Auto-update disabler program

[maduranma 3]

4 minutes ago, mamu82 said:

127.0.0.1 xvcf1.xboxlive.com

On GitHub anyone can browse the code, the app Is very simple and clever and reduce user error

But,

The big question Is, will a non updated msfs works?

 

That's right, I was not trying to hide it... If I wanted to hide it I wouldn't post the source code 🤣

Yes, it does work I'm on version 1.25.7.0 and still works as of today. I don't know for how long it will keep working, but well... We at least have som space to manouvre.

Imagin the scenario: You have a home cockpit and someone came for the sim, and there's a 1h long update... I don't say you don't have to update, but you might want to delay it until that person has gone (as an example).

[turbomax 3,308]

for those who don't want to use an external program but feel comfortable editing their HOSTS file, simply manually add this entry:

127.0.0.1     xvcf1.xboxlive.com

open the HOSTS file with notepad with administrator rights and save it without suffix, i.e. NOT as hosts.txt but simply as hosts

the HOSTS file is located at:

C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts

 

Edited April 29, 2022 by turbomax

[jrw4 626]

Is something like this in compliance with the EULA? It's not hard to imagine a scenario where some aspect of the interaction between the desktop and the servers/CDN/etc. breaks, and those desktops running an old version inadvertently start slamming those central resources. Everybody else running MSFS suddenly reports that live weather doesn't work, PG appears horrible, etc., etc.

The law of unintended consequences applies to the internet. I'm no expert by any means, but this sounds like a bad idea. It feels like reverse engineering of the desktop interface with the server infrastructure and an attempt to defeat the version check process. Bad mojo?

[turbomax 3,308]

1 hour ago, jrw4 said:

It feels like reverse engineering

to edit one's hosts file, effectively cutting MSFS off from the internet = reverse engineering? 😊

"I'm no expert by any means"

sounds like it.

" Everybody else running MSFS suddenly reports that live weather doesn't work"

happened before, very legally.

"PG appears horrible, etc., etc"

the devil will appear, horrible, etc. etc.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-to-reset-the-hosts-file-back-to-the-default-c2a43f9d-e176-c6f3-e4ef-3500277a6dae

Edited April 29, 2022 by turbomax

[jrw4 626]

But that doesn't settle the problem of whether an out-date desktop might not interfere with the operation of the servers, once one resets the server to the real one. We have the desktop at a different version than the MS servers. There's no doubt that the mechanism proposed by the OP will work, but will the resultant mismatch of desktop software wtih the server cause a problem? And is this consistent with the EULA? I'm not saying I know because I don't, but I think the original question stands.

[turbomax 3,308]

11 minutes ago, jrw4 said:

We have the desktop at a different version than the MS servers.

happens all the time. example: someone comes back from vacation and starts MSFS again after several updates were released in the meantime and reconnects to the internet, or his router was defective, or he removes MSFS temporarily because the other sims are so much better...  all that is illegal, how dare they!

all you did was you saved Microsoft's servers a few milliseconds of processing time and work load on their servers and a few micro megabytes of bandwidth while you did not connect MSFS.

Edited April 29, 2022 by turbomax

[109Sqn 1,595]

16 hours ago, blueshark747 said:

I don't think this will end well,

Frankly, I don't think it's worth the risk (and I'm not even referring to the legitimacy of the software). I understand why people want to update if and when it suits them, but it seems to be asking for different problems when you are talking about an online software, let alone one which is multiplayer (even if not everybody uses that aspect of it).

[Mikeingreen 139]

I can see the forums now. People ****ing and moaning about how theeir installation is now longer working with the various streaming stuff and when asked then they have to admit that they are 2-5 versions behind the servers. But it will still be Asobo/MS fault.

[jrw4 626]

@turbomax is correct. The use of the software under discussion here actually saves the MS servers a few milliseconds of processing during the version check that the MSFS launching program undertakes shortly after the various splash screens appear some seconds into the startup process, at the point the words "Checking for updates" flashes by on the screen. This check occurs whether it's 1501Z on the day a new system update is published or, as @turbomaxsuggested, some time much later due to one or another factor. The software under discussion in this thread interferes with this version check and apparently allows MSFS to proceed on its way.

But that's not the problem I had in mind. What happens when an outdated version of MSFS begins interacting with the extensive server farms that download scenery, weather, etc., to all of us, not just the users of the obsolete flight sim? No one reading this discussion (unless they happen to be the MS/Asobo engineers who designed and implemented that complex architecture) understands the potential consequences on system performance, not only for those who made use of the suggested transient change to the local file in order to avoid the upgrade for whatever reason, but also for the rest of us.

Have a good weekend everyone.

