I am wondering if anyone knows why poser makes such a valiant effort to connect to other computers on my local network.

Have been putting some freebies into my runtime folders .... and brought the Poser 4 pro up and down ... oh, I would say 7 times at the most.

According to my firewall logs, it was blocked over 2000 times trying to access other computers on my home network.

Huuummmmm .... have notice this before and been meaning to ask .... but just now remembered to do it :)> .... guess I could email the poser folks and ask them what the point is ..... one day I might remember to do that

K

It's checking to see if other copies are running on the same LAN.

It's trying to find out whether you're running the same license on multiple machines so it can refuse to run. I have two machines which share the same monitor and are also networked. I have a switch to change which machine is showing on the monitor. Some days I want to run poser on both of them at once so I can be rendering on one while I'm setting up something on the other. It won't let me do that. Really annoying.

The easy solution is to not have the LAN running when not necessary. My internet is all wireless to a base station - no local connectivity. My local is through a hub which is only activated when I need to move files between systems. Otherwise, there is no LAN talking. Poser can't get around that. ;) Kuroyume

Thank you all very much .... I run a Linksys router which of course does not effect the programs out going requests. But I also run a software firewall to catch anything outgoing I might not want outgoing ;) ..... installed a newer version yesterday and made it ask me for anything outgoing. Well did this before with the older one but it came back into light tonight.

If I block access the first time I bring the Poser program up, it craps out. I have to let it have access the 1st time .... bring it up and then I can block all access and it will come up every time after that.

Now will try like hell to nose around ... over 2000 times worth of trying tonight but it will run every time after I let it come up without the firewall the 1st time.

The shutting down the LAN is a good idea I guess if you have it on more then one puter on the network (which I don't) .... but what a pain ya know????

Even XP will let you run it on more then one machine. That just does not sit well with me. If I buy a copy of Poser, and want to use it for my PERSONAL USE on more then one puter on my network. I should be able to without having to use tricks!!!

K

You can intall it on more than one computer on the network, you just can't use it on more than one at the same time. Still anoying though.

I've now got a cable connection to the 'net. Nothing networked locally (single standalone machine). I'm using XP's wonderful KISS no-brains-to-use firewall which blocks incoming (not outgoing). I assume Poser is checking the 'net every time I use it? Wonder what it can find out there ;)

I think what Ajax says in in the EULA... H:-o

I've also noticed that rendering times sometimes slow way down when I'm rendering on my laptop while hooked up to my home LAN. I have Poser installed only on that one machine, and while rendering an animation one day I noticed it was taking over 25 minutes per frame. On a hunch, I unplugged the ethernet cable from my laptop and the animation started rendering at about 5 minutes per frame.

Spit .... there is a log for the XP firewall ... I don't remember where now since that was one of the 1st things I trashed when I started using XP.

In theory it is supposed to check the incoming against the outgoing requests. But I came to find out although it looks good in black and white ..... it's a piece of crap.

Tguyus what you say makes sense. Mean if it's checking for connections a zillion times while your rendering that's using allot of it's capabilities. I will have to try that next time. Thanks for the idea

Kmtnwmn: What firewall are you using?

Them's big words, Kmtnwmn. What specifically is 'crap' about it and why? Beyond blocking incoming only.

If you have your software firewall set to prevent any network access from Poser then Poser will behave with no apparent slow down (although performance may vary firewall to firewall depending on how efficiently it handles rapid requests). However if you have it set to ask you when Poser tries to access the network, then Poser will ask SO frequently that the firewall is kept in a tight loop shuttling responses back between you and the firewall. Meanwhile Poser does little else between repeated waits for a response from the network/firewall. Above applies to P4 & 5, although the behaviour is a little different between the 2. Poser 5 may have a memory leak or one of it's other many little pissy fits when this happens too, because it seems far less stable afterward. I understand why CL implemented this, and why the check is throughout execution not just at start up, but why do it quite SO frequently that it hurts performance? But then I have lots of "why"s about Poser code ;-)

spit ... I guess it's a personal preference. XP's firewall is what is referred to as an ICF which is a stateful firewall program. Stateful means that as a program sends out a request for an Internet service, such as a Web page, ICF keeps track of this request and anticipates an answer. This is often referred to as a keeping state. When a packet arrives in response to such a request, ICF looks for an entry in its state table, and if the packet matches the request, it is then forwarded on through to the application.

Many times I have found this not to be true, and it interfered with some applications I use. Was just way to much configuring for me so I trashed it. ICF is at best an average firewall and much better then nothing.

Flyer I use a Linksys BERSR41 router (think everyone should cause it just don't get much better then that) and I use ZApro for my software firewall to catch the outgoing.

Puter security interests me (yea I'm a geek) ... I like to call it a "hobby" ;) ...... In my opinion that set up (I have researched allot) is about the best one you can get

Great site to read on if Internet security interests you is Steve Gibson's site ..... the URL is http://grc.com/default.htm

I cleared my firewall logs last night ... and just out of curiosity I just brought poser up to see what it was logging ..... on start of the program it was blocked 54 times trying to connect to my network puters :O .... sssshhheeee it must be tired

Spit to answer you question about connecting to the net (which I meant to before sorry) .... I don't see where it trys to connect to the Internet. Just the other computers on my LAN.

aaaahhhh I just shut poser down and the hits on the LAN went up to 120 :O ..... someone needs to program me with such persistence!!!

I found that poser refused to run if it was networked and you rejected it's first connection attempt. But if you run up poser with the network off, then it doesn't check at boot, and doesn't check if you subsequently connect to the network after poser is up and running. I run ZA too, set to "paranoid" :) even local services have to ask permission. later jb

Thanks for the info, Kmtnwmn. Glad to know Poser isn't interfering with my 'net connection. I just use IE and Eudora (and ACE to ftp to my website) so have no problems with XP's firewall. Gibson shows my machine as stealthed. Norton for mail and Proxomitron as my proxy server and a watchful eye so I've yet to get spyware or virii to worry about outgoing. At some point I'll pick up a more inclusive firewall. But not being a tinkerer (anymore) I appreciate the no nonsense simplicity of the stuff I'm running.

Your welcome spit ... not like I know much but know a little :) Hey, if your stealth and it's not messing with any of your applications .... that's great. I found that it mostly messed with remote access or maybe P2P transferring files over a IM service of some kind, which I have to use both with a little bit of tech work I do on the side.

I just looked again at my logs and I am just going to have to go to some news groups or something about this, because I just feel the need to know now!! :)> ...... but it has been beating on ZA's door wanting out to the LAN 5583 times today.

Once is the 120 I mentioned this morning. Another time was 1985 which I could almost chalk up to me messing around with the Ztoon tut here for a short period of time this afternoon. But a storm came up and I had to shut everything down for awhile.

I have not brought poser back up since then, but there is another log entry AFTER THAT for 3478 hits :o

Anyone know can it do that while the program is not even running??? I have lots and lots of programs ... and none of them behave like that.

Huuuummmm .... yea I just feel the need to know the point in poser behaving the way it does now .... will just consider it a mission LOL