rgam

This is the issue: I've told everyone that I had use MB to always look at the System Tray for the 'M' bat icon and make sure there is nothing but the solid blue color. Because if real-time protection isn't on, it changes. I guess I never was using/recommending MB when it was free, and until recently I don't think MB did this silent reversion to Free version. So, while you can have Premium and get a warning that you don't have real-time protection, apparently you can't count on getting the warning as MB can decide to deactivate your Premium without any notice whatsoever, and the tray icon remains identical to all protections enabled. This is ridiculous.

(I would add that on this machine where the software is totally gone, I have an 'instlrupdate' folder in the Malwarebytes Tree that has an mb3-setup----3.8.3... executeable sitting there, and it is impossible to delete even with administrator rights. This file has a date stamp of July 18, 2019, and I would guess that's when MB got uninstalled - probably as MB decided it should update itself (unattended?) and probably ran into some issue. This is unacceptable. But par for the course with MB.

I have a machine (that is primarily unattended) that has had the same damn thing happen on more than 1 occasion. Utterly ridiculous. Completely disappeared from Desktop, System Tray, and Add/Remove Programs (Windows 7). I AM ROYALLY UPSET with this. This is totally unacceptable, and 1 of the reasons why I will not continue to recommend MB. Support is pretty worthless/useless at MB.

Still think this behavior is insane and potential legal liability for MB........... Beyond insanity to take up resources (and sending telemetry to MB?) for free version when it is just as convenient to put an icon on desktop to start up the software. I know how to make it not start with Windows and how to stop it when it's in the tray - but most of the people I'm dealing with do not.

WHY would anyone want MB running in System Tray all the time when it has reverted to FREE version with NO REALTIME Protection? The de-licensing that is happening doesn't go to a trial with real-time protection, it goes to NO realtime protection, but still shows the system tray icon as if you are protected? That's crazy! And I never thought that was the case.

First, let me say that I appreciate the apology/post by Bdubrow currently at top of this forum about the licensing system change. Second, I'm not yet convinced I want to keep doing biz with the company - still haven't resolved devices/licenses, problem exacerbated by this hitting at same time upgrading/replacing some of the computers. But, the main reason for this post - it appears to me that with the newest/newer versions of MB, the system tray icon gives no indication that the Premium version has been reverted to Free. So, all the people I've told to "make sure you see the bat icon as 1 solid color/no !/etc" is no longer sufficient: a system that's been silently changed to Free by MB still has the same icon that Premium would - no indication!?

I will do final update to my post -> Thanks to the volunteers in this forum who have been way more helpful that MB Support. I never did get a call or email or contact from a support manager, and there never was anything other than this, rec'd yesterday from support after FIVE days: "Yes unfortunately you will have to deactivate all of your machines and go back 1 x 1 and activate them each and manually enter the names yourself."' Not helpful at all. I also figured out that to remove a credit card on MALWAREBYTES OWN WEBSITE, I had to first find my Cleverbridge Receipts from years ago, and click on a link there which took me to a Cleverbridge website that allowed me to stop the automatic renewal. (A well-designed and thought out system would have a link on the Malwarebytes My Account page to do this - I assume Cleverbridge still gets a commission at each renewal. I'm guess MB has stopped using Cleverbridge now. And finally, my mistake about my computer slowdown with 3.8.3 - not really caused solely by MB - I found that the Teamviewer running at startup is a factor -i.e., remove TV and computer faster. Did my first test of a competing product to replace MB, and while the computer was noticeably faster overall in both startup and running local non-Internet-connected software and browsing, I had other issues that to me were quite serious - vendor acknowledged interference with some of Windows core features that they are "working on" and have been "working on" for a month or more and still not fixed. So, I will concede - while I've had problems with MB, none of the machines running it have gotten seriously infected, and none have been unable to run included Windows stuff like the competitor I tried.... I don't think I'll find my nirvana with any of the vendors hawking AV/Antimalware, but I am going to try.

