"Program Blocked by Group Policy" Error Message
Has anyone else experienced this particular error and have any advice on how to fix it? Every time I try to log into Logos on my computer this happens. I skimmed through some of the other forums but didn't find this mentioned.
Blessings,
Ken from LU
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Peace, Ken! Welcome to the Logos Forums where Logos Bible Software users from the four corners of the earth attempt to help and support and inform and encourage one another in the usage of the beautiful and powerful Logos Bible Software.Ken Cleaver said:Has anyone else experienced this particular error and have any advice on how to fix it? Every time I try to log into Logos on my computer this happens. I skimmed through some of the other forums but didn't find this mentioned.
Blessings,
Ken from LU
Most of us are volunteers although now and again you may see someone with a Logos Symbol indicating that they are Logos Staff.
Ken, I've never heard of this before; and I think if you keep your eyes open, others will be "chiming in," sharing their experience.
Thanks for posting and I hope we can give you a helpful boost of information.
Is there any other information that we should know about? Are you Windows or Mac?
Edit: It is Saturday night of the weekend here in Eastern Canada. The Logos Community Forums do slow down a bit over the weekends; so you may have to be patient waiting for a response.
Just remembered, this is the weekend with the extra hour in it! *smile* Where is LU?
Edit 2: aahhh! Liberty University! Yes!
Philippians 4: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand..........
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How are you trying to connect to Logos? I understand that Best Buy doesn't allow access to Logos in its store. You don't happen to be scamming off their signal, are you?Ken Cleaver said:Has anyone else experienced this particular error and have any advice on how to fix it? Every time I try to log into Logos on my computer this happens. I skimmed through some of the other forums but didn't find this mentioned.
Blessings,
Ken from LU
george
gfsomselיְמֵי־שְׁנוֹתֵינוּ בָהֶם שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה וְאִם בִּגְבוּרֹת שְׁמוֹנִים שָׁנָה וְרָהְבָּם עָמָל וָאָוֶן
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George, I think Ken is talking about starting Logos 5?!? Ken, could you clarify, please?
Philippians 4: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand..........
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Milton, George & Friends,
I'm on my PC using Windows 7. It's my work laptop on which the installed program has always run error-free until about a week or so ago when I started getting this message. I don't recall doing anything at that time that might have altered anything related to Logos. I'm running Logos 5, by the way. I've experienced the same error message while on my campus's network, at home on my own wireless, and from home through my school's VPN connection. It's the same error every time. Since I can't access the program, I don't have access to any help topics in the program itself, so I thought I'd try this forum to see if anyone else had heard of this problem.
I do love Logos 5, by the way. I use it in class sometimes and for my own personal studies a lot. I'm a fan. I just haven't been able to get on lately.
Blessings,
Ken
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Hopefully, Ken, someone more technical might come along .......
OR!!! Perhaps some Logos Staff!
Keep your eyes open and your hopes up! I'm an older guy and non-technical! Sorry!
Philippians 4: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand..........
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Ken Cleaver said:
It's my work laptop on which the installed program has always run error-free until about a week or so ago when I started getting this message.
Does your I.T. department update the laptop with security patches through wireless or some other way without you giving it to them? If so, I would say that they have definitely blocked the program the last time that they connected to it.
Perhaps they use a program such as TeamViewer to connect to it.
EDIT: P.S. I get the exact same message when trying to access certain internet sites at work. I can't speak for software though since we have absolutely no ability to install anything that is not authorized ahead of time, and then it is done by the I.T. folks.
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Thanks, Rick! I'm pursuing that possibility. I just submitted a work order to see if our IT guys can associate this error message with a security patch or something else they do in their weekly updates they send to my laptop remotely. I'm authorized to install software on my company laptop, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was some inadvertent change that resulted in my inability to access this program. I also e-mailed my colleague who teaches our Logos Bible Software course to see if he or any of his students experienced the same problem. I'll post an update here when I hear back from them. Thanks again for your help.
