ScannerCast Has Serious Development Issues

[tateconcepts]

Let's say I administer several hundred clusters of server farms, some dedicated to security, some to mail, some to LOB (line of business) application and some for random other projects. Sometimes, just one for radio systems.

Regardless of if I was running an environment this big on a daily basis (which I do), I (and I doubt others) do not want a dedicated radio/SDR server feed application running
LOGGED ON AS A USER to RUN A SINGLE PROGRAM, while wasting away resources best used for other tasks - not to mention it causes my ISP to perform random scans on my network because other random applications happily decide to execute themselves believing someone is sitting at the console doing things when they are not.

I wrote this the above in caps (to bring this to someone's attention - not to be demeaning in anyway BTW) because while I am sure the developers intentions are good, this is the most ridiculous utilization of not only system resources but its a security risk! Sure I might have majority John Q Public out there that checks his email, he's very knowledgeable in radio along with perhaps other things but when you really look at the method in which applications run - regardless of Linux, Solaris or Windows - it's a complete waste of resources and does nothing but complicate the purpose of the application - just to run a feed or feeds in the background (not a single thing else).

I'm almost thinking that I am the only person who has or is suggesting ScannerCast needs to be built (compiled) from its current state into a Windows Service that runs in the background (regardless of if the user is logged in or not). In Linux and Solaris we call this a daemon. Think about the rationality of this : what happens if I am an elderly person who doesn't know much about computers and share my logon with my significant other or kids that come by to visit? They may not know what ScannerCast is and may shut it down! What if my computer restarts because of a power outage or random software bug or memory leak (not ScannerCast but something else)? Has anyone considered what will occur? The computer by default will restart, if there is a password - it will remain at logon and not start ScannerCast at all, which results in the feed being down. If one is lax enough to not even enter a password, you might get by if you placed the application in Startup locations. Unfortunately, this option has been eliminated now with Windows 8, 8.1 and Windows 10 and sorry folks an Apple Mac will not help you as it requires one as well before logon.

This post is not meant to diminish anyone but enlighten the purpose of why we use this application. ScannerCast is a great idea and was clearly thought out well. However, I do not think future ongoing development from an OS user standpoint that not everyone wants to run Windows and furthermore, does not want to remain logged on 24/7. I can't tell you how many times my wife has restarted a PC (because she had to Switch Users to allow ScannerCast to run) only to find out the only reason I was logged on was ScannerCast! If this was a Windows Service or Unix/Linux daemon - this wouldn't be an issue. The majority of critical applications run silently as a service unless they need to be modified. The service would start up BEFORE you could even log on to Windows (once network connectivity dependencies have been met) and if adjustments need to be made to the service, no problem - send them to the system tray or wherever you like. This is really not a difficult task and if this is not taken seriously in 2015 - I believe those who wish to run their own private RTSP streams for their own use will and will likely keep their feeds anonymous from the public. I believe there are some RTSP streaming applications that will work for this purpose but they do and will not integrate into Broadcastify. Surely Blanton, you appear to be in Texas - the new Silicon Valley. I believe we can work with the developer to customize the software to run as a service (recommended) or as a legacy application which requires you to be logged on as it does today.

I make this comments in your favor to discuss serious enhancements to this program. For the mean time, I just can't see a benefit to leaving over 1/5 of physical memory along with numerous processing threads to sit idle for just one program. Nobody in that idle profile is using Internet Exploder (that's a development pun), nobody is printing documents from Office as that user or accessing File Shares (aka Samba) or doing anything but having useless established, open and time wait connections to everyone but the notorious established connection to the below

Name: audio9.radioreference.com
Address: 74.86.84.221

TCP 192.168.0.13:63544 host337373:http ESTABLISHED

 

[mikewazowski]

Thread moved to Streaming / Broadcasting / Audio Recording forum.

This looks more like an issue with ScannerCast and not Broadcastify and should be taken up with the developer of ScannerCast.

Have you looked into any of the other programs that can be used with Broadcastify?

Or better yet, have you considered writing your own program?

 

[mikewazowski]

Here's the contact information for the author of ScannerCast if you wish to contact him directly (his callsign is k1pgv):

I Need Your Feedback

If you love it, if you hate it, or if you have an idea about how it could be better, I'd appreciate hearing from you. Send me an email at my callsign @arrl.net.

 

[exportdawg]

Have you tried Radio Feed? I switched a long time ago and never looked back. Great Program ..imo

ProScan, download Radio Feed 2.8 (It's free)

 

[cpfinlay]

I would also welcome a toggle option to run as service, but you should be aware there Windows includes a built-in function to easily accomplish what you are proposing. Google "sc.exe create service" and follow the instructions. This is not at all new: I have used it for other programs for (many) years, but not ScannerCast. Instead, I leverage a dedicated, very locked down surplus device supplying my feed securely and without signing on. I prefer and use RadioFeed, for whatever that is worth.

Happy Scanning!

 

[KD0TAZ]

I had this issue when I was first getting my feed running. I was trying to run it on an actual server running Server 2008R2.. I was able to get Scannercast (and later RadioFeed) to run as a service using sc.exe, however the USB drivers that were being used to provide the alpha tags would crash after a couple hours and I couldn't find any solution to it. It worked fine when a user was logged in, but not from the main login screen. Since my feed contains 5 different departments, it becomes pretty useless without the tags. Eventually I just gave up and threw together a dedicated machine running XP from parts I had laying around, and it runs like a champ. I just have it auto-login and start RadioFeed automatically from the Startup group.

Now to address the OP's *****ing.. First of all if you are in the IT field, you of all people should know that Windows login passwords are a total joke. There is no reason to ever have a login password on a computer at home, unless it is in a feeble attempt to keep your toddler from using it. In an office environment, unless it is on a domain, all a local password will do is keep your techno-weenie co-workers from reading your email. There are several free and commercial tools available to bypass Windows passwords (so easy your average 8 year old can use them). So to infer that someone who doesn't use a Windows password is 'lax', is just plain wrong. People who use Windows passwords thinking they offer any security at all are the ones who are ignorant.

Second, it is extremely bad practice to have your feed running on a machine that people use for other things, for a variety of reasons.. Mainly because we don't want to hear cat videos, music, open mics, fart noises, etc etc etc that comes over people's feeds when they set them up wrong or others unknowingly change settings. You also have feeds that drop out when people reboot for whatever reason, or they mistakenly close the streamer, or they put it to sleep.

In all honesty, what friggin difference does it make if the computer is using a few resources from being logged on?? There is absolutely no difference in power consumption between a computer at the logon screen and a computer at the desktop (*provided it is not infected with malware). Other than that, WHO CARES if it is using some memory or processes? And hurr hurr hurrrrr, "Internet Exploder" was so punny. Nobody who knows anything about computers would use IE for anything, period.

And above all, what ISP "scans your network" when things run on your computer? Why does your network not have a hardware firewall between you and your ISP to prevent such "scanning"? I'm starting to think you're not as technically inclined as you're claiming to be.

 

[smason]

LOGGED ON AS A USER to RUN A SINGLE PROGRAM, while wasting away resources best used for other tasks - not to mention it causes my ISP to perform random scans on my network because other random applications happily decide to execute themselves believing someone is sitting at the console doing things when they are not.

1 word:
Virtualization