(New unplanned addition to my to-do's: starting right now, remove MB and try other products to replace MB. I don't see a way out of the MY ACCOUNT portal mess in a timely fashion and then check AV-TEST results scares me as MB seems to do relatively poorly compared to competitors.) HOW do I change my subscriptions to NOT automatically renew? I do not see any way on MY Account. And, there is also NO WAY to remove my credit card info since My Account says can't remove a credit card that's linked to automatic renewal!

Not all of them. I can't do it all at once because of location/time zone and schedule issues.

The devices are not all at same location. I deactivated everything yesterday, and attempting to add back 1 at a time in a way I can identify. I have not edited any names, and the ones I add, at least at the time I add them, have a device name. I think what may be happening is: when deactivate all is done, any device that was using that license will automatically on its own at some point within 24 hours reactivate? I'm really not sure what's going on, because in past, my observation was that the registered date never changes, so I don't understand why I've got these new un-named devices with today's/yesterday's date because as far as I know, no new devices were activated today(yesterday)

I do appreciate the Staff & Volunteers efforts to respond here in the forum, but I am getting about at the end of my rope. I AM REALLY TRYING TO keep the family/friends I'm responsible for protected, but this licensing system you have now is SO BAD it is IMPOSSIBLE! Here's a snippet from the details of one of my multi-seat licenses today: Yes, these ARE ALL ACTIVATIONS TODAY WITHOUT ANY IDENTIFYING INFORMATION! What the heck is going on. And not only that, ON TWO OF MY WINDOWS 7 PERSONAL COMPUTERS, THE LATEST 3.8.3 VERSION HAS SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT FIRST OCCURRED WITH THE FIRST RELEASES OF 3.X MB: SUPER SLOWNESS AT BOOTUP/LOGIN. I've got a super fast computer that this new release brings to its knees. This just started happening with the update. Damn it, I REALLY NEED TO FIND AN ALTERNATIVE TO THIS MESS! At least all my 19 licenses are set to expire fairly soon.

Thank you, Ron - I have been trying over the years (maybe 1st activation was 2015) to keep track, but I will admit that I did not do a perfect job - and until recently it didn't matter. My issue started as have been recently replacing old computers - this combined with the sudden 'tightening' has created a mess for me. I think part of what's happening is the very first time a machine that MB identifies in some unknown undocumented unannounced way activates a license, the Computer Name if it's a Windows machine becomes the Device name, and that Device Name stays the same even if Computer Name is changed. SO - let's say I buy new computer, and I change the mfr-assigned name, then install MB. That's the name of the device? But I buy 2 computers, and decide the 2nd goes to the 1st person, and need to change the name. Now, I have MB showing me names that don't reflect reality. There are lots of other scenarios where this half-baked license management system just fails....... That's why this reminds me so much of the initial 3.0 MB release that WASN'T READY. This licensing change IS NOT READY and WAS NOT THOUGHT THROUGH.

(BTW - how does one edit their own post already made - I don't see any option to do that but there was a post above by user bru showing it was edited) What I'm no finding as I'm wasting my time trying to figure out this licensing mess - I have at least one device where the name of the device is not, nor has ever been, the name of the device! Where is MB getting this?

So, yesterday, TWO WEEKS AFTER I requested help from MB Support to identify devices activated with no solution, I deactivated everything and started over. The computers I added showed on My Account with a NAME that I could identify. 24 hours later, MY ACCOUNT has the NAMES REMOVED ON MOST OF THEM! AND ARE UNIDENTIFIABLE AGAIN!!!!! What kind of operation are they running?????

Maybe we need way to contact the people actually responsible for making these decisions? https://www.malwarebytes.com/company/ Looks like they got new talent to increase $$$$$$ coming in. Heck with what it does to valid customers....? Tom Fox Chief Financial Officer Tom joined the company in 2018 and leads the finance, accounting, and legal teams at Malwarebytes. He brings more than 20 years of experience in helping technology companies drive growth and profitability.