ARC, PWI, and your firewall

_Wesa_ - Heavens Tear · January 2015

I know I said I wasn't going to post here anymore after my "computer id" thread, but I wanted to share a smidgen of firewall information for those of you who would like to know and/or don't already know. And I will not be responding to anything Mosz has to say...

Did you know that when PWI, alone (before ARC) is installed, there were 3 programs that would request internet access by your firewall (possibly depending on the firewall you use).

- elementclient.exe
- launcher.exe
- patcher

However, ARC has 9.

- Arc.exe
- ArcLauncher.exe
- ArcBrowser.exe
- ArcService.exe
- arcinstall.exe
- ArcUpdate.exe
- ArcDepends.exe
- ArcOSBrowser.exe
- ArcOSOverlay.exe

BTW, the ArcDepends.exe is the answer to my previous inquiry about computer id and can be disabled via Arc's settings menu.

If you are as wary as I am about different programs having "too much" internet access, often times unnecessary access as regards multiple executable's from the same program having access (most were allowed access by default, the others were set to ask), then you might want to do what I did - and I found this out quite by accident while trying to trace down something that was bombarding my firewall (all blocked). Don't worry, it wasn't Arc or PWI.

I've denied access, in my firewall, to all executable's related to Arc and PWI EXCEPT for 2. TWO! ArcUpdater.exe and patcher.exe. These are all you need to connect to the servers to use Arc or play PWI. The other executable's are only necessary for the programs to run on your computer. No software alterations, just simple firewall settings tweaks. I think the game might even be running a little bit smoother too.

Anyway, this is working for me with my particular firewall. PWI and Arc still function at 100% of what they are supposed to.

Mosz - Heavens Tear · January 2015

requesting mod close the thread for flaming in the second sentence

not to mention user is giving explicit instructions how to bypass the games protection mechanics

outgrabe · January 2015

_Wesa_ - Heavens Tear wrote: »

Did you know that when PWI, alone (before ARC) is installed, there were 3 programs that would request internet access by your firewall (possibly depending on the firewall you use).

- elementclient.exe
- launcher.exe
- patcher

However, ARC has 9.

- Arc.exe
- ArcLauncher.exe
- ArcBrowser.exe
- ArcService.exe
- arcinstall.exe
- ArcUpdate.exe
- ArcDepends.exe
- ArcOSBrowser.exe
- ArcOSOverlay.exe

Since ARC is not required to play pwi, only to patch it once a week, the simplest solution is only to run arc to update once a week.

After this there is no need to run arc again until the next time you need to patch ... therefore there is no need to worry about firewall access b:pleased

Evryn - Morai · January 2015

You don't even need ARC to run the patcher. It too will run via command line directly - I don't have the exact command for it with me however.

For PWI, ARC is only needed to redeem codes. Nothing more.

_Wesa_ - Heavens Tear · January 2015

outgrabe wrote: »

Since ARC is not required to play pwi, only to patch it once a week, the simplest solution is only to run arc to update once a week.

After this there is no need to run arc again until the next time you need to patch ... therefore there is no need to worry about firewall access b:pleased

Evryn - Morai wrote: »

You don't even need ARC to run the patcher. It too will run via command line directly - I don't have the exact command for it with me however.

For PWI, ARC is only needed to redeem codes. Nothing more.

Actually, I was referring to Arc's internet access upon install. New or returning players can't install or update PWI now without installing Arc first. Most of the executable's will ask for permission and, for someone not familiar with the program, that access will be allowed because they will want a successful install. I wasn't familiar with Arc and allowed the access while I was installing and remained under the impression that it needed to remain that way. It doesn't, only the arcupdater and patcher need access for a successful install and to run the programs.

Also, I'm not looking to bypass Arc when running PWI. I appreciate the input and I am sure some other people may be interested in bypassing Arc, but it simply does not hinder my ability to run the game smoothly on this pc. It has more than enough resources to run both. However, I believe the game is actually a little more smooth without the extra executable's being allowed internet access. I occasionally would have what I call "warping" when running or flying... in my other mmo's as well... (my character would skip ahead a couple of feet or so every now and then). After redoing the firewall settings, I don't notice it in PWI or my other mmo's. The warping was merely annoying, it did not hinder my ability to play any games. Admittedly, I cannot say for sure if that warping was because of my firewall being bombarded or if it was because of so many Arc executable's having access. I fixed both at the same time. Arc isn't running when I play other games, but who knows for sure if it was the cause, or part of the cause, or not?

b:thanks

Joe - Morai · January 2015

Ppl are still using arc and command lines. XDD

I am using PWI the way I used to since I started playing in Feb '09. Anyone can...in just a 10-Seconds worth of work xD

Arc is neat for codes tho...besides that it's no miracle that programs like Arc wanna have network access all the time. This is common practise and it is indeed terrifying what you get installed on your PC sometimes when you actually just wanna play a game

_Wesa_ - Heavens Tear · January 2015

Joe - Morai wrote: »

Ppl are still using arc and command lines. XDD

I am using PWI the way I used to since I started playing in Feb '09. Anyone can...in just a 10-Seconds worth of work xD

Arc is neat for codes tho...besides that it's no miracle that programs like Arc wanna have network access all the time. This is common practise and it is indeed terrifying what you get installed on your PC sometimes when you actually just wanna play a game

I agree! Some of the stuff we get with codes is very nice, but we used to be able to enter codes through the website (before Arc).