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Ken Cleaver said:
Has anyone else experienced this particular error and have any advice on how to fix it? Every time I try to log into Logos on my computer this happens. I skimmed through some of the other forums but didn't find this mentioned.
This is an 'IT person' responding [;)]
You have a Windows desktop or notebook computer which is joined to a Windows Active Directory domain. When you log onto your computer your account is user@some.domain.name rather than user@computername.
What likely (you will need to check of course) is happening is your IT department has implemented a Windows Active Directory Group Policy policy which looks like it is impacting your running of Logos. If this is happening just recently it possibly will be down to the fact that your IT department has (like we have) implemented restrictions on computers to stop running of applications in the user's AppData folder. This folder is commonly used by virus writing ratbags to drop viruses into the folder and execute them as (out of the box) that user folder has less restrictions.
The folder is in this location - C:\Users\Your.Username\AppData. To see on your specific computer open a Windows Explorer window and type (without the quotes) '%appdata%' in the address bar. It will go to your AppData folder which usually you can't navigate to as the folder is hidden.
If you are feeling adventurous you could open a DOS prompt window and type (no quotes) 'gpresult /v'. Which will show you all the group policies enforced on your computer.
I don't run Logos on Windows (Mac user personally) so I don't know which Logos application may be sitting in there. Given that the AppData folder is used to store application specific stuff (including likely by Logos also) it is very likely something is in there which may be a small app that the main Logos 5 application is calling. Or... it may be that the main Logos 5 application was installed into this folder instead of the usual Program Files folder structure.
"I want to know all God's thoughts; the rest are just details." - Albert Einstein
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I'm not an IT guy, but I do know that there is not a small program in the AppData file that Logos calls—the entire program is located in AppData. Also, the easy way to handle hidden folders is simply to show them. I show hidden folders and system files as well.Patrick S. said:don't run Logos on Windows (Mac user personally) so I don't know which Logos application may be sitting in there. Given that the AppData folder is used to store application specific stuff (including likely by Logos also) it is very likely something is in there which may be a small app that the main Logos 5 application is calling. Or... it may be that the main Logos 5 application was installed into this folder instead of the usual Program Files folder structure.
george
gfsomselיְמֵי־שְׁנוֹתֵינוּ בָהֶם שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה וְאִם בִּגְבוּרֹת שְׁמוֹנִים שָׁנָה וְרָהְבָּם עָמָל וָאָוֶן
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George Somsel said:Patrick S. said:
don't run Logos on Windows (Mac user personally) so I don't know which Logos application may be sitting in there. Given that the AppData folder is used to store application specific stuff (including likely by Logos also) it is very likely something is in there which may be a small app that the main Logos 5 application is calling. Or... it may be that the main Logos 5 application was installed into this folder instead of the usual Program Files folder structure.
I'm not an IT guy, but I do know that there is not a small program in the AppData file that Logos calls—the entire program is located in AppData.
Well that's going to cause a world of hurt. It's called AppData for a reason — it's meant for data... not executables. Executables should go into \Program Files, you know where... program files are meant to go. I have just confirmed this myself on my Windows 7 virtual machine on my Mac. The default install folder for everything is \Users\Username\AppData\Local\Logos5
Expect to find more people who have Windows machines joined to domains reporting problems with Logos because IT administrators are/will be more aggressively blocking program execution from AppData to stop viruses downloaded from Internet from running. And I can tell you (what I would be saying) that they will refuse to change the IT policy. Logos is in the wrong here - the program files should not be installed in AppData. If they have per user config files telling program how to run then fine they can, and should, be installed in AppData but executables, Logos.exe, not.
George Somsel said:Also, the easy way to handle hidden folders is simply to show them. I show hidden folders and system files as well.
