I have a chrome extension that will be released soon. This question is not for debugging purposes but rather a way to track or log crashes/errors that might happen on the clients once it has been released.
I want to be able to get enough information to be able to reproduce the crashes/errors like, browser version, steps taken in the application to get the error/crash etc..
Searching online for a while but did not find anything concrete about once it has been released. Most of them was for debugging purposes when still in development mode.
I found this https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/tut_analytics but this was more for normal analytics to see what parts of the extension is being used etc.. i am looking more for error handling. Like some games have "send crash report". Looking for somebody to point me in the right direction.
I'm trying to find a way of replicating the action / instruction that a physical button being pushed on a control panel sends to the software of a CNC machine of ours.
Ultimately I would like to integrate this instruction into an executable file I could make using AutoIT, but that is further down the line!
After some googling, resulting in all kinds of weird and wonderful results, I'm at a loss of how to begin this task. I believe I need to either use debugging software to find the instruction as it takes place, or possibly Process Monitor?
The machine runs off of a Windows XP machine.
Unfortunately obtaining this information from the manufacturer is not an option.
If anyone could help point me in the right direction that would be appreciated,
Thanks
Edit: I have since come across Windows Hooks, Detours and Interception, but still haven't made much progress!
Your topic is too broad ... You might as well be asking "How do I reverse engineer?" First thing I would do would be to load up the program in a debugger, put a breakpoint in the callback function and find out what the button is doing. What you will most likely find is that it's pushing some information onto the stack and making a call to an external .DLL such as an API or device driver ( you could probably find out which DLL using Process Monitor too ). Just load that .DLL up into your new program and make the same call.
I have a Java swing application that subscribes to a lot of data and displays this data in various ways. Under heavy load I have come to encounter that the JRE simply stops working with message "Java(TM) Platform SE binary has stopped working". This obviously shuts down my application and I need to restart it. I have tried to google for ways to troubleshoot this issue as I do not get a stacktrace in my code or anything that I can work with but I have found very little useful information beyond upgrading/re-installing the JRE and running virus scans. I have done both of these measures and rebooted the server but the problem still persists. I have tried to monitor the process with Java VisualVM (see dump below) but I am no expert on this tool and may not know what to look for. The observation that I have made is that the 'crashes' appear to coincide with Garbage Collections.
The issue is quite easy to reproduce and occurs after about 10 minutes of running the application. I do not run the application with any specific jvm parameters. The Java version is 1.6.0_31 (was _25 before upgrade) and I run on Windows 7 64-bit.
In the pic below from VisualVM the Java binary has just stopped working which appears to coincide with the GC-run.
Any help or ideas so that I can troubleshoot or remedy the problem is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Three things to check:
If you've implemented the finalize() method anywhere, make sure it doesn't directly or indirectly lock any objects; this can cause a catatrophic deadlock correlated with GC.
If you've got native code, any number of weird things can happen if the code is not using global references correctly, including deadlocks and weird memory corruption, which would again correlate with GC activity.
Finally, GC might just be "stirring the pot" and exposing vanilla deadlocks which exist otherwise in the application; check your synchronization protocols.
Garbage collection pauses the VM's application threads while it happens, which might be exposing a race condition somewhere.
So I've always been interested in a type of modified xbox 360 called a jtag. Apparently do to some system checks implemented by microsoft they can no longer connect to xbox live and I want to give building a new rebooter a try.
First off, if anyone has any ideas on how to go about doing this or getting started, that would be awesome.
Secondly (this is my main question), what's PPC and how do I learn to "reverse engineer" it?
I'm following this tutorial: http://www.thetechgame.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=1086504.html and I want to know how to go about doing it. I'm assuming I've done everything right so far, I've opened up the right files in IDA and I want to start in on it, but I don't really know how.
PPC (PowerPC) is a CPU architecture and instruction set, the reference to which you can find online. You mentioned JTAG, JTAG isn't a Xbox-specific technology, it's a common hardware debugging standard.
