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Software Security Problems (Firewall)

Overview:

Holdem Manager requires PostgreSQL to be installed and running for Database queries.

If any of the following software products installed on the PC, please read the directions on how to solve a software security conflict with PostgreSQL and Holdem Manager. If this still does not fix the issue, try completely uninstalling these products.

General Firewall Troubleshooting
Norton 360 Version 2.0
Norton Internet Security / Personal Firewall
Kapersky 2010
F-Secure
Avira
McAfee
McAfee with McAfee SystemGuards
Outpost Firewall Pro

General Firewall Troubleshooting

Most firewalls provide the ability to grant certain programs varying levels of Internet access called exceptions. Exceptions deviate from “general” firewall rules. Do this by configuring the firewall and locating a section called “Program Control”, “Process Control”, “Application Control” or something along those lines.

For registration issues or problems with Holdem Manager connecting to the PostgreSQL database, it is imperative to allow FULL Internet access for the following five processes:

C:\Program Files\Holdem Manager 2\HoldemManager.exe
C:\Program Files\Holdem Manager 2\HudFuncsApp.exe
C:\Program Files\Holdem Manager 2\HMUpdate.exe (available only during an update)
C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\8.x\bin\pg_ctl.exe
C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\8.x\bin\postgres.exe

Add exceptions to the firewall to allow the four programs listed above FULL Internet access. Then restart the computer for the changes to take place.

Once restarted, there should no longer be any type of firewall issues which prevent Holdem Manager or PostgreSQL from operating properly.

If problems continue, please ask for help in the forums.

Norton 360 Version 2.0

Norton Website: http://www.symantec.com/norton/index.jsp

July 2011: See this FAQ for Norton issues with a false positive that occured in July 2011 http://hm2faq.holdemmanager.com/questions/1621/Norton+360+Detecting+Holdem+Manager+as+a+threat

Please use the FREE upgrade to Norton 360 version 3.0 which does not have nearly as many issues with Holdem Manager and PostgreSQL. Find the free upgrade here:

Norton 360 version 3.0: Free Upgrade

After upgrading to v3.0, restart the computer. That should resolve the issue. If it does not, please follow the instructions listed under General Firewall Troubleshooting.

Please direct all Norton related product questions to Norton’s technical support department which is located at http://www.symantec.com/norton/support/dtree.jsp?pvid=.

Norton 360 also has a forum on the Norton website for users to discuss issues with one another: http://community.norton.com/norton/board?board.id=Norton_360

Norton Internet Security / Personal Firewall

Norton Website: http://www.symantec.com/norton/index.jsp

When using Norton Personal Firewall, follow these steps:

Open Norton Internet Security or Norton Personal Firewall.
Double-click Personal Firewall.
Click the Program Control tab.
Click Add to view the "Select a program" browse window.
Navigate to C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\8.x\bin\pg_ctl.exe
Select that file.
Click Open to view the Program Control dialog box. It has the following choices:
- Permit
- Block
- Manually configure Internet access
Select "Permit".
Click OK to view the Application Category window.
Choose a category.
Click OK to add the application to the list.
Repeat steps (4) through (11).
Add more "Permit" rules for the following programs:
- C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\8.x\bin\postgres.exe
- C:\Program Files\Holdem Manager 2\HoldemManager.exe
- C:\Program Files\Holdem Manager 2\HudFuncsApp.exe
- C:\Program Files\Holdem Manager 2\HMUpdate.exe (available only during an update)
Click OK.
Close Norton Internet Security or Norton Personal Firewall.
Restart the computer for the changes to take place.

These steps above have been adapted from Symantec's directions, located at http://service1.symantec.com/Support/nip.nsf/docid/2006101617551936?Open&docid=2003022714315536&nsf=nip.nsf&view=docid

Please direct all Norton related product questions to Norton’s technical support department which is located at http://www.symantec.com/norton/support/dtree.jsp?pvid=.

Kapersky 2010

Kaspersky Website: http://www.kaspersky.com

This includes Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 and Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2010.

With the release of Kaspersky 2010 products, a bug was introduced that is affecting compatibility with PostgreSQL. PostgreSQL will work fine for a short period of time then suddenly fail. To resolve the issue, add exclusions into Kaspersky so that it does not interfere with Postgres. This can be done by following the steps outlined below:

Open Kaspersky 2010.
Click "Settings" on the top-right hand corner of the main Kaspersky window.
Under "Options" select "Threats and exclusions".
Under "Exclusions" section, click the "Settings..." button.
Select the "Trusted Applications" tab > click "Add" in the bottom-left hand corner.
Browse to and locate the following file: C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\8.x\bin\pg_ctl.exe
Check all of the Exclusion boxes then click "OK".
Repeat steps 4-6 for the following file: "C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\8.x\bin\postgres.exe"
Click "OK" then "Apply".

Kaspersky has a very good documentation along with a short video on how to add exclusions into Kaspersky 2010 products. View this here: Kaspersky.com - Trusted Applications.

Please direct all Kaspersky related product questions to the Kaspersky technical support department located at http://www.kaspersky.com/support/.

F-Secure

F-Secure Website: http://www.f-secure.com

F-Secure can be named one of several things, including Charter Security Suite, Shaw Secure, Orange Firewall or an array of other names.

F-Secure as a software suite does not allow PostgreSQL to run as a service regardless of what exceptions are set. This is a known bug in the F-Secure software.