In a corporate environment we 'discourage' users from playing with their systems [:P]
"I want to know all God's thoughts; the rest are just details." - Albert Einstein
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So, to summarise:
- Your network administrator has created a policy that is stopping Logos from running. It's likely that the policy is one that stops all executables running from %APPDATA%, as lots of viruses choose that location to run from. It would be best to confirm this with your network admin, as it's not possible to be 100% certain without asking him.
- Assuming this is the case, your choices would be:
- Re-installing Logos in a different folder (ideally c:\program files (x86))
- Or, having your network admin whitelist Logos, so that it's not affected by the policy.
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
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Patrick S. said:
If they have per user config files telling program how to run then fine they can, and should, be installed in AppData but executables, Logos.exe, not.
I just checked my %AppData% folder, and I have 87 executable files there, including DropBox and Microsoft's own SkyDrive. Chrome used to install there, too. %AppData% is the correct place to install executables that are per-user, not per-machine, as Logos 5 is.
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
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Mark Barnes said:Patrick S. said:
If they have per user config files telling program how to run then fine they can, and should, be installed in AppData but executables, Logos.exe, not.
I just checked my %AppData% folder, and I have 87 executable files there, including DropBox and Microsoft's own SkyDrive. Chrome used to install there, too. %AppData% is the correct place to install executables that are per-user, not per-machine, as Logos 5 is.
Chrome is a Google product what do you expect.
This sort of thing...
http://kwsupport.com/2013/10/block-executables-from-appdata-folder/
will be happening more and more in corporate environments - which is the situation the OP is in.
And we used a tool from Microsoft, can't find it at moment at home, designed for installing the specific blocks against AppData. Again though we are talking about corporate environments.
"I want to know all God's thoughts; the rest are just details." - Albert Einstein
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I don't doubt what Patrick is saying. But I notice Kindle PC is also running out of AppData similar to Logos. I remember Bob discussing the headaches of 'not' running out of AppData.
I hate to admit it, but we're sort of thinking of slowing working our way out of loose environments as W7 etc. Which will likely translate to (again) giving up a connected L5 or at least buffering it.
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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Patrick S. said:
Executables should go into \Program Files, you know where... program files are meant to go. I have just confirmed this myself on my Windows 7 virtual machine on my Mac. The default install folder for everything is \Users\Username\AppData\Local\Logos5
Expect to find more people who have Windows machines joined to domains reporting problems with Logos because IT administrators are/will be more aggressively blocking program execution from AppData to stop viruses downloaded from Internet from running. And I can tell you (what I would be saying) that they will refuse to change the IT policy. Logos is in the wrong here - the program files should not be installed in AppData. If they have per user config files telling program how to run then fine they can, and should, be installed in AppData but executables, Logos.exe, not.
Executables should only go in Program Files for per-machine installations. Logos is--by design--a per-user program, so we do not install there. As per the Windows Installation documentation (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd765197.aspx), for a per-user installation context, the "ProgramFilesFolder" is defined as being under %LocalAppData%.
If your IT administrator has decided to block the installation of software on your computer, that's a different problem (and I can't see how making our installer install into Program Files would be any better--if anything, that would be more locked down).
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Mark Barnes said:
- Re-installing Logos in a different folder (ideally c:\program files (x86))
I would strongly advise against this. The default security permissions for C:\Program Files (x86) make it essentially read-only (so that installed programs aren't modified by regular users); Logos was not designed for this scenario. Even if you elevated the initial installation to try to get around it, automatic updates and resource downloads would most likely fail in the future.
Logos was designed to be a per-user app that installs in a per-user folder.
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Bradley Grainger (Logos) said:Patrick S. said:
Executables should go into \Program Files...
Executables should only go in Program Files for per-machine installations. Logos is--by design--a per-user program, so we do not install there. As per the Windows Installation documentation (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd765197.aspx), for a per-user installation context, the "ProgramFilesFolder" is defined as being under %LocalAppData%.
If your IT administrator has decided to block the installation of software on your computer, that's a different problem (and I can't see how making our installer install into Program Files would be any better--if anything, that would be more locked down).
