Summary
Setup.exe establishes outgoing network connection during executionQuestion
Why does my Installshield created setup.exe appear to making outgoing network calls during installation?
This may be alarming if you believe that there is nothing within your installation which should be connecting to the network in this way.
This can be viewed within the Process Monitor as TCP connect/send/receive operations.
Answer
It is likely if you are seeing such behaviour that your Installer is digitally signed. Due to this the Installshield setup.exe checks the certificate revocation list to ensure the validity of the certificate.
To test if this is the case:
1. Remove the digital certificate from your sample installer and run the installer. Check if the TCP operations are still made.
2. With the certificate in place disable certificate revocation list checking on the test machine and run the installer again.
To perform this:
- Open Control Panel
- Select "Network and Internet"
- Select "Internet Options"
- On the Internet Properties Dialog, select the "Advanced" tab.
- Uncheck "Check for publisher?s certificate revocation" and "Check for signatures on downloaded programs"
Additional Information
Further details regarding Certificate Revocation can be found on the Microsoft website here:
How Certificate Revocation Works