The only known workaround is to disable the F-Secure services temporarily in order to start PostgreSQL. In order to put this workaround into effect:

Windows XP
Click Start -> Run -> type "services.msc" and hit enter. Then continue to the steps listed under "All windows" located below.

Windows Vista / Windows 7
In Windows Vista or Windows 7, click Start. Type in "services" in the bottom. Services should appear in the search. Click on it. Please proceed to the steps listed under "All Windows" below.

All Windows
The Windows service manager should now be able to find the following five running services:

F-Secure Anti-Virus Firewall Daemon
F-Secure Automatic Update Agent
F-Secure Management Agent
F-Secure ORSP Client
FSGKHS

The two relevant services are:

F-Secure Management Agent
FSGKHS

Highlight F-Secure Management Agent and stop the service. NOTE: Stop this service first! This controls other services as well! Then highlight FSGKHS > stop the service.

Now start up Holdem Manager which will automatically start PostgreSQL.

Please note that these services will be restarted when the computer reboots. In order to disable them permanently, right click on the service > click Properties > select Disabled (instead of Automatic or Manual) under Startup Type. Be aware though, that in this state F-Secure will not be able to adequately protect your computer.

For a more long term solution, we recommend uninstalling F-Secure. Then instal a different anti-virus and firewall solution. There are many great options available to you.

AVG
Avast

Avira

Avira Website: http://www.avira.com

Avira antivirus has been known to occasionally and incorrectly detect Holdem Manager as a Trojan Horse virus. Please make sure that the anti-virus definitions are updated.

When receiving this alert after downloading Holdem Manager from the official Holdem Manager website, rest assured that this is a false-positive. Holdem Manager is completely clean. Please directly contact Avira to notify them of this false-positive alert at http://www.avira.com/en/support/.

McAfee

McAfee Website: http://www.mcafee.com

McAfee may, in certain situations, require exceptions be added to allow Holdem Manager to function properly. In order to add these exceptions, follow these steps:

Right-click the McAfee icon in the notification area at the far right of the taskbar.
Open the McAfee Personal Firewall Plus console.
On the left navigation bar, select Internet Applications.
If Holdem Manager.exe is already on the list, change the permission to "Allow Full Access" under "Change Permission To" then skip to Step 6.
Otherwise, if Holdem Manager.exe is not listed, add Holdem Manager.exe to the list:
1. Click "New Allowed Application".
2. Click "Browse", locate the C:\Program Files\Holdem Manager 2 and double-click the HoldemManager.exe file. Note: The computer settings determine whether the file name is followed by the extension ".exe".
3. Make sure that "Allow Full Access" is indicated under "Permissions" for Holdem Manager. If Holdem Manager is not set to "Allow Full Access", select Holdem Manager in the "Internet Applications list", and then click "Allowed Full Access" under "Change Permission To".
Repeat steps (4) and (5) replacing Holdem Manager.exe with the following files:
- C:\Program Files\Holdem Manager 2\HudFuncsApp.exe
- C:\Program Files\Holdem Manager 2\HMUpdate.exe (available only during an update)
- C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\8.x\bin\pg_ctl.exe
- C:\Program Files\PostgreSQL\8.x\bin\postgres.exe

Several different McAfee products contain SystemGuards which may also cause problems with installation PostgreSQL. If SystemGuards is installed and there are issues installing PostgreSQL, please proceed to the next section titled McAfee with McAfee SystemGuards.

Please direct all McAfee related product questions to McAfee’s technical support department located at http://www.mcafee.com/us/support/index.html.

McAfee with McAfee SystemGuards

McAfee Website: http://www.mcafee.com

Several different variations of McAfee products contains McAfee SystemGuards.

MacAfee SystemGuards may not allow PostgreSQL to install properly. Please disable SystemGuards during the installation of PostgreSQL. Once PostgreSQL is installed, reboot and re-enable SystemGuards. SystemGuards should not interfere with PostgreSQL once it is installed.

Please direct all McAfee related product questions to McAfee’s technical support department located at http://www.mcafee.com/us/support/index.html.

Outpost Firewall Pro

Outpost Firewall Pro Website: http://www.agnitum.com/products/outpost/

Open the firewall and click on Settings\General\Improvenet - it is advisable that "Automatically Create Rules for applications signed by trusted vendors" is ticked (this should ensure that Postgres is automatically picked up and automatically allowed). Otherwise see below.
For Holdem Manager, open the firewall then click on Settings/Application Rules and find HoldemManager.exe Click 'Edit' (or 'Add' if not already in the list and then find where the HEM executable is on your computer) and then add the following rules

Rule 1: Allow Outbound TCP to HTTP for HoldemManager.exe by ticking appropriate boxes (where protocol is TCP and direction is Outbound and remote port is HTTP - ALLOW)
Rule 2: Allow Outbound TCP to 5432 for HoldemManager .exe - ticked (where protocol is TCP and direction is OUTBOUND and remote address is 127.0.0.1 and remote port is 5432 - ALLOW)
Under the 'System Guard' Tab verify that Group/Internet Settings Action is set to 'ALLOW', then click 'APPLY' then close tab.

Go Back To Settings/Application Rules and find PSQL.exe in the list of applications and click 'Edit', then under the 'general tab' ensure that 'Allow All activity' is ticked. Click 'Apply' and close the the firewall's configuration interface.