I've been using Malwarebytes for years now and have been pretty satisfied overall. Today I was prompted to download an update. After downloading the update, I ran into an error which said that it couldn't replace a file that already existed. The options were Retry, Ignore, or Abort. After hitting Retry a few times, I hit Abort and it appears that Malwarebytes was completely uninstalled from my computer.
I reinstalled the basic version but ran into the same error. This time I hit Ignore. After hitting Ignore twice, it uploaded. However, while Malwarebytes shows up in my tray, and says that I'm protected (see below) clicking on the "Open Malwarebytes" icon does nothing.
Literally nothing happens when I click the tab. I went to the file in my computer and clicking it there doesn't launch either. Trying to rename the file to "explorer.exe" as suggested in a thread from a year and a half ago doesn't work either as it will not accept administrator position (see below):
I am the only one who uses this device and have never had issues doing anything like this before. That same thread indicates there might be a rootkit problem which has me worried. I've had a few hiccups with the program over the years but this is by far the most severe issue I've encountered. I'm hesitant to try reinstalling because the program's failure to download updates and install properly was what started this whole debacle. Please advise.