diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 9682782fa..ee5dbe081 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -11,6 +11,8 @@
 /doc/doxyfile
 /dist/
 /.cache/
+/.vs/
+/out/
 
 # MSVC project files:
 *.sln
diff --git a/src/lib_json/json_reader.cpp b/src/lib_json/json_reader.cpp
index 1ac5e81ab..11a18d578 100644
--- a/src/lib_json/json_reader.cpp
+++ b/src/lib_json/json_reader.cpp
@@ -44,8 +44,16 @@
 
 // Define JSONCPP_DEPRECATED_STACK_LIMIT as an appropriate integer at compile
 // time to change the stack limit
+// NOTE:LEA: reduced JSONCPP_DEPRECATED_STACK_LIMIT from 1000 to 500. This is the stack limit
+//           of the Reader::nodes_ and not the call stack limit of the system. At 1000, with a
+//           json file designed to cause stack overflow (as a hacking tool) this would overflow
+//           the system callstack when the Reader::nodes_ was only at 662 or so
+//           For Techsmith's purposes, we never have project nodes nested so deeply, so 500 seems
+//           like a perfectly reasonable limit and should not cause any projects to fail to load.
+//           Also, when trying to create that deep a nesting by repeated grouping of a media,
+//           Camtasiaa failed at ~150 levels deep so I could not get anywhere near 500.
 #if !defined(JSONCPP_DEPRECATED_STACK_LIMIT)
-#define JSONCPP_DEPRECATED_STACK_LIMIT 1000
+#define JSONCPP_DEPRECATED_STACK_LIMIT 500
 #endif
 
 static size_t const stackLimit_g =
@@ -601,10 +609,11 @@ bool Reader::decodeDouble(Token& token, Value& decoded) {
   double value = 0;
   String buffer(token.start_, token.end_);
   IStringStream is(buffer);
+  is.imbue( std::locale::classic() );
   if (!(is >> value)) {
-    if (value == std::numeric_limits<double>::max())
+    if (buffer.length() > 0 && buffer[0] != '-')
       value = std::numeric_limits<double>::infinity();
-    else if (value == std::numeric_limits<double>::lowest())
+    else if (buffer.length() > 0 && buffer[0] == '-')
       value = -std::numeric_limits<double>::infinity();
     else if (!std::isinf(value))
       return addError(