exile360

Greetings, I took a look at your logs and there appear to be a lot of issues with your system. The main issue I noticed immediately is that a lot of default Windows system services have been disabled, and I suspect this is the reason Web Protection is not working as one of them is a requirement/dependency for the Web Protection component in Malwarebytes: --------------bfe-------------- Type: Share Process State: Stopped Start Mode: Disabled Exit Code: 1077 File Path: %SystemRoot%\System32\bfe.dll To fix this particular service you can use the Start Repair function in the Malwarebytes Support Tool and it will reset that specific service back to its default setting. Once it has, follow the onscreen instructions to restart your system and then Web Protection should work when Malwarebytes starts up again. As for all the other services, it is up to you if you deliberately disabled them, however I'd highly recommend being very cautious when disabling Windows services unless you really know what you are doing as many of them can cause both minor and major issues if disabled and can break core system functionality. It is true that some default system services are for arbitrary features that most people do not need or use, however unless you know specifically which ones are actually safe to disable and which ones are not, I'd highly recommend not altering them from their defaults. Anyway, I hope this helps, and please let us know if the issue persists after running the repair function in the Suppot Tool and restarting. Thanks

Thanks, it looks like it ran correctly that time. I'm seeing a lot of AV references, likely leftover components/traces from past installs. Some for Avast, Kaspersky, and there also appears to be at least one Group Policy restriction, though I'm not certain exactly what it is: GroupPolicy: Restriction ? <==== ATTENTION I also noticed UAC is not configured to its default setting: Consent Prompt Behavior Admin: Off Those last two likely aren't related but I thought you should be aware, especially if you didn't make those changes yourself. That said, I think I've discovered the root of the problem. Aside from having a pretty large number of security tools running at startup, you're running a pretty old system; a Pentium D from 2006 (I used to have the precursor to your model chip; the Pentium D 830 3.0GHz so I'm pretty familiar with its level of performance): Pentium(R) D CPU 3.40GHz Malwarebytes is a fairly demanding app, especially on startup and when launching scans as it has to load its various drivers and databases into memory, so that's likely the cause of the delay, just waiting its turn and doing its work to get its various components into memory while all those other startups are running, and since you've got a CPU that is limited to 2 threads and has relatively low IPC compared to most modern chips/systems, that likely accounts for the delays. As for the traces of those other AVs I found, if you want to try to remove them (I would if it were me), the following tools should prove useful: Avast Uninstall Utility Kaspersky Removal Tool Instructions for resetting UAC to its default settings can be found on this page if you wish to do so. The leftovers from COMODO probably either need to be removed by hand or by reinstalling the program temporarily then removing it normally via Programs and Features using its built in uninstaller, then if needed you can give the uninstall tool a shot again (I say this because you mentioned you already ran it, and also because they actually highlight that users should try the built in uninstaller first, and I suspect it is because they probably aren't thoroughly cleaning up every trace of the program which explains the leftovers we found): Comodo Uninstaller Tool Anyway, I hope this helps. I realize it isn't likely to eliminate the performance issue you're seeing with Malwarebytes, but it still may help your overall system performance and it doesn't hurt to remove these leftovers from past AVs as they can lead to issues with other programs sometimes.

I don't have access to any internal documents/info so I don't have any updates unfortunately, and as far as I know they don't publish any sort of public roadmaps, at least none that I am aware of, likely because of the way that priorities can shift when unforeseen issues or requirements might arise (GDPR being a recent example, which likely took priority over pretty much everything since it is a government/legal mandate and compliance is not optional). As far as this specific feature goes, I haven't heard anything about it but I did report the request/this thread to the team as I said I would. They don't generally respond to me with any of their plans/decisions/roadmaps etc. so it's pretty much a one-way system. I just report the request/feedback/info and they do with it what they will, though it does go straight to the Product Managers who are the ones that make the decisions for the most part so the right people are receiving it, I just can't speak for them regarding their priorities, roadmaps or decisions.

