Unknown Computer Appears in Printerpoint Agents list

Sometimes an unknown agent named "John-PC" appears in the list of agents for a customer. This occurs when the customer is running Avast security software on their network. Avast runs a security scan of all downloads, and then uploads any executable files that they don't recognize to their QA lab for automated testing. The testing is done on a Virtual Machine using the Windows 7 operating system with a machine name of "John-PC". It will register with Printerpoint once, and then never connect again.

This agent is not on the customer's network and has no ability to read information on the customer's network or information about the customer or dealer in Printerpoint. It resides only in a sandbox environment in the Avast QA lab.
 
The reason they test, and the reason the computer shows up as an installed agent has to do with the architecture of the Printerpoint installer. Every installation file you download from Printerpoint is unique because we customize it with a customer ID, so we can associate the installation with the correct customer without them having to enter any information. But, because the software file is different every time, Avast tests the file every time. This is a known issue with Avast's QA process and has been documented with other software that uses a unique installation file for each download.
 
We are working with Avast and other security software companies to request that they test in an environment not connected to the internet so the agent doesn't register, or provide us guidance on how to alter the installation file so this no longer happens. We'll update this article when we have more information.
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