Re: Inconsistent names - C# Discussion Boards

The best place to start is the documentation[^].

Hi,

I have crrated below windows service and installed it using InstallShield. I am able to see the windows service Started in the Control Panel-Services but I am not getting any email when the minutes turns to 30.

Can anyone help please...

C#

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Linq;
using System.ServiceProcess;
using System.Text;
using System.Net.Mail;

namespace MyTestWindowsService
{
    public partial class MyTestWindowsService : ServiceBase
    {
        public MyTestWindowsService()
        {
            InitializeComponent();

            if (!System.Diagnostics.EventLog.SourceExists("MyTestWindowsService"))
            {
                System.Diagnostics.EventLog.CreateEventSource("MySource", "MyNewLog");
            }

            eventLog1.Source = "MyEventLogSource";
            eventLog1.Log = "MyNewLog Comes here!";
        }

        protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
        {
            eventLog1.WriteEntry("In OnStart");
        }

        protected override void OnStop()
        {
            eventLog1.WriteEntry("In onStop.");
        }

        protected override void OnContinue()
        {
            eventLog1.WriteEntry("In OnContinue.");
        }

        private void timer1_Tick(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            if (DateTime.Now.Minute == 30)
            {
                eventLog1.WriteEntry("starting to send email.");

                try
                {
                    MailMessage mail = new MailMessage();
                    SmtpClient SmtpServer = new SmtpClient("smtp.gmail.com");

                    mail.From = new MailAddress("it@mydomain.com");
                    mail.To.Add("jassim@mydomain.com");
                    mail.Subject = "Test Mail";
                    mail.Body = "This is for testing SMTP mail from GMAIL";

                    SmtpServer.Port = 587;
                    SmtpServer.Credentials = new System.Net.NetworkCredential("it@mydomain.com", "mypassword");
                    SmtpServer.EnableSsl = true;

                    SmtpServer.Send(mail);

                    eventLog1.WriteEntry("email sent.");
                }
                catch (Exception ex)
                {
                    // MessageBox.Show(ex.ToString());
                    eventLog1.WriteEntry("failed sending email.");
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Technology News @ www.JassimRahma.com

What do you see in the logs?

Application: MyTestWindowsService.exe
Framework Version: v4.0.30319
Description: The process was terminated due to an unhandled exception.
Exception Info: System.ArgumentException
Stack:
   at System.Diagnostics.EventLog.CreateEventSource(System.Diagnostics.EventSourceCreationData)
   at MyTestWindowsService.MyTestWindowsService..ctor()
   at MyTestWindowsService.Program.Main()

and

Faulting application name: MyTestWindowsService.exe, version: 1.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x53f98df6
Faulting module name: KERNELBASE.dll, version: 6.1.7601.17514, time stamp: 0x4ce7c78c
Exception code: 0xe0434352
Fault offset: 0x000000000000a49d
Faulting process id: 0x390
Faulting application start time: 0x01cfbf77f09ff94c
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files (x86)\My Company Name\My Product Name\MyTestWindowsService.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Windows\system32\KERNELBASE.dll
Report Id: 2e918d18-2b6b-11e4-8030-50b7c362601a

Technology News @ www.JassimRahma.com

Let's take a look at that.

Jassim Rahma wrote:
The process was terminated due to an unhandled exception.

So, there's some exception that caused the application to terminate. The stacktrace shows also on which line this exception occured:

C#

System.Diagnostics.EventLog.CreateEventSource("MySource", "MyNewLog");

Since it is an ArgumentException, we check MSDN[^] for the arguments required and a list of when this exception might be thrown:

source is an empty string ("") or null.
logName is not a valid event log name. Event log names must consist of printable characters, and cannot include the characters '*', '?', or '\'.
logName is not valid for user log creation. The event log names AppEvent, SysEvent, and SecEvent are reserved for system use.
The log name matches an existing event source name.
The source name results in a registry key path longer than 254 characters.
The first 8 characters of logName match the first 8 characters of an existing event log name.
The source cannot be registered because it already exists on the local computer.
The source name matches an existing event log name.

Bastard Programmer from Hell Suspicious | :suss:

If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]

You should start by checking the documentation[^] for the failing function.

