UAC prompt every time on Winamp launch

[Whizzmo2]

After updating to 5.6 from 5.5.8.1 (and today to 5.6.0.1), I started getting UAC prompts every time I open Winamp. Before updating to 5.6, I could run Winamp as a Low-Int or Medium-Int user just fine without any start-up prompts.

Here's the rundown:

• OS: Win7 Pro x64
• User level: "normal" (non-admin)
• Skin: Winamp Modern

Running winamp from a shortcut, the executable in program files, or by launching an audio file all result in a UAC prompt.


Settings of note:

Winamp -> Preferences (Ctrl+P) -> General Preferences:

• "Check for new versions at startup" is unchecked*
• "Restore file associations at Winamp start-up" is also unchecked*
• Winamp agent is not installed
• Winamp is not set to associate with video files.

* As recommended from other similar forum threads

Procmon does not show winamp.exe with any "access denied" messages on startup, but shows several Access Denied messages for registry access for consent.exe at the same time as winamp is requesting admin access. I'm assuming that these are related?

FWIW, the consent.exe reg paths that get denied are:

• HKLM\Software\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\CA
• HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\CA
• HKLM\Software\Microsoft\EnterpriseCertificates\CA
• HKU\<non-admin_user_guid>\Software\Policies\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\Disallowed
• HKLM\Software\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\Disallowed
• HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\Disallowed
• HKLM\Software\Microsoft\EnterpriseCertificates\Disallowed
• HKLM\Software\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\Root
• HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\AuthRoot
• HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\Root
• HKLM\Software\Microsoft\EnterpriseCertificates\Root
• HKLM\Software\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\SmartCardRoot
• HKU\<non-admin_user_guid>\Software\Policies\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\TrustedPeople
• HKLM\Software\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\TrustedPeople
• HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\TrustedPeople
• HKLM\Software\Microsoft\EnterpriseCertificates\TrustedPeople
• HKU\<non-admin_user_guid>\Software\Policies\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\trust
• HKLM\Software\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\trust
• HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\trust
• HKLM\Software\Microsoft\EnterpriseCertificates\trust

If it helps, the last thing Winamp.exe accesses (successfully) before calling consent.exe is:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\LanguagePack\DataStore_V1.0





If I run winamp.exe "as an admin" and enter appropriate credentials, no prompt is given. This does not keep subsequent runs (as a normal user) from prompting every time.


Input plugins:

• in_cdda.dll
• in_flac.dll
• in_linein.dll
• in_midi.dll (The reason I updated to 5.6.0.1, right?)
• in_mod.dll
• in_mp3.dll
• in_mp4.dll
• in_vorbis.dll
• in_wave.dll
• in_wm.dll

Output Plugins:

• out_disk.dll
• out_ds.dll
• out_wave.dll

Vis plugins:

• vis_avs.dll
• vis_milk2.dll
• vis_nsfs.dll

DSP plugins:
DSP_sps.dll

General Purpose plugins:

• gen_ff.dll
• gen_hotkeys.dll
• gen_jumpex.dll
• gen_ml.dll
• gen_tray.dll

Medial Library plugins:

• ml_local.dll
• ml_playlists.dll
• ml_addons.dll
• ml_wire.dll
• ml_disc.dll
• ml_history.dll
• ml_downloads.dll
• ml_impex.dll
• ml_plg.dll
• ml_rg.dll
• ml_transcode.dll

So, what did I miss?
-Whizz

[iron2000]

I got the same problem too when I installed 5.6 over the previous install.

But after fiddling around I solved it by reseting my settings via deleting the 'Winamp.ini' file at 'C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Winamp'.

[Whizzmo2]

Sweet. That seems to have fixored it. Good to know.

[Ammaletu]

I just updated to 5.601 from the previous version and also get an admin prompt (UAC) with every single start of the program. It's annoying, and neither deleting the winamp.ini file nor unchecking the 'check file associations on start' option did help so far (I also don't want to lose all my settings). The latter was mentioned on some other page I found via Google as a fix.

I'm using Win 7 Ultimate on a 64 bit machine, if that helps. Any hints how to get rid of the admin prompt would be appreciated.

[DJ Egg]

@Ammaletu
Some 3rd-party plugin to blame, maybe?

[Ammaletu]

Is there an easy way to start Winamp without any plugins? Should I just rename the Plugins folder? Because there's loads of stuff in there that I don't remember installing. Then again, core components like the media library seem to be plugins, so the question should probably be: Is there a way to distinguish official from 3rd-party plugins?