Thanks. Unfortunately it looks like the tool was unable to run some components due to being unable to access the internet. If you wouldn't mind, please try running the tool again, this time ensuring that you are connected to the internet and that the tool isn't being blocked by your firewall then upload the new ZIP file. I also found references to these programs in your logs and it is possible that one or more of them is slowing down Malwarebytes so if you haven't excluded Malwarebytes/configured it as a trusted application in these programs, assuming they also launch on startup then that could also be a contributing factor: NoVirusThanks Sandboxie Windows 10 Firewall Control VoodooShield I also spotted references to COMODO, though I'm unsure what COMODO program is installed. Also keep in mind that running too many security apps at the same time may also be affecting system performance as some combinations may not get along very well so you also might try disabling and/or removing each of those one at a time and restarting after each to see if removing or disabling any one or more of them helps.

I have instructions on running the tool here if required: Tweaking.com Windows Repair All-in-One Download Tweaking.com Windows Repair from here and install it or if you would prefer, you may instead download and extract the portable version from here Once installed or extracted, launch Repair_Windows.exe Click on the Repairs - Main tab Click on the Open Repairs button Once it displays the list of repairs, click the checkbox next to All Repairs so that everything listed is UNCHECKED Now, click the checkbox next to Reset Registry Permissions and Reset File Permissions so that they are checked Click on the Start Repairs button at the bottom Once it completes, allow it to restart your system Once that's done, install Malwarebytes once more over the top of your existing installation to see if the issue is now corrected.

You're welcome, I'm glad I could help I'm sorry that you won't be able to use it on your older laptop. The info is on the main Mac product page on the website at the very bottom of the page (pretty typical for software system requirements these days, and while I understand why it's done this way, I've always personally preferred they be listed at or near the very top as specs/requirements are vital to knowing if a piece of software will run on your device or not). It's likely somewhere in the help knowledgebase and in the user guide for the software, but again, you'd sort of have to dig to find those, though there is a handy search function. I don't exactly have a to of sway, but I will suggest to the Malwarebytes team that they provide this information more transparently/visibly as there's no good reason I can think of not to. Anyone with an incompatible device will just end up seeking a refund anyway and not only does Malwarebytes provide a pretty lengthy refund period, I'm also pretty sure they wouldn't try to deny anyone in that situation a refund even if it's a bit past that period, especially since they can see via their own licensing system whether the software has been successfully installed and activated (something that would be impossible to accomplish on an incompatible device/operating system) so they would see the software/license has never been used/activated and when reported by the user they could easily verify that and would likely issue the refund because of that fact. Again, I can't speak directly for them and that's just my speculation, but I've never known them to be a company without compassion, understanding and fair treatment of their users and customer base, and their reputation is worth a lot more to them than the price of one or two subscriptions.

This method works, just be aware that it also prevents notifications should any other module of protection fail/be disabled for any reason. You can quickly check the status of your protection components by right-clicking on the Malwarebytes notification area/tray icon: Likewise, you can check the status in the Dashboard tab of the main Malwarebytes UI:

From a security perspective I can understand why they made the change. The entire purpose of stricter password requirements is to reduce the probability of customer accounts getting hacked so it applies to all accounts, including existing ones which may have weaker passwords. That said, I would prefer a better implementation where it notifies the user upon logging in that they are required to change their password and simply force them to create a stronger password that adheres to the new requirements when they do. I've seen other sites and applications do it this way and it worked well. I will suggest this to the team to help avoid all these issues and confusion over the new standards and hopefully they will be able to make it happen.