You sound like you've never done low-level development or reverse engineering, so I'm warning you that you may be way over your head. However, having said that, the following few points should get you started:
Xbox runs a CPU that's in PowerPC family of processors. They work by reading code from memory, and executing that code. PowerPC just refers to the format that code takes, what instructions are supported and describes its general behavior.
Since you're talking about JTAG, you might need to physically open your Xbox, find some JTAG tools and solder leads to it. You will probably break your Xbox.
Googling for "software reverse engineering" should get you started, but don't expect to learn this overnight as it's a very deep and technical topic.
In your experience as a developer, what kinds of things have turned away users and prospective users from using your programs? Also, what kinds of things turn you away from using someone else's programs?
For example, one thing that really bugs me is when someone provides free software, but require you to enter your name and email address before you download it. Why do they need my name and email address? I just want to use the program! I understand that the developer(s) may want to get a feel for how many users they have, etc, but the extra work I have to do really makes me think twice about downloading their software, even if it does really great things.
Requiring lots of information when signing up -- name and email is bad enough, as you say, but some registration forms have many many fields. The fewer the better.
Charging money but refusing to disclose the price unless you speak to a sales rep
Having a web site that only works in certain browsers
No releases since 2003
No documentation
Support forum with many questions and no answers
Here are a few annoyances that I haven't seen anyone else mention:
Programs that auto-launch one or more processes at system startup that run constantly in the background (invisibly, in the clock tray, or otherwise).
While some of these are necessary, most would either be better implemented with a utility that runs periodically (use the system's task scheduler!) or don't need to be launched until the associated program is launched.
Dialog boxes that pop up on top of all open windows (even those of other applications).
This is even more annoying if you run full-screen apps.
Pop-up dialogs that won't let you switch to another app until they are dismissed make me want to throw something.
Stealing my file type associations or changing the icons associated with a MIME type when I already have that type assigned to another application. At an absolute minimum, ask me first.
Storing user data/documents in file types that can't be opened by other applications
The worst is when files are also bound to a specific version of the application
Automatically cluttering my desktop and quick launch menus with icons
Automatically adding a link to your crappy website into my web browser's bookmarks
Assuming I use Internet Explorer and launch it specifically instead of querying the system for the default browser (same goes for media player, email client, etc)
Failing to understand the difference between user-specific settings and system-wide settings
Re-mapping common, near-universal keyboard shortcuts (cut, paste, undo, print, refresh, etc) for no good reason
If you're going to re-map Ctrl+C from "copy" to "close without saving anything", at least pop up a dialog warning people when they use it
Requiring an exact version of a library or framework. I don't want to have to uninstall the .Net 2.0 framework and re-install 1.1 just to run your program.
Spelling, punctuation, or grammar errors in the user interface or documentation. If you can't be bothered to at run (at least) an automated spelling checker, then you probably also didn't bother testing your app properly.
Displaying error messages to the user in a way that isn't useful. I don't care if "unexpected error #3410 occurred", I want to know what on earth that means and what I should do about it.
If you thought the error was important enough to program in a unique error message, why did you instead program error-handling code that could gracefully handle the situation? Only let me know about an error if I caused it directly or if I can fix it.
On a related note, aren't all errors unexpected?
Sending me to a website when I click "Help" instead of including help files with the local installation. I don't mind if you periodically download updated help files from the web, but people still need documentation when an Internet connection isn't available.
Bulleted lists that are way too long.
Setup programs that come bundled with all sorts of freeware (even things like Google toolbar) that are selected by default. I just want the program I downloaded, not all sorts of other programs. I can understand that developers might get something in return for including these add-ons in their setups but I hate it when they are selected to be installed by default.
Automatic updates and "information" screens that pop up every single system startup.
Yes, you updated yourself good job but I don't care nor want to know that you have. Do I really have to click "No, I don't want to upgrade to the pricier version" every single time I start my computer?
