the tray, and the task manager does not show any entry for WRSA.  It appears that an update has failed.  At startup, I get a Windows request for Webroot to make changes to my computer.  Please advise.
 
C
Can you please post step by step instructions for fixing this apparently serious problem? The word "tray" for example I don't recognize. What is an average user of your product to do to fix this problem? Do I have to pay to take it to a computer shop to fix it all because a programmer was "sloppy" and forgot a comma or a space? Seriously? Is there no quality control to check for those kinds of errors before updates are released? If this is happening to my computer, then it's happening to lots of people's computers. I haven't knowingly added any software. But software has been updated. Quickbooks for our business is one. If that causes my computer to go down then I am going to expect Webroot to make it right.
B
We've had this happen to us twice now, running the latest version of Webroot Business (9.0.7.44).
 
Latest is a terminal server.  Multiple users called asking about the strange error message about C:Program.
 
This issue isn't fixed after almost 2 years?
B
In a Webroot business scenario (centrally managed clients), the instructions above do NOT work.
 
You can't run the "program.exe -uninstall" (yes as administrator), as you get a message like "since Webroot is centrally managed, you must uninstall using the console..." or similar.
 
The actual Webroot service somehow is morphed into running this "c:program" file, this is an obvious bug in the software.
 
Can't remove from add/remove programs either.
 
Not happy.
nic
Userlevel 7
Badge +34
Sorry about that - if you go into safe mode with networking it should allow you to run the uninstaller.

If that works it should take care of it. If not let me know and I can have support follow up with you.

We are actually transitioning to a new version of the web shield that should stop this from happening in the future. It's a gradual rollout though to minimize impact.
B
Safe mode with networking on a terminal server being used by lots of users isn't an option during the day, I guess we'll try this tonight.
 
Good to know this is being fixed after 2 years.
nic
Userlevel 7
Badge +34
Sorry about that. It was a rare issue with a workaround, so you know how those bugs get prioritized. Let me know if the fix works tonight.
B
We actually triggered removal of Webroot from the console, then reinstalled with the most current version.  It seems to have worked.  No more c:program file in there anymore.
nic
Userlevel 7
Badge +34
Glad that did the trick!
R
Could you please list a detailed step-by-step solution? I don't understand what "uninstall using a modified uninstall command since the file is in a different location with a different name: "c:program.exe" -uninstall " means. I've had this problem for a long time now.
R
And now I have this "C:Program" thing too and would also like clearer instructions on getting rid of it.
 
Plus an explanation as to how this should suddenly occur after a couple of trouble-free years using Webroot.
B
I've got this error now as well. Solution??
JP
Userlevel 7
Greetings @bravid and welcome to the Community.

Please reach out to our Business Support Team directly. They will be able to promptly walk you through the steps to resolve.

Business Technical Support: Call 1-866-254-8400
Open a Support Ticket: http://mysupport.webrootanywhere.com/supportwelcome.aspx?SOURCE=ENTERPRISEWSA

Best,
T
Hi Shawn
 
First am running Windows 10 and just installed webroot at the start of June when I bought my new laptop
 
I had this same error message also when I started up this morning. So I googled it and came across this post in whih you say in your post
 

@Shawn wrote:

If you encounter this issue, simply shutdown WRSA from the tray icon, rename "program" to "program.exe" and uninstall using a modified uninstall command since the file is in a different location with a different name: "c:program.exe" -uninstall

When I went to my tray Icon to shut down webroot the icon just disappeared so am guessing the program did not load in the first place since the icon just disappear?
 
I did rename Program to Program.exe and the icon for the file chnaged to a webroot icon.
 
Secondly you mention to use a modified uninstall command. How do I go about doing that I figured it meant via a command prompt so I ran command prompt as admin and tried the line you gave but it gave me back an error say it could not be be done. Where do I need to enter this modified uninstall command?

Thanks
Dave
S
I need a solution that is more in layman's terms. Would you please update this? The problem happened to me last night. I've lost well over an hour of productive time - the laptop would not allow me to open my files. Thank you.
akim
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +33
Moving this to the home user community, as our power users there may be able to assist you further. You may also want to contact our tech support team for more detailed assistance.
Anna - Webroot Sr. Advocate Programs Manager

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