Hi,
I see that names are not consistent:
System.Diagnostics.EventLog.CreateEventSource("MySource", "MyNewLog");

but next line says:
eventLog1.Source = "MyEventLogSource";

probably it should be
eventLog1.Source = "MySource";

if it still does not work,

can also be Logon As permission of the service
(seen via Control Panel ... in service properties on the 2nd tab)

Cheers,

I completely removed the eventlog code but still having the same problem!

here is the code after modification:

C#

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Linq;
using System.ServiceProcess;
using System.Text;
using System.Net.Mail;

namespace MyTestWindowsService
{
    public partial class MyTestWindowsService : ServiceBase
    {
        public MyTestWindowsService()
        {
            InitializeComponent();

            // if (!System.Diagnostics.EventLog.SourceExists("MyTestWindowsService"))
            // {
                // System.Diagnostics.EventLog.CreateEventSource("MySource", "MyNewLog");
            // }

            // eventLog1.Source = "MyEventLogSource";
            // eventLog1.Log = "MyNewLog Comes here!";
        }

        protected override void OnStart(string[] args)
        {
            // eventLog1.WriteEntry("In OnStart");
        }

        protected override void OnStop()
        {
            // eventLog1.WriteEntry("In onStop.");
        }

        protected override void OnContinue()
        {
            // eventLog1.WriteEntry("In OnContinue.");
        }

        private void timer1_Tick(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {

        }

        private void timer2_Elapsed(object sender, System.Timers.ElapsedEventArgs e)
        {
            if (DateTime.Now.Minute == 30)
            {
                // eventLog1.WriteEntry("starting to send email.");

                try
                {
                    MailMessage mail = new MailMessage();
                    SmtpClient SmtpServer = new SmtpClient("smtp.gmail.com");

                    mail.From = new MailAddress("it@mydomain.com");
                    mail.To.Add("jassim@mydomain.com");
                    mail.Subject = "Test Mail";
                    mail.Body = "This is for testing SMTP mail from GMAIL";

                    SmtpServer.Port = 587;
                    SmtpServer.Credentials = new System.Net.NetworkCredential("it@mydomain.com", "mypassword");
                    SmtpServer.EnableSsl = true;

                    SmtpServer.Send(mail);

                    // eventLog1.WriteEntry("email sent.");
                }
                catch (Exception ex)
                {
                    // MessageBox.Show(ex.ToString());
                    // eventLog1.WriteEntry("failed sending email.");
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Technology News @ www.JassimRahma.com

Jassim Rahma wrote:
the same problem

Which "same problem" are you talking about? I see several problem with this code.
Your service is started, OnStart is called, seeing that there is nothing in your OnStart method, nothing happens, the method exits, your service exits.
You do not have a timer 1 to use the tick event handler you have setup
You do not have a timer 2 to use the tick event handler you have setup
You would need to set the UseDefaultCredentials property to false
You probably don't have access to network resources depending on the user account your service is running under.

You can lead a developer to CodeProject, but you can't make them think.
The Theory of Gravity was invented for the sole purpose of distracting you from investigating the scientific fact that the Earth sucks.

Create your event source at install time, not when the service is executed. This is easily done with a couple of registry entries in your installer. See this[^].

A guide to posting questions on CodeProject

Click this: Asking questions is a skill.
Seriously, do it.

Dave Kreskowiak

Where do you create / start your "timer"?

Hi,

I have a C# .NET software and I would like to deploy it with protection. I though many times of the [Product Key] which will be generated from a mix of hardware serials but I saw some applications such as Micros POS using the USB Dongle Protection.

Which one you recommend?

Thanks

Technology News @ www.JassimRahma.com

I'd recommend you don't spend too much time or money on it...

You have to balance the number of lost sales against the cost of the protection. How much does a lost sale cost you (if the product is pirated by someone who would otherwise have bought it) compared with an hour of your time? If you are low volume or low cost, it doesn't take much before it costs you more to implement the protection than you save in lost sales.

And how good is the protection going to be? If your software is really popular (or really expensive), then hackers will get round the protection anyway: look at Photoshop. Adobe have a large team, and invest a lot of money in protecting the product. But...there is a "cracked" version on the torrents pretty much the same day a new version is released.
And if you make the protection too draconian, you will start to annoy people who have bought the product, and it doesn't take many of them to demand their money back before you get a bad reputation and nobody buys it anyway.