I remember installing a plugin for the Win7 taskbar. Just deleted that, but no changes to the UAC prompt.

Also, I forgot to mention that I use Winamp Pro 5.601 with a German language pack.

[DJ Egg]

Follow the link I posted above which provides instructions on how to generate and attach a List of Plugins.

No, don't rename the Plugins folder, because then you'll have no playback support for anything, no library, no modern skin support, nothing.

If it is some old 3rd-party plugin to blame, then it'll be because it's trying to write settings to either the %ProgramFiles%\Winamp folder or the registry.

[Ammaletu]

Thanks for looking into this. The plugin list is attached, though I also should have mentioned that I have been using Winamp for years and this particular nuisance only showed up after the update (maybe after the previous update to 5.6, I'm not sure as it only was a couple of days between). But who knows, it might still be a plugin. Hope you can see something in the log.

[DJ Egg]

Hmm, so much for that theory then, lol.
No 3rd-party plugins present.
Alas, the plot thickens..... :-(

[Whizzmo2]

Ammaletu: Does your winamp have "Check for new versions on startup" checked? (general Preferences)

Also, have you tried renaming your winamp.ini file to something else (e.g. winamp.old.ini) and see if that fixes your issue?

[Ammaletu]

I disabled "Check for new versions on startup" and restarted Winamp. The UAC prompt still showed up. The same when I temporarily renamed my old winamp.ini.

Now to find the source of this, I installed SysInternal's ProcessMonitor and filtered it for everything winamp.exe does. When I started Winamp, a whole lot showed up, a lot more than I was expecting. I haven't used ProcessMonitor before and I generally don't know much about the inner workings of Windows programs, but some of the files that Winamp apparently accesses seem definitely strange.

At this point I did remember the media library because I suspected that it might scan the whole harddrive on startup. There are three folders entered in the media library for Winamp to look for new media files in. "Scan folders on start" is not checked. So that shouldn't be the source of the UAC prompt.

I'm scrolling through the list of stuff that Winamp does on startup (and scrolling, and scrolling, and scrolling some more...). I understand why it would access the Winamp program directory, my user directory or the registry. It also accesses C:\Windows\SysWOW64 quite a lot, no clue what that is.

I'm not quite so clear why it would ever access these directories (none of which are the ones that the media library is set up to monitor):
* C:\Program Files (x86)\Avira\Antivir
* C:\Program Files (x86)\Open Office.org
* D:\work [These are my work files! Winamp shouldn't even know about this directory, much less scan the folder structure on startup. There are no media files there, I never opened anything from there. This really does creep me out a bit! This seems to happen right before it scans the folder containing the files currently in the playlist. It also does not scan my whole work folder, but only a specific project?!]

I also just tried to start Winamp, clear the screen in ProcessMonitor and then provide my password in the UAC prompt. This was the first that showed up afterwards:

11:39:47,3373933 winamp.exe 2832 RegOpenKey HKU\S-1-5-21-261571248-1939719002-2589359248-1000_Classes SUCCESS Desired Access: Maximum Allowed, Granted Access: All Access

There were only registry operations afterwards, so I guess Winamp is trying to do something in the registry that it shouldn't, right? "Desired Access: Maximum" sounds like that is the source of the problem, usually the other entries read "Desired Access: Read".

[DJ Egg]

Hmm, so everyone experiencing the problem is logged on to Windows with a standard/limited user profile, yes? (ie. a non-admin profile)

I just tested by enabling my Guest account, and I don't get any UAC prompts.

Maybe try logging into an admin profile (if possible) and then setting the permissions for
%ProgramFiles%\Winamp so that all users have full read/write access
(via: rt-click -> Properties -> Security tab)

[Ammaletu]

Hmm, so everyone experiencing the problem is logged on to Windows with a standard/limited user profile, yes? (ie. a non-admin profile)

Sure. Isn't everybody nowadays?!

Maybe try logging into an admin profile (if possible) and then setting the permissions for %ProgramFiles%\Winamp so that all users have full read/write access

Sorry, but isn't there a reason why normal user's shouldn't be allowed to write to system-critic directories?! This has been a standard for a couple of years now, even under Windows, and I would expect programs like Winamp to honor that convention. I might try this for the fun of it, later, but it wouldn't be a solution. It especially wouldn't help if it really is a registry problem, right?!

[DJ Egg]

Originally Posted by Ammaletu

Sure. Isn't everybody nowadays?!