Greetings, It depends on your hardware and the other startups on your system to a certain extent obviously, but that definitely sounds like longer than normal. Please do the following so that we may take a look at your configuration to try and determine what might be the cause of the slow startup: Download and run the Malwarebytes Support Tool Accept the EULA and click Advanced tab on the left (not Start Repair) Click the Gather Logs button, and once it completes, attach the zip file it creates on your desktop to your next reply Thanks

Yeah, it's so large because that is where virtually all the primary data for the main service that protection, scanning and many of the application's functions run through/load through. It's pretty typical for there to be some errors in there. If anything serious goes wonky the application will let you know about it or will take steps to correct it on its own (i.e. recovering from known good backups automatically if its data files become corrupt and retrying updates etc.).

It most likely is related to fast startup even if you've never experienced this issue previously. Any change in startup timing and/or the number of startup items can trigger it as can driver updates and even Windows Updates. That said, if disabling fast startup doesn't eliminate it then the next possible culprit would be if you run any third party AV software (i.e. an AV besides the included Windows Defender) as it may be causing issues with Malwarebytes starting up for some reason and exclusions may be needed to correct the problem (though if that were the case I'd expect it to happen on every startup rather than intermittently as you're reporting which does lead me to believe that it is far more likely to be caused by fast startup).

No idea, but it's certainly possible. I don't know enough about Windows 10 to say one way or the other as I'm still using 7 here.

If your configuration doesn't change frequently you could also get it set the way you prefer then set that key to deny access even to the SYSTEM account that way the system/software cannot make any changes to it, though if you ever needed to connect to any new networks you'd need to change permissions on it again. If your setup is relatively static then it might be worth considering.

Greetings, You can still create an account and that would be the best thing to do that way you can manage your license(s) going forward rather than having to wait on Support to reset your key for you. To do so, create an account at My.Malwarebytes.com using, if possible, the same email address you used when you originally purchased your license (assuming you still have access to that email address) and then deactivate the license there. Details on signing up can be found in this support article as well as this support article and you'll find info on how to manage and deactivate your license in this support article and this support article. If you no longer have access to your original email address then please refer to the information in this support article and if you still aren't able to get it deactivated then you should contact Support by filling out the form on the bottom of this page and they will assist you. I hope this helps, and if there is anything else we might assist you with please let us know. Thanks

You're very welcome By the way, by default Malwarebytes is also configured to alert you if its databases get too far out of date. You can also review the logs for Malwarebytes to determine how each update check goes as it will show errors if it is unable to connect to the servers in the logs or if anything else goes wrong during the update process. The main log you'll want to focus on is C:\ProgramData\Malwarebytes\MBAMService\logs\MBAMSERVICE.LOG. Just look for entries similar to the following (this is from a successful update check where no new databases were available/it was already up to date): 06/03/19 " 13:29:06.621" 33254202 0a54 0b74 INFO UpdateControllerImpl mb::updatecontrollerimpl::CUpdateControllerImpl::ValidateDBManifest "updatecontrollerimplhelper.cpp" 5081 "Signature successfully validated" 06/03/19 " 13:29:06.922" 33254499 0a54 0b74 INFO UpdateControllerImpl mb::updatecontrollerimpl::CUpdateControllerImpl::ValidateDBManifest "updatecontrollerimplhelper.cpp" 5085 "DB manifest successfully validated" 06/03/19 " 13:29:06.922" 33254499 0a54 0b74 INFO UpdateControllerImpl mb::updatecontrollerimpl::CUpdateControllerImpl::CheckDbManifest "updatecontrollerimplhelper.cpp" 5436 "Validated DB manifest - success" 06/03/19 " 13:29:06.924" 33254514 0a54 0b74 INFO UpdateControllerImpl mb::updatecontrollerimpl::CUpdateControllerImpl::DoUpdate "updatecontrollerimplhelper.cpp" 687 "DoUpdate - Starting check for updates (automatic)" 06/03/19 " 13:29:06.924" 33254514 0a54 0b74 INFO UpdateControllerImpl mb::updatecontrollerimpl::CUpdateControllerImpl::DoUpdate "updatecontrollerimplhelper.cpp" 696 "Checking for: Installer=[Yes], SDK/Ctlr=[Yes], DB/CLS=[Yes]" 06/03/19 " 13:29:06.924" 33254514 0a54 0b74 INFO UpdateControllerImpl mb::updatecontrollerimpl::CUpdateControllerImpl::GetInstalledPkgVersions "updatecontrollerimplhelper.cpp" 1362 "Installer package --> [mbam-c.installer.consumer], current version: [3.7.1]" 06/03/19 " 13:29:06.924" 33254514 0a54 0b74 INFO UpdateControllerImpl mb::updatecontrollerimpl::CUpdateControllerImpl::GetInstalledPkgVersions "updatecontrollerimplhelper.cpp" 1401 "SDK/Controller package --> [mbam-c.ctlr.64bitv2], current version: [1.0.586]" 06/03/19 " 13:29:06.924" 33254514 0a54 0b74 INFO UpdateControllerImpl mb::updatecontrollerimpl::CUpdateControllerImpl::GetInstalledPkgVersions "updatecontrollerimplhelper.cpp" 1435 "DB/ClsEng package --> [mbam-c.dbcls.64bitv2], current version: [1.0.10886]" 06/03/19 " 13:29:07.511" 33255091 0a54 0b74 INFO UpdateControllerImpl mb::updatecontrollerimpl::CUpdateControllerImpl::DoUpdate "updatecontrollerimplhelper.cpp" 730 "Checked for updates - no updates available" 06/03/19 " 13:29:07.511" 33255091 0a54 0b74 INFO UpdateControllerImpl mb::updatecontrollerimpl::CUpdateControllerImpl::DoUpdate "updatecontrollerimplhelper.cpp" 756 "Update check is complete." You can easily locate entries related to updates by searching the log for the term update or updatecontroller using the search function built into your text viewer/editor. If anything went wrong you'll see something like WARNING or ERROR in the place of INFO and details in the details that follow on the line for each such entry.