Hi Bradley - I agree with you about the information presented by Microsoft (I have been researching further). Unfortunately it is the same Microsoft who advises IT professionals (such as myself) how to lock down (corporate) workstations to prevent execution of malicious code.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc786941(v=ws.10).aspx
One of the suggestions/options is to block executables in AppData.
Path: %AppData%\*.exe
Security Level: Disallowed
Description: Don't allow executables from AppData.FYI one of the things which is driving this is a nasty new virus called Cryptolocker. This query at Google has information. So regardless of what Microsoft says in one place, the reality is that many IT professionals will be locking down AppData going forward.
There is actually nothing stopping Logos from installing the Logos 5 executable files (which are not user specific) in \Program Files (x86) and the data files in %APPDATA% - but of course that is up to you guys.
p.s. and of course the only persons being affected by this are those connected to Windows Active Directory corporate networks (whose IT are implementing this security). For stand-alone, home users, people typically make their local Windows account to be admin level because they get annoyed by the Windows user security functionality.
"I want to know all God's thoughts; the rest are just details." - Albert Einstein
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Mark Barnes said:
I just checked my %AppData% folder, and I have 87 executable files there, including DropBox and Microsoft's own SkyDrive. Chrome used to install there, too. %AppData% is the correct place to install executables that are per-user, not per-machine, as Logos 5 is.
For what it's worth, I strenuously objected to this design choice by Logos when L4 was released; and I reiterate my objections now.
I've never installed L4 or L5 under the "Users" folder (whatever O.S. I happened to be on). I typically have an "Other Programs" folder on a different drive than the system drive; and I install Logos under that (along w/ Dropbox, SkyDrive, Evernote, and all the other things that want to go under Users or AppData).
Donnie
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Patrick S. said:
There is actually nothing stopping Logos from installing the Logos 5 executable files (which are not user specific) in \Program Files (x86) and the data files in %APPDATA% - but of course that is up to you guys.
We decided to do this for a couple of reasons:
- Logos is licensed per-user; we found it hard to think of many valid instances where it would be useful to install the program once (for all users), then give each user their own personal library when they log in. In most cases, it seemed that the other users would not own Logos, so it would not be useful to put the program in Program Files, add the shortcut to the common Start Menu, etc.
- By installing in %localappdata%, we don't have to elevate for every single program update. (Elevation is still required to install .NET Framework Updates or new fonts, but this happens less frequently.)
- By installing per-user, we get the benefit of allowing different versions of Logos to be installed on the same computer. We recommend this as a way of trying out the beta version without running the risk of your primary installation being made inoperable by a beta bug.
Patrick S. said:p.s. and of course the only persons being affected by this are those connected to Windows Active Directory corporate networks (whose IT are implementing this security).
Just to be clear, we didn't choose %localappdata% because it might get around Group Policy restrictions; if one's IT admin has locked down your workstation, one should get permission before installing any software. (Not being a domain administrator, I don't know if choosing %localappdata% makes it harder to make an exception for Logos 5 on the gpedit side of things.) Fortunately, Logos doesn't have large sales into the corporate/enterprise market (although some schools do have IT systems that are fairly locked down).
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Brothers,
I'm so pleased at how many thoughtful responses my initial question provoked. Thanks to all for sharing not only your directly practical advice on how I, as a blocked end user could reestablish my connection to, and use of, Logos 5; but also thanks for including me in on your philosophy of malware/virus protection. I wasn't able to follow the conversation at the deepest levels included in this thread, but I'm happy to see how well-informed and dedicated you all are to the logistics of this wonderful program.
The good news is that, thanks to your help in trouble-shooting, I was able to reconnect to, and use, Logos 5 after one of my school's network technicians put me on a list of Logos users who had permission to something, something, something. I logged off and back on my laptop and again have access. Thanks for your interest in solving my particular issue and the education I received about a philosophy of malware/virus protection.
Blessings,
Ken
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