Get this message "Access violation at address 0012fd2b. Write of address 0012fd2b." and the number "0012fd2b" changes each and every time I start up the program. I then click on my DVD that I decrypted onto my computer and it says "Catastrophic Failure".
The Problem: I get the same error. The error occurs when you try to start up either one of the executables for this program "XEBEncoder.exe" or "XEBSettings.exe". The problem seems to occur when you try to access the "Profiles" or the "Language Override" parts of the program. This of course will cause catastrophic failure when trying to transcode a DVD to ratDVD because during that process it will try to access the profile you are using and since it is not available it just dies a nasty death. It seems that the error handling isn't quite complete.
The cause and the risks: Chances are that you have a CPU that supports hardware DEP and you have it enabled on all programs in Windows. Keep in mind that DEP stands for Data Execution Prevention and is intended to protect you from buffer overrun attacks that could compromise your system!! Usually Windows recognizes this problem and tells you that you need to add the offending program to the DEP exclusion list, but for some reason ratDVD doesn't register. It is possible that the ratDVD encoder is flawed and is possibly subject to a buffer overrun exploits but since ratDVD doesn't run as a service it's only a vulnerability while you have it open. So here are the risks:
-DEP protects you, and causes the program to crash, this is good since it prevents malicious code but this doesn't mean ratDVD is malicious, it only means that ratDVD is vulnerable to attacks. By adding ratDVD to the DEP Exclusion list you are opening a hole for attack.
-ratDVD doesn't run as a service or anything so you are only vulnerable while it is running, this limits your exposure. The problem seems to be located in the way ratDVD stores and retrives Profile and Language preferances, which is good because your risk is limited.
-ratDVD does have an option (set to OFF by default, thankfully) that reports to a server anonymous DVD analysis data. This means that it sends and receives data over the internet, now we have a BIG problem. You are now running a program that POSSIBLY (not 100% confirmed) has a buffer overrun exploit that is able to send and (more dangerously) receive data from the internet. It is possible, however unlikely, that someone could craft an attack focused on this ratDVD security hole to gain unrestricted access to your system and then install a trojan. Very bad, unlikely, but bad.
-Someone could also edit a DVD rip (either .VOB or .ratDVD based) that when you try to transcode it from one to the other it installs a trojan with unrestricted system access. Once again, unlikely, but POSSIBLE.
-Another possibility is that someone can craft a useful, but malicious, plugin for ratDVD that will exploit this hole and install any number of trojans on your computer.
Risk summary: This looks like a simple oversight on the part of the author of ratDVD. I must admit he is VERY SKILLED and has made an amazing product. However even with the most skilled programmer, a project this large being worked on by 1 man is bound to have a hole somewhere. I doubt there is a large chance for problems but you can almost eliminate problems by a.) Disabling anonymous usage to be sent and adding ratDVD to your firewall Blocked programs list until this hole is fixed, and b.) Only transcoding your own DVDs and ratDVDs, or trusted DVD images and ratDVD containers.
The fix: If you haven't figured the fix out after reading all this, all you need to do is add the ratDVD executable files to your DEP Exclusion list. To do this:
-Right click My Computer and left click on Properties.
-Click on the "Advanced" tab and you will see a box labeled "Performance" with a "Settings" button in it, left click on that button.
-In the new window click on a tab labeled "Data Execution Prevention". You should now see an option to turn it on for all programs or only for essential Windows processes and chances are it is set for All Programs.
-You should see a list of excluded programs, but ratDVD will not be inthere, you need to add it. Click on "Add..." and select the ratDVD executables, add them one at a time.
-Once they are there, make sure they are checked on, and then say OK to all of the dialogue windows.
This should fix the problem :)
My summary opinion: I do not think this was an intentional hole made by the author, but I cannot prove it isn't. It is a negliable risk, but a risk none-the-less. This should be a TOP priority for the next revision of ratDVD. I applaud all who have worked to make ratDVD a superb program but this is a potentially crippling security hole. I do not have the time myself to investigate this more thoughroughly but it alarms me that no one has spotted this as far as I can tell (I did a search on the 2 official forums and didn't find anything regarding these odd errors that offered an explanation, only offered questions). I hope this gets fixed soon and I hope this explanation helps people to be able to enjoy this magnificent program.
-zelfie
(ya, i'm a guy, but "zel" was already taken on these forums >.<)