Ad infections. You know the kind where if you scroll your mouse over the text your reading it'll pop up a thing so you can't read it anymore. And flash ads that have sound(especially that you can't turn off. this was the reason I installed adblock plus) and pop up windows that happen multiple times while your sitting on a page.
Also, pop ups telling me to join a sites news letter mailing list. (where the "no" button is very small)
I will rethink downloading something if I think they will start sending me SPAM if I give them my e-mail address.
At a previous employer we had a program I helped write that was online as a "free" download. They had to put something in for Name, address, phone, and e-mail. Oh, and no opt-out checkbox. It annoys me when other companies do this, but I didn't have any say in the matter.
The info needed for free things gets me too, but other than that:
Bundled software, most of the time adware or browser bars
Having to click too many times to do a simple action
Websites that advertise "Free Download!" for something that turns out to be a paid app. Wow, so generous to allow me to transfer data over the internet for free.
Putting an icon in the taskbar when I don't want it there.
I installed an app called Pamella that records Skype calls. I'm fine with 1 icon in the taskbar -- Skype's icon -- but Pamela adding a second just got me angry and I uninstalled it.
Ugly / unfit user-interface. For me, this is really important.
Having to register to download the program (specially if it's freeware)
Browser-specific / requiring special/other applications to work properly
Bloated applications that start with a few MBs and finally grow to 100's of MBs and huge mem consumption.
That'd be most of the things that turn me away from a program.
One of the things that bugs me the most (using, not downloading to try in the first place...):
I download or buy software it is because I want to USE it for something. If it is so friendly that it is 100% intuitive and needs no documentation before being useful, great! If it has comprehensive on-line or other help that answers all my questions as they come up, that's OK too.
However, if it has any kind of learning curve at all and nothing but my own persistent trial and error before I can do anything with it.... Off the drive it goes, within the first 5 minutes. Well, maybe I will use it if I am being paid to, but even in these cases I would probably recommend something else.
A user interface that is so simple that practically no documentation is required, or that has documentation that is accessible is a joy to use. If the program is complex and requires non-trivial documentation, that documentation should explain EVERYTHING a user might want to know, making no assumptions about his or her prior knowledge. That also puts my appreciation meter way up there.
Make your software actually do something people want done, and make it painless for them to do that with it, and you will have lots of satisfied users and word of mouth recommendations.
I left this on my list but it's a big enough annoyance that it probably stands on its own:
Software that requires users to pay for bug fixes, security patches, or critical updates.
If you have a patch that adds some new feature that I want, I don't mind paying for it. If you made a mistake and you are trying to get me to pay you to fix your mistake, then that's where we have a problem. Any physical product manufactured and sold would call this a "recall" and wouldn't dare charge customers to fix it.
In the past, some software products have shipped with known flaws to encourage users to buy the "critical updates subscription". This is downright evil.
How much pain am I going to endure to develop a conscious competence in using the program? Some computer games I tried to play but after a few hours if I haven't figured things out, I'll stop playing. If a program is hard to use and I don't have a really good motivation to resolve it, that will stop me right there.
How complicated is the installation process? How many minutes will I spend getting the basics of the program understood so I can be productive with it? How close to other programs is it, so that I can leverage how I use other programs to use this,e.g. if I've used Microsoft Office for years are the menus similar to that or is it someone else's idea of the ultimate menu system? Those are the questions I tend to wrestle with in a new program.
If something takes hours to install and then more hours to configure for my use, this really makes me question how useful is the software, really. I can understand the appeal of software that can be customized in a bazillion ways, but if I'm just getting used to the software, do I want these options at this point? To give an example of how absurd this would be in other situations, imagine if you had to list all the ingredients in a pizza or an automobile before getting to the options that mattered to you? You have to list everything in the pizza dough or car's body that most people don't think twice about what is there.