Protection

[geoffcg]

I turn on protection using the PRO version of Malwarebytes. The user interface then selects the Enable option and greys it out, so protection cannot be turned off without rebooting the computer. I've noticed that, if I right-click the Malwarebytes icon in the system tray to open the menu, I can click the checked ENABLED option and, then, the next time I click the system tray icon, the Enabled option is not checked; but it would seem Malwarebytes still has protection on if the user interface is to be believed. I find that, with protection on, my oldish computer slows down too much to leave it on permanently; but I like to turn on protection when doing sensitive things, like online banking.

Why is it not possible to turn off protection mode without a reboot?

TIA.

[exile360]

Greetings

You can fully disable protection by right-clicking on the tray icon and choosing Exit then clicking Yes at the confirmation prompt. If you then open the Protection tab in Malwarebytes Anti-Malware you'll see that the Enable protection module. checkbox is now unchecked.

[geoffcg]

I see - and very many thanks for your reply.

The solution is a little counter-intuitive. However, the Exit option, WHEN CLICKED, does show a prompt to the effect that you're about to exit protection mode; and it does make sense now that I think about it. It's just that I wouldn't have thought of choosing "Exit" instead of another click on the "Enable Protection" option. And, if Malwarebytes is happy that an exit from the protection module should be possible, it seems odd that the "Enable Protection Module" option is greyed out in the user-interface. If I remember correctly, an older version of Malwarebytes did not grey out this option, so it was possible to disable the protection module from within the user-interface. This is not a complaint! I'm very glad Malwarebytes works so well at protecting my system!

Thanks again.

[geoffcg]

Oh - and one further point: If you click Exit on the System tray menu while the Malwarebytes user-interface is open, the user-interface continues to show that the protection module is active (although it probably isn't); only when the user-interface is closed and re-opened does it then show that the protection module has been deactivated.

[exile360]

Oh - and one further point: If you click Exit on the System tray menu while the Malwarebytes user-interface is open, the user-interface continues to show that the protection module is active (although it probably isn't); only when the user-interface is closed and re-opened does it then show that the protection module has been deactivated.

Correct, but you don't have to close and re-open it, you can simply switch tabs and then switch back to the Protection tab and it will accurately reflect the status as well.

As for the reason the tray menu options differ from what is observed in the Protection tab, it's simply because even when unchecking Enable Protection from the tray menu, it leaves the protection module itself active (i.e. the tray) as well as the Website Blocking component of the protection module, it only disables the active memory threat blocking component, that's why you must exit the tray itself for protection to fully be disabled, and thus reflected as such in the Protection tab.

[geoffcg]

...it leaves the protection module itself active (i.e. the tray) as well as the Website Blocking component of the protection module, it only disables the active memory threat blocking component...

I see. Many thanks.

In that case, I think the "Exit" option could be better described on the system-tray menu for users like me. I don't know what would propertly describe what's going on, but something like "Exit Protection Mode" would do the trick.

I'm still not clear why exiting the Protection Module can't be done in the user-interface, as that, for me, is the obvious place. I had only thought of right-clicking the system-tray icon today to see if other options were available. I'd suggest a change to the user-interface, since I bet I'm not the only one who's thought along the same lines as me. It is a much better user/product experience KNOWING that the Protection Module can be turned off without rebooting.

For the timebeing, I'm done here as you've helpfully given me the solution I need.

Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction.

[exile360]

You're welcome, I'm glad to be of service .

I agree that the UI of the Protection tab could be clearer and is in need of an overhaul (it was originally created when we only had the threat execution protection to block threats in memory before the IP blocker existed).