Hmm, well there's only one real admin account, and that's the super-hidden one
http://www.computerperformance.co.uk...inistrator.htm

What I meant was whether the active profile is set to Admin or Standard in Control Panel -> User Accounts.

Sorry, but isn't there a reason why normal user's shouldn't be allowed to write to system-critic directories?! This has been a standard for a couple of years now, even under Windows, and I would expect programs like Winamp to honor that convention. I might try this for the fun of it, later, but it wouldn't be a solution. It especially wouldn't help if it really is a registry problem, right?!

It was just a suggestion.

If I knew the actual cause/solution, then I'd be the first to reveal it here.
But alas, I can't even reproduce the problem.

Giving the Winamp folder or winamp.exe full admin rights should also allow it to write to the registry.
Though the only registry keys that Winamp writes to are the Filetype associations in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, and that's a Windows thing really, not Winamp, and Winamp only writes to them if the "Restore associations at Winamp startup" setting is enabled, otherwise you would need to manually make changes in Prefs -> File Types to receive a UAC prompt.

[Ammaletu]

What I meant was whether the active profile is set to Admin or Standard in Control Panel -> User Accounts.

It's a standard profile, of course. What I meant was 'Isn't everybody working with a standard profile nowadays?'. But I saw in another thread that you don't believe in UAC and working without admin rights. Which is rather worrying, I have to say.

Anyway... I tried something else and found the source of the problem, even if I don't understand it completely. I had already removed the 'check file associations on startup' checkbox some time ago, with no change. Now I opened the preferences, went to 'file types' and clicked the 'none' button. Closed the preferences, closed Winamp, started it back up and no UAC prompt. Closed and started again, no UAC prompt. Great.

Then I opened the preferences, went to the file types tab and all previously selected file types were selected again. I didn't change anything, closed the preferences and immediately got a UAC prompt. I clicked No, closed Winamp and opened it again and no UAC prompt.

So this problem is transformed into 'I get a UAC prompt for no reason whenever I open and close the preferences', which I personally can live with. It's still a bug though. Is there a bugtracker where I should report this or will you do this?

Though the only registry keys that Winamp writes to are the Filetype associations in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT, and that's a Windows thing really, not Winamp, and Winamp only writes to them if the "Restore associations at Winamp startup" setting is enabled, otherwise you would need to manually make changes in Prefs -> File Types to receive a UAC prompt.

In the other thread it was mentioned that it should be perfectly possible to change file associations without the UAC prompt. I don't know if that's true, but suspect that it is. At least Winamp should be clever enough to notice when I didn't change anything about the file associations and that therefore there's no reason to write to the registry. Getting a UAC prompt if I actually changed the associations would be ok. Getting one every time I close the preferences is rather strange.

[DJ Egg]

Hmm, sorry, but I still can't reproduce the problem.

I've tested with an admin profile with UAC enabled, a standard profile with UAC enabled, an admin profile with UAC disabled (all on Win7), and everything works as expected for me. No funkiness whatsoever.

Oh, and that other thread you referred to... that was my own personal preference. I wasn't saying that everyone else should do the same.

[Ammaletu]

This might very well not be broken for everyone or more people would have reported it. But if Winamp tries to write the file associations every time the settings are closed, that should have a reason somewhere in the source code. Have you checked on your test system if Winamp accesses the registry when you open the settings and close them unchanged?

[DJ Egg]

Yes, we've checked those settings.
I think at one point it did try to write file association settings to the registry whenever Prefs -> File Types (or Prefs -> File Types -> Shell Options) were accessed, but DrO specifically fixed that (I think in 5.58 series) so that it only occurred if any changes were made.

I really want us to get the bottom of this, because no matter how hard we try, we just can't reproduce the problem.

[DrO]

one thing might be to have a copy of winamp.ini and see if there's something different in the settings in the file against a clean winamp.ini (which seems to resolve the issue for most people).

-daz

[hhgygy]

Thanks for the suggestion. I simply deleted winamp.ini. Then at the first time I started Winamp, the annoying message came up but when I answered yes it never came up again (for three or four restarts at least)

[hhgygy]

I also compared the two winamp.ini-s.

The main differences are these lines:
[CDDA/Line Input Driver]
rip_veritas=0
use_veritas=0
(...)
visplugin_name=vis_milk2.dll
visplugin_num=0
mw_open=1
outname=out_ds.dll

which are NOT present in the newly created winamp.ini file

[Ammaletu]

I did some more tests. As I haven't ever really used Winamp with my administrator profile, I deleted the winamp.ini there and started Winamp. Clicked through the initial setup, which resulted in an UAC prompt. Since this was writing the file associations, I clicked yes.