I also agree that it is stupid scarey how various programs want so much access. Especially f2p games. PWI is the only f2p I am a member of. And, to be totally honest, I am only still a member because I am sentimental [silly, I know ] about my character (veno) and her pets (especially my Tabby Plumdrop and Midnight). Only Wesa is still active, I have retired LilyKatt, who was on another, somewhat older, account. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the scenery in Perfect World, though.

_Wesa_ - Heavens Tear · January 2015

sontzu wrote: »

I don't see anywhere a mention of bypassing pwprotector.exe

I play without using ARC, just use it for redeeming codes, but sooner or later they will try to close this loophole, no doubt. Thanks for the interesting research Wesa

You're welcome!

I did forget to include pwprotector in the list, though. But denying it access through a firewall would not bypass it, by any means. It doesn't need internet access to do it's job. It's an anti-cheat/**** for the software, itself.

SylenThunder - Twilight Temple · January 2015

_Wesa_ - Heavens Tear wrote: »

You're welcome!

I did forget to include pwprotector in the list, though. But denying it access through a firewall would not bypass it, by any means. It doesn't need internet access to do it's job. It's an anti-cheat/**** for the software, itself.

pwprotector is just the reporting tool for when the client crashes. When you get the "Bug Report" window after a crash, that's pwprotector.

_Wesa_ - Heavens Tear · January 2015

SylenThunder - Sanctuary wrote: »

pwprotector is just the reporting tool for when the client crashes. When you get the "Bug Report" window after a crash, that's pwprotector.

I stand corrected. My findings on the internet said it was an anti-cheat, so I was just repeating what someone else said it was.

I haven't had a client crash in, like, forever, though, so I had forgotten all about them. Used to happen a lot right after American release in 2008.

ImNotFeelnIt - Heavens Tear · January 2015

Mosz - Heavens Tear wrote: »

requesting mod close the thread for flaming in the second sentence

b:shocked

( looks at past 6 years of postings )

b:shocked

Allrightythen.

bluestuffzzz · January 2015

_Wesa_ - Heavens Tear wrote: »

I know I said I wasn't going to post here anymore after my "computer id" thread, but I wanted to share a smidgen of firewall information for those of you who would like to know and/or don't already know. And I will not be responding to anything Mosz has to say...

Did you know that when PWI, alone (before ARC) is installed, there were 3 programs that would request internet access by your firewall (possibly depending on the firewall you use).

- elementclient.exe
- launcher.exe
- patcher

However, ARC has 9.

- Arc.exe
- ArcLauncher.exe
- ArcBrowser.exe
- ArcService.exe
- arcinstall.exe
- ArcUpdate.exe
- ArcDepends.exe
- ArcOSBrowser.exe
- ArcOSOverlay.exe

BTW, the ArcDepends.exe is the answer to my previous inquiry about computer id and can be disabled via Arc's settings menu.

If you are as wary as I am about different programs having "too much" internet access, often times unnecessary access as regards multiple executable's from the same program having access (most were allowed access by default, the others were set to ask), then you might want to do what I did - and I found this out quite by accident while trying to trace down something that was bombarding my firewall (all blocked). Don't worry, it wasn't Arc or PWI.

I've denied access, in my firewall, to all executable's related to Arc and PWI EXCEPT for 2. TWO! ArcUpdater.exe and patcher.exe. These are all you need to connect to the servers to use Arc or play PWI. The other executable's are only necessary for the programs to run on your computer. No software alterations, just simple firewall settings tweaks. I think the game might even be running a little bit smoother too.

Anyway, this is working for me with my particular firewall. PWI and Arc still function at 100% of what they are supposed to.

This is part of what I feared would happen when I came to realize what PWE was doing by pushing a mandatory DRM platform for their games. I was always hesitant. Older machines will now struggle "more" definitively to play the game because more RAM is being hogged, more connections are being made/data being sent, and more processes are running while you play the game. Furthermore, as updates pile on the game, the optimization seems to significantly decrease (1.3.6 ran pretty smooth on an old 1GB RAM Windows XP netbook I had back in the day). Nowadays, when looking to play PWI, one needs 2-4GB of RAM and a pretty good processor. The RAM usage with graphics on medium can spike to 1GB and when graphics are set on high, they often can hit 1.5-1.8GB in peak areas. This, combined with ARC's processes, you are looking at ~2GB of RAM for the game + any other processes on your system + the main OS (~1GB).

It's kind of a shame that this game is ~11 years old, but still must be played with average specs in order to get good quality gameplay. I mean, you don't have to spend a fortune on a system that can run PWI. However, if you are looking for the game to run smoothly on high settings, a $500-600 laptop is probably what one would spend.

ARC, PWI, and your firewall

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