 

[vgbaron 3,726]

1 hour ago, Mikeingreen said:

I can see the forums now. People ****ing and moaning about how theeir installation is now longer working with the various streaming stuff and when asked then they have to admit that they are 2-5 versions behind the servers. But it will still be Asobo/MS fault.

IMHO this is the major issue. Disabling updates are sure to cause issues down the road (easily corrected by updating) but many users will blame it on Asobo.

1 hour ago, jrw4 said:

What happens when an outdated version of MSFS begins interacting with the extensive server farms that download scenery, weather, etc., to all of us, not just the users of the obsolete flight sim?

Absolutely nothing, or just what happens now, you get a message telling you to update. There really is no two way communication with the server where an outdated program could cause an issue. This would fall under the heading of protecting the server from malicious attacks.

This should be the least of your worries.

[jrw4 626]

2 hours ago, vgbaron said:

Absolutely nothing, or just what happens now, you get a message telling you to update. There really is no two way communication with the server where an outdated program could cause an issue. This would fall under the heading of protecting the server from malicious attacks.

But the subject software in the original post successfully gets around the protection provided by the MSFS update checker, i.e., it allows a user for whatever reason to circumvent the upgrade. Once that occurs, that user's obsolete desktop version of MSFS can access the various servers that comprise the cloud component of MSFS. Is that correct or not? If it is, what then?

[Bert Pieke 7,593]

On 4/28/2022 at 3:27 AM, omarsmak30 said:

In my humble opinion, this will open up new issues. It is very dangerous to leave the sim not synchronized with the servers which may ultimately make the sim unreliable at some point. 

I would add that some of your purchased addon content may also stop working.. the authentication servers are unpredictable if your sim is out of synch.. user beware.

[ADamiani 470]

8 hours ago, jrw4 said:

Is something like this in compliance with the EULA?

The HOSTS file is under my control as administrator of the machine.

The day Microsoft tells me that I cannot decide about my PC network connections, I will say goodbye to Windows and never turn back. All my other computers are Linux already. Just one left. There's a limit to everything.

Otoh of course if you disable updates you may expect something funny to happen, and in that case it would be quite silly to blame the game publisher for something you did!

A.

 

Edited April 29, 2022 by ADamiani

[vgbaron 3,726]

1 hour ago, jrw4 said:

But the subject software in the original post successfully gets around the protection provided by the MSFS update checker, i.e., it allows a user for whatever reason to circumvent the upgrade. Once that occurs, that user's obsolete desktop version of MSFS can access the various servers that comprise the cloud component of MSFS. Is that correct or not? If it is, what then?

Even if you were able to connect to the server, which I seriously doubt, it would download the current data to your system with unknown results. But it would have NO effect on the servers, other than ACKs, it is not two way communication.

IMHO, for me, it is not worth the effort. If you really do not want to update, fly offline with your current version. 

[maduranma 3]

On 4/29/2022 at 11:34 PM, vgbaron said:

Even if you were able to connect to the server, which I seriously doubt, it would download the current data to your system with unknown results. But it would have NO effect on the servers, other than ACKs, it is not two way communication.

IMHO, for me, it is not worth the effort. If you really do not want to update, fly offline with your current version. 

For what I've seen when testing my program, what happens is exactly the same as if they release an update while you are already flying, and you make a flight of 10 hours, and you don't turn off your sim because you don't want and continue flying 10 hours more. It still works.

Maybe if they haven't done any big change, it will continue working until next or nexts updates; or maybe, if they have, it will just work for a few days to give the players time to update.

 

On 4/29/2022 at 2:29 PM, jrw4 said:

Is something like this in compliance with the EULA? It's not hard to imagine a scenario where some aspect of the interaction between the desktop and the servers/CDN/etc. breaks, and those desktops running an old version inadvertently start slamming those central resources. Everybody else running MSFS suddenly reports that live weather doesn't work, PG appears horrible, etc., etc.

The law of unintended consequences applies to the internet. I'm no expert by any means, but this sounds like a bad idea. It feels like reverse engineering of the desktop interface with the server infrastructure and an attempt to defeat the version check process. Bad mojo?

It's not reverse engineering. I just monitored the DNS requests with WireShark in my very own computer, which I'm allowed to do, while the game booted. That's all.

As I specified, I'd be the same than disconnecting your ethernet cable just before it starts checking updates (when it tries to discover the IP of the server) and connecting it again when it finished. I haven't tried to see their source code, nor anything similar.

 

But as I told, if a developer from Asobo, Microsoft or whoever related comes to me and sends me an e-mail explaining it is agains their EULA (or similar), I'll be happy to remove this from my GitHub repo.