If you've read our article about how to fix the app2.exe bad image error, you're aware of the fact that the ongoing battle between software companies and hackers sometimes has unintended consequences. One of the critical lines of defense against "black hat" hackers is the "white hat" guys who work for the antivirus companies. Every PC today needs a good antivirus program and decent internet to provide this, but just as the Windows update sometimes causes problems, antivirus software sometimes gets too zealous and starts quarantining harmless programs. When this happens, it may interfere with, or even disable legitimate applications, including LXI. Fortunately, there's a simple fix.

How Antivirus Software Works

Antivirus software works by scanning installed files and applications and comparing them against known behaviors of malware. This is known as "heuristic checking". It's a powerful analytical tool that enables AV software to flag and identify new viruses based on what they're trying to do on your PC. Unfortunately, it's not a perfect system, according to a group of tech specialists. Sometimes a legitimate application needs to do things that look a little bit like malware. LXi is a complete design and production program. When the design phase is complete, it opens the Cut-Plot or Print and Cut module, and that module then sends data to a connected device. This process can make an AV program nervous and lead it to flag your design app as malware. When this happens, your software shuts down through no fault of its own. If you use MacAfee, Norton, Kaspersky, AVG, or Symantec, this may be happening to your LXI license.

How do you know if you have an AV problem?

  • If your workflow is interrupted when LXI tries to open production manager, you might have an AV problem.
  • If your LXi application won't launch, you might have an AV problem.
  • If your .app2.exe file or SAIcloud.dll files go missing, you might have an AV problem.
  • If your installed LXi or Flexi software disappears from your desktop entirely, you might have an AV problem.

How to Fix Your Antivus Problem.

Fortunately there's an easy fix. You can modify your antivirus and simply tell it to stop treating your design software as a threat. This is done by adding the application to the 'Trusted' List in your AV settings. Generally, it takes less than ten minutes. Each application has a slightly different process. For your convenience, we've gathered the solutions for the five AV programs most popular with LXI and FlexiSign users. Look below for your application and follow the link to fix your AV problem.
  • MacAfee: In McAfee, you have to create an exclusion. To do this, you click Start, Programs, McAfee, VirusScan Console. Then Right-click "On-Access Scanner" and select Properties. Click All Processes, Detection, Exclusions. This is how you identify the trusted programs. You can exclude files or directories. The best solution is to exclude the entire directory. In this case, excluding is a good thing. You're telling it to exclude LXI from the list of suspected apps. For LXi, the correct directory should be C:>Program Files(x86)>SignWarehouse>LXI 12 or LXI 19. For Flexi, exclude the Program Files(x86)>SAI>SAI Production Suite Cloud directory. Click here for tips from McAfee's support forum.
  • Kaspersky: Kaspersky's process is similar. Open the Settings window in Kaspersky Total Security. In the Settings view, go to the "Additional" section and select "Threats and exclusions" in the right frame. In the Threats and exclusions window, click the "Specify Trusted Applications" link. Then identify the LXI or Flexi directory to mark it as a trusted application. Click here for detailed instructions from Kaspersky's support site.
  • Norton: Norton's process is pretty simple. In the Norton main window, click Settings. In the Settings window, under Detailed Settings, click Firewall. On the Program Control tab, select the program you want to exclude or mark as trusted. In the Access drop-down list for the program entry, click Allow. Then, click Apply. Here are the detailed instructions.
  • AVG Internet Security: The process for adding LXI or Flexi to the AVG firewall's list of trusted applications is similar and takes about ten steps. Click here for detailed instructions.
You can accomplish the same thing by excluding a specific file, such as SAIcloud.dll, but then you have to guess what file the AV's algorithm is going to misidentify next. So it's always better to identify the entire folder. Remember, if you've installed LXi on more than one occasion, you may have more than one folder or directory on your hard drive. Make sure you select the active one, or just add them all. If you go through these steps and continue to have issues, by all means contact SIGNWarehouse Tech Support and we'll help you sort it out.