Outlier

I'm sure they have to be aware of this by now but I just wanted to add myself to this list. Web Protection is stuck at "Starting..." and this just happened a few hours ago. I had version 3.06 when it started happening (and it was great for the 14 day trial period that just ended recently and so I am getting this days after purchasing the Premium version). After the problem started I updated to 3.1.2 but the problem still persists with that version too.

Closing all instances of IE in the Processes tab didn't solve the issue. However, the alerts do stop after the first alert and if I remain on the page. When closing IE and re-visiting the page again, the alert pops up. In Tools -> Internet Options -> Security tab, I reset all zones to default level. That didn't solve the issue either. Funny thing is, it's happening on this thread page as well as the Google home page. It's kind of a relief to know that others like yourself have had this problem too. Did you find a permanent fix or does it still happen to you every once in awhile? What did you do (other than closing iexplore.exe instances) that made it completely stop? If this is adding that extra layer of security, then I can live with it and it's a small price to pay. But if you have any other suggestion, I'm open to trying it...

Whenever I right-click any webpage (including this Malwarebytes page) and then press Properties, I get an alert from Malwarebytes saying it blocked a threat. Here are the details: After I get the alert, if I try right-clicking again and pressing Properties, then everything works as usual and I don't get another alert. But if I close the page and visit the site again, the same alert will happen. Again, this happens with EVERY webpage I visit. Is this a known false positive or should I be concerned that something is lurking within my Internet Explorer? I'm using IE 11.

I just read the thread you posted above and it explained the importance of having both anti-virus software like Norton (which would proactively check a website for malware as you visit it (or supposedly it does that), as well as a program like Malwarebytes (which deals with malware in a much more specialized manner than regular anti-virus programs). By the way, I've seen that forum before from www.bleepingcomputer.com Alot of people seem to refer to it. Is that officially associated with Malwarebytes or is that a separate forum?

I installed the Malwarebytes 3 trial, did a threat scan, and nothing was detected. So far my computer is running fine. But I don't want to have a false sense of security if you say there's another check to verify that my system is actually clean. Could you please let me know about it?

Thank-you for the info. I did do a Malwarebytes threat scan before the Norton Anti-virus scan. But I recall that before I did the Norton "full scan", I did the Norton "quick scan" and that did not detect anything either. It is only when I did the Norton "full scan" that it detected those 2 files in the windows/temp folder. Anyway, I take it that the paid version of Malwarebytes automatically scans your computer whereas in the free version you have to do it manually? What's the recommended frequency of scans? Once a day? When you visit a website, you mentioned Malwarebytes checks the url against known bad websites. But if the site is not in the database, does it do anything proactively to check the site for malicious scripts or malware?

Ok thanks. By "real time" protection, does Malwarebytes 3 check every website as you click on it, every program as you install it, and every email that you receive before you get to read it? How about the other things that the writer wrote like "some files reported as quarantined were still present." Is this accurate or is that an outdated article?

When I did a Google search for "Malwarebytes reviews", the first result that shows up is from pcmag.com http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2455505,00.asp For cons, it says "No real-time protection. Missed older malware samples in testing. In testing, some files reported as quarantined were still present." How do you respond to that? Is this article referring to the free version or paid version?

In the meantime, I configured my emails to be converted to plain text only. Not as nice to look at, but hopefully it reduces the risk of executing hidden scripts in html. If I get Malwarebytes 3, is it not good enough to simply run a threat scan?

I wouldn't have opened it whether it was a .pdf or an .exe. So it had been in the Windows/Temp folder. I did experience unusually high cpu usage causing everything to run slowly, almost to the point to not being able to do anything at all. Restarting helped, but the situation would sometimes happen again. So far, after I did a Norton Anti-Virus full scan and they removed those files, it seems ok for right now. But I've been reading that malicious javascripts can be put into html emails so you don't necessarily have to open anything in an email to get infected. So I'm thinking of getting the MalwareBytes 3, but I kind of what to know how it works first...

