Autodesk has released a new security tool for 3DS Max that removes the recently proliferation of viruses found in Mac files. Called CRP, ADSL and ALC viruses, they can corrupt the 3DS Max environment, cause data loss and instability, and spread to other systems by sharing files.
The tool was included in 3DS Max 2019.2, but this release on the Autodesk App store adds compatibility with Max 2015 – 2019. Features of the tool include:
- Detects CRP, ADSL, and ALC in 3ds Max startup scripts, and keeps them clean of these corruptions
- Detects CRP, ADSL, and ALC in 3ds Max in scene files no matter how they are loaded into 3ds Max (merged, xrefed, drag and dropped, loaded through scripted commands, etc), and cleans them of these corruptions
- Ensures that 3ds Max will not save CRP, ADSL or ALC corrupted scenes
- Asks for user confirmation before cleaning startup scripts and scene data
- Works in quiet and other non-interactive usage scenarios of 3ds Max, such as command line rendering and batch scripting
- Logs all its actions to the system log (Max.log)
- Does not prevent the user from fully using 3ds Max even when choosing not to clean the startup scripts or scene data
Find out more about the viruses and the tool in Autodesk’s help.
3DS Max Security Tools is available free of charge from the Autodesk App Store.
FYI; the use of the term “virus” regarding these scripts is a bit broad, although their behavior is similar. Autodesk developers looked at the code, and noted that the ALC script in particular seemed to have been written as some sort of copy protection scheme, but was so badly coded that it ends of breaking Max controllers. These scripts don’t affect any other programs/files on your system, and are easily removed, but they’re definitely frustrating to encounter.