Then I opened the preferences, went to the "file associations" tab and without changing anything or clicking on anything else closed the settings. The UAC prompt showed up. When I repeated this without a restart, no UAC prompt showed up. After a restart the same happens.

I compared the two winamp.ini files, but due to different order of the settings, they look quite different. But it seems after initially fixing the annoying prompt on every start of the program, Winamp now behaves the same with the old and the new winamp.ini (didn't notice this before, but yes, the UAC prompt only shows up once for every session, if you close the preferences).

[eement4]

Hey, ive been dealing with this SAME problem, w/ possibility same environment/situation. After a few hours of screwing with it, (after dealing with clicking on the UAC for a month now)

I have Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit. Have installed Latest 5.601 Winamp within last 2 months.

The fix:

Uninstalled current installation.

Installed it as admin. ( right clicked, "run as administrator" on the winamp5601_full_emusic-7plus_en-us.... )

ps. unrelated but i noticed when i had Right clicked and hit Open, (NOT run as administrator) it would open WITHOUT UAC, however normally double clicking that SAME icon, would produce the UAC pop-up.

[stevetf]

It's hard to believe that nearly 2 years later this problem is still unresolved even after such a detailed report of the problem by Whizzmo2.

It's now 2012, I'm using Vista 32bit with a standard user account and I'm prompted for my password each time I want to run WinAmp.

This is the only media player that I know of that requires administrative rights.
WHY?
It makes me very suspicious of a program that I once really enjoyed and recommended.

Yes I've tried:
Deleting Winamp.ini
Reinstalling
Completely uninstalling and reinstalling from an admin log-in
Installing using "Run as Administrator"
I have no 3rd party plug-ins installed
Disabling all WinAmp file associations
Disabled "Check for new versions on startup"
"Restore associations at Winamp startup" is not selected
Changing file ownership of winamp.exe to the standard user account
Giving full permissions od winamp.exe to the stndard user account

but still the only way to run WinAmp is to give run it with administrative rights.
This is WRONG.

No I don't want to disable UAC, that is just hiding the problem that WinAmp is trying to do something that it has no right doing!

I sincerely hope that someone with some clout in the WinAmp team reads this and "kicks the Llama's ass" to resolve this issue. With regret I feel I have no option but to use a different media player and recommend that other people do likewise until this issue is fixed as it strongly suggests that there is a serious security risk here.

I would love to be able to recommend WinAmp once again, it has some terrific features and used to be a pleasure to use.

Steve

[DrO]

i assume you mean the "detailed" report which never had a winamp.ini provided for it and as no one posting in this thread has bothered to provide it then no nothing has been done about it as no one on the dev team can replicate the issue.

-daz

[ant]

Hello!

I was upgrading last year's version (don't remember which one) to v5.64 (http://download.nullsoft.com/winamp/...plus_en-us.exe -- custom install) in my updated 64-bit W7 EE SP1 machine. My LiveUpdated Norton 360 Online v6.4.1.14 told me c:\windows\system32\consent.exe wanted network access. I blocked it once and it kept asking for it. I denied it forever. Here is an example of an edited logged incident:
...
2013-06-20 18:20:31,Info,You blocked Consent UI for administrative applications from accessing your network resources.,Blocked,No Action Required,Consent UI for administrative applications,C:\Windows\System32\consent.exe,No Action Required,Block,"MyComputerName (my IP address), 59453","Outbound TCP, ldap"
You blocked 'Consent UI for administrative applications' from accessing your network resources.
...
I removed the blocked firewall rule, exited and relaunched Winamp without that incident. Weird! I wonder what the heck it was doing!

Did anyone see this problem with the latest version of Winamp?

Thank you in advance.

[smozoma]

The problem has to do with the file associations. Here is how I fixed it.

1. Rename 'C:\Users\<your username>\AppData\Roaming\Winamp\Winamp.ini' to something else (for example OldWinamp.ini)
2. Open winamp, dismiss the UAC warning.
3. Close winamp, which will create a new Winamp.ini.
4. Open both the new Winamp.ini and OldWinamp.ini in text editors.
5. Take the file extension line beginning with "config_extlist=" from the NEW Winamp.ini, and copy it to your OLD OldWinamp.ini, replacing its config_extlist= line.
6. Delete the new Winamp.ini.
7. Rename OldWinamp.ini to Winamp.ini

So you should have your original Winamp.ini, except the file extension list is fixed to not give the UAC warning.