If I try the 14 day trial of Malwarebytes 3, and then decide to just go with the free service, are those free services the same services we're getting now with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 2.2.1.1043? Can anyone explain how Malwarebytes 3 work? Is it anything like the Cryptoprevent program where it denies permission to sensitive areas of your computer unless you allow it? What if I change my computer? Can I take the Malwarebytes 3 with me to my new computer? And can it be used simultaneously with Norton Anti-Virus?

A virus was found in my c:/windows/temp folder. The virus name is: e m s ( 320950286501108 ).pdf.exe I researched this virus and it said it comes from an email from a fake Japan Post Express Mail Service. People supposedly get it by opening an attachment from this email. I get tons of spam email every day and it's my habit to delete them immediately (from Outlook 2010). I NEVER open attachments from emails. I do recall fake emails from something like this but I don't believe I would have opened any attachment from it. Is it possible that this malware ended up in my windows temp folder WITHOUT me having opened an attachment?

Is it possible that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware can miss something that Norton Anti-virus picks up? I did a Malwarebytes scan and it found nothing. Then I did a Norton Anti-virus scan (Full Scan) and it picked up two viruses: 0288377485.ord.pdf.exe located in c:/windows/temp/cc15a1.tmp and e m s ( 320950286501108 ).pdf.exe located in c:/windows/temp/cc37cf.tmp The database for Malwarebytes Anti-Malware was up-to-date. Is it because it only does a partial scan? Note, I'm using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 2.2.1.1043 (but again, the database was up-to-date).

As for backing up, I was thinking of just getting an external hard drive (ie/ Western Digital MyBook) and just copying and pasting my important files. Do you think that would be good enough? I'm reluctant to use any software because that would mean leaving the backup device connected. Do you have any hardware recommendations for backing up purposes? Western Digital is a known name but I've stayed away from them because one of them broke on me years ago (could just be bad luck).

Thanks for the reply. I've since learned that it's the Cryptowall 2 infection. When I looked more closely at the "ransom" note, the perpetrators actually say what the infection is. There's an active main thread for this infection on this site which I've been following (I wasn't able to paste the link). It seems to be getting many people.

Some of my files like Word docs, Excel docs, pictures, and even 3rd party files cannot be opened any more because some hacker left a note in the folder saying that payment must be made at paytordmbdekmizq.pay4tor.com in order to decrypt the files so I can use them again. I've heard of this being called file hostage. This is the first time it's ever happened to me. Norton 360 scanned one of the folders involved and found nothing. Can anyone tell me what my options are? Does anyone know if paying actually gets your files back? Also, how would the hacker have gotten into my pc in the first place? Did I simply click on his site, download a pic? I'm usually careful about not installing unknown .exe files so it must've been other means. Does anyone have any idea of what I could do to fix this?

When I start my computer, I get 2 Norton warnings: "An intrusion attempt by 31.3.239.140 was blocked" and there was a block from another computer as well. Under details it says "Network traffic from maps.wiwuvy.ed:82/y3nx095hcc matches the signature of a known attack. The attack resulted from \DEVICE\HARDDISKVOLUME3\WINDOWS\SYSWOW64\SVCHOST.EXE Norton says that no action is required and a Malwarebytes scan (including a scan for rootkit) shows up nothing. So on the surface it seems everything might be ok, but when I go to Task Manager, look at the processes, a svchost.exe *32 process is taking up around 300,000k of memory. I've seen that fluctuate and go up to almost 1 GB at times. That specific process usually takes up less than 20,000k (I've been keeping my eye on it for the last few days). It seems to only increase significantly like that after these Norton warnings. And the Norton warning itself says that the attack resulted from that specific file (svchost.exe). Please tell me if I'm reading this wrong but if Norton is telling you that an attack resulted from a file in your computer (svchost.exe), and you see that process consume significant memory immediately afterwards, isn't that saying that there's already something wrong in your computer? (ie/ potentially infected)? I'm using Windows 7 (SP1, 64 bit). If anyone knows, please let me know if I'm worried for nothing. I've kept a clean computer for many years & my pc's have very rarely have been infected so this is kind of freaking me out right now.