Meaning of ST5UNST.LOG (Netkeen 1 and 2)

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Quillax
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Meaning of ST5UNST.LOG (Netkeen 1 and 2)

Post by Quillax »

There are two old fangames called NetKeen and NetKeen 2 (made by Zbad, not to be confused with lemm's NetKeen). When installed, each game comes with a log file, named ST5UNST.LOG that starts with these lines:

Code: Select all

 %% PLEASE DO NOT MODIFY OR DELETE THIS FILE! %%
 %% This file contains information about the installation of an application. %%
 %% It will be used to automatically remove all application components from your computer if you choose to do so. %%
The third line is very questionable. If you disobeyed the written rule, does the game remove the files that were just installed or every single file in the computer? If it's the latter, then that would mean the games have malware. Very destructive malware! They might have to be removed from KeenWiki. Or is it all fake -- meaning nothing happens? I think this question is very important. I just don't know if anyone wants to take chances -- I sure don't.
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Re: Meaning of ST5UNST.LOG (Netkeen 1 and 2)

Post by Benvolio »

My guess is that it is just innocent tomfoolery, the kind of joke that would have gone down better in the carefree '90s/early '00s than nowadays. But better to run it on a clean set up or VM first just to be sure...
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Re: Meaning of ST5UNST.LOG (Netkeen 1 and 2)

Post by K1n9_Duk3 »

I think this is a log file created by an installer program. I think this should contain a list of files that the installer copied onto the system. The uninstaller would have used this file to remove all of the files that the installer has created, that's why you shouldn't modify the file.

The "if you choose to do so" part probably means "if you choose to remove the program" (i.e. run the uninstaller), not "if you choose to modify this file".
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Re: Meaning of ST5UNST.LOG (Netkeen 1 and 2)

Post by Quillax »

If it helps, here's the entire file (from NetKeen 2):

Code: Select all

 %% PLEASE DO NOT MODIFY OR DELETE THIS FILE! %% 
 %% This file contains information about the installation of an application. %% 
 %% It will be used to automatically remove all application components from your computer if you choose to do so. %% 


NOTE: Beginning of the bootstrapper section

CONFIG: Title: "Demo"

ACTION: TempFile: "C:\Windows\setup1.exe"
(File was not found or was an older version -- new file copied)

ACTION: RegKey: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion", "SharedDLLs"

ACTION: SharedFile: "C:\Windows\System32\VB5StKit.dll"
(File currently on disk was already up to date)

NOTE: End of the bootstrapper section

NOTE: Now spawning the main Setup program 'C:\Windows\setup1.exe'....

ACTION: CreateDir: "c:\Fangames\NetKeen2play"

ACTION: PrivateFile: "c:\Fangames\NetKeen2play\DEMO.exe"
(File was not found or was an older version -- new file copied)

ACTION: SharedFile: "C:\Windows\System32\OGE1.dll"
(File currently on disk was already up to date)

ACTION: SharedFile: "C:\Windows\System32\OGEP_SideViewGame.dll"
(File currently on disk was already up to date)

ACTION: PrivateFile: "c:\Fangames\NetKeen2play\NetKeen.Pak"
(File was not found or was an older version -- new file copied)

ACTION: DllSelfRegister: "C:\Windows\System32\OGE1.dll"

ACTION: DllSelfRegister: "C:\Windows\System32\OGEP_SideViewGame.dll"

ACTION: ShellLink: "", "Demo"

ACTION: RegKey: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion", "App Paths\DEMO.exe"

ACTION: RegValue: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\DEMO.exe", ""

I don't see an uninstaller with both games, but the first game appears in my list of programs that can be uninstalled.
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Re: Meaning of ST5UNST.LOG (Netkeen 1 and 2)

Post by Quillax »

A while ago, I installed Keen MakeOver -- both versions. Each version, after installed, came with its own ST5UNST.LOG file pretty similar to the Netkeen duo. I wonder if these programs used a particular installer? I'm beginning to think that maybe K1n9_Duk3 is right about that the file is used for uninstalling purposes. (Also, I found Netkeen 2 in my list of programs that can be uninstalled -- it's called Demo, which is why I didn't notice at first.)
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