And dongles are physical objects: you have to ship them, which means holding them in stock (and paying in advance) - and that means no download model for distribution.

I'd look at an online verification every time you start up the app or similar, nothing much more complex - I'd not bother with dongles. But even then, you need to let the user know that is going to be required before he buys it. From a user POV there is nothing more annoying than finding out afterwards, when you have no signal!

You looking for sympathy?
You'll find it in the dictionary, between sympathomimetic and sympatric
(Page 1788, if it helps)

The Dongle.

If you base it on serial-numbers, then you're going to piss of both the users and the people who have to provide support. Why? Because every time there's a new harddrive or whatever, the key "appears" invalid. If that is interrupting the user while he needs your app, then pissed it is.

And no, there's no 100% protection either way. Lots of software-based copy-protections can be easily mitigated by installing in a VM with generic hardware. The dongle OTOH is quite hard to circumvent.

Bastard Programmer from Hell Suspicious | :suss:

If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]

I agree with change hardware part

but what's the best way to do it.

My application is a database client-server software. I thought of putting some verification code in the database and let a service running on the server to check it

but the I asked myself, what if someone purposely stopped the service?!

Technology News @ www.JassimRahma.com

Jassim Rahma wrote:
but what's the best way to do it.

That will depend on how much safety you realistically need, what you want to invest, and what the customer will allow.

Life can be good if you physically "own" the server. Lock it in a box, add a seal, done.

If the server-software is running on hardware that you do not control, than a dongle would be a good idea. The clients might not need one. Not only does that cut some cost and some mucking with keys, but also makes support a bit easier. If the servers' webservice is blocked, then the client should simply refuse to work. If someone sabotages the things that the software needs, simply exit the app - a client is kinda useless without a server. As long as the server is secure, all is well.

Ultimately, having dongles on the clients gives you some more control over how much of those are out there. We used a HASP 4[^], later seen Hardlock in use at another company. I've tested it for a day, downloading all kind of "hacks" claiming to be able to break it. Didn't work then, and seems the dongles have even learned some new tricks by now.

Bastard Programmer from Hell Suspicious | :suss:

If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]

but with dongle, there is still a major problem!

The dongle will be installed on every client not the server because the server is just hosting the database so if I have 10 clients then I'll need 10 dongles!

Technology News @ www.JassimRahma.com

Jassim Rahma wrote:
so if I have 10 clients then I'll need 10 dongles!

Yup. If you want a dongle for each client, you'll need lots.

Bastard Programmer from Hell Suspicious | :suss:

If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]

and if I want it just for the server?

Technology News @ www.JassimRahma.com

That would be cheaper, without adding much risk.

See, most client-software is useless without the server, and you wouldn't be hurting much if someone is using two unregistered clients within his/her network. If someone can actually copy the server, then they can duplicate the entire thing on a different network.

If the authentication webservice to the client is blocked, put up a message to call "support".

The main question to answer would be this; do you expect that piracy is going to cost you MORE than the dongle costs? If the answer is "no", then having one on the server might be enough (at least, for the time being).

If you can, then scout some pirating-sites to see if your software is mentioned. If it is, then upload a big pile of nonsense-data that "claims" to be a pirated version of your software. And then delete Part11.rar Smile | :)

Bastard Programmer from Hell Suspicious | :suss:

If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]

And if the server is running on a Virtual Machine? Can you be sure that your dongle can somehow be "forwarded" from the host (i.e. the real hardware) to the Virtual Machine?

..I'm not selling the thing, so I should not need to defend the technology. The VM did not have any problems with it. And no, I would not expect a problem there - but rather on a virtualized app, like most Citrix environments.

Bastard Programmer from Hell Suspicious | :suss:

If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]

Eddy Vluggen wrote:
then you're going to piss of both the users and the people who have to provide support

Of course the same happens if they lose the dongle and then you tell them they have to buy the software again.

jschell wrote:
Of course the same happens if they lose the dongle and then you tell them they
have to buy the software again.

If it's a registered user, you could provide one at the price that the dongle-maker asks Smile | :)

Bastard Programmer from Hell Suspicious | :suss:

If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]

Hello,
I have some issues with the understanding of how it is possible to use a the 128 bit Decimal Type on my 64 bit computer. Somehow the logic doesn't seem to come to me. Can someone please explain how this is possible? Thank You.