I took a look at your topic and while I don't work for Malwarebytes so I cannot say for certain, I did find the following regarding system requirements for the Mac version on the bottom of this page:

You could then import the reg via a batch file and use the Task Scheduler to schedule a task to do the import with highest privileges (no UAC prompt) and schedule it to occur whenever you want like on system startup or just have it there to run on demand from the Task Scheduler.

It may be easier with a .reg file. You could delete the entire key then re-add the ones for your network profiles that are persistent. Just grab an export of the reg key from regedit after it's been cleaned up then edit the export to include a first line that wipes out the entire thing so that it gets emptied then recreates the ones you want to keep around.

Yeah, I don't think it accepts wildcards by default (that's what the /s switch is for I believe). I assume you know how to do output to a text file using > and >> or of course you can pipe the output using |.

By the way, if you want the output of the entire key's contents including any subkeys and values/value data then use the /s switch at the end leaving a space between the end of the key/path and the /s. And don't forget to place quotation marks around the value when querying a specific value name using the /v switch again, if the value name contains any spaces (and you can use them even if it doesn't; it's a good habit to get into to avoid errors when paths/names do have spaces).

I'd bet the problem is the \ at the end of the key name. It shouldn't be there and the name of the key/path you're querying should just end with the last letter of the path name (and the quotes should be around it if there are any spaces in the path, otherwise you can leave them out though I personally always include them just to be safe). Try this: reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\NetworkList\Profiles"

I'd suggest just using the Deactivate all function documented in this support article. Once that's done the two devices where Malwarebytes was already active should activate again on their own as soon as they are next online and the third one will be freed up so that you may activate your third device.

You're welcome My research continues, but I'm not too optimistic about where things are headed. The future looks grim if companies continue to abuse privacy as they are because the tools at their disposal for this purpose are only becoming more powerful and more diverse in their capabilities.

Yep, you can click 'Run anyway', that's just Windows Defender being cautious since it doesn't recognize the file. It isn't malicious, and if you want to be safe you can upload it to VirusTotal to have it scanned.

No idea, it downloads fine for me here. Perhaps try a different browser?