Strangest thing I've ever seen...

[longliveavg]

Today, once I got off the internet, I was performing my routine Quick Scan of my system with Malwarebytes (free). During the scan, about 30 secs in, a pop-up came up for a split second and then went away before I could read it. Malwarebytes started to freeze so instinctively I looked at the top of the interface and instead of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, it said Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (Trial). Even now, it's switching between Trial and normal version. The strangest thing is that I've already used up my trial so why is it doing this? I quickly turned off AVG Real-time Protection and scanned the web for exclusions and applied them. The computer seems to be behaving normally now except of course for Malwarebytes switching between Trial-mode and normal-mode. If anyone could help me with this problem, I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance!

[daledoc1]

Hi, longliveAVG:

Sounds like some minor corruption relating to the end of the PRO trial?

A clean reinstall would probably be the quickest way to resolve it.

Here are the steps (note -- the mbam.clean tool and reboots are important!):

• If you are running MBAM PRO, please be sure you have your license ID and key available (sent via email at the time of online purchase, or in the box).
  
• Download and run mbam-clean.exe from HERE.
  
• It will ask to restart your computer; please allow it to do so - this is very important!
  
• After the computer restarts, download the latest version of Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware from HERE, then temporarily disable your Anti-Virus and run the installer. (Ignore all 'Recommended' or 'Sponsored' software which are prominently displayed on the mirror sites -- they are ads and MBAM does not have any association with them.)
  
• If you are using MBAM PRO, you will need to reactivate (register) the program using the license ID & key. (If not, you can reactivate the 14-day PRO trial or continue to use the Free version, if you prefer.)
  
• Launch the MBAM program and (if you are using MBAM PRO) set the Protection and Registration.
  
• Then go to the UPDATE tab (if not done during installation) and check for updates.
  
• Restart the computer again and verify that MBAM is in the task tray (if using the PRO version).
  
• Now set up any file exclusions, as may be required in your Anti-Virus/Internet-Security/Firewall applications, and restart your Anti-Virus/Internet-Security applications. You may use the guides posted in the FAQs HERE, or ask and we'll explain how to do it.
  

Please let us know if this resolves your issue.

HTH,

daledoc1

[longliveavg]

Thank you for your reply daledoc1. Would it be necessary to have any exclusions for Malwarebytes (free) in AVG Free Edition? I don't want to start another trial, if that's even possible, all I want is to have Malwarebytes as my on-demand scanner with AVG Free. I'm pretty sure that I don't need exclusions for this but since you're the man, it's best to ask you

[longliveavg]

Unfortunately, when I restarted my computer after downloading Malwarebytes, when I logged in, my sound icon in the system tray is gone. I keep the sound at mute most of the time but the whole icon has never disappeared like this. I went into "Customize" and it says that this icon will be shown once it becomes active and that it is set to "Show icon and notifications" but it obviously isn't doing that. The good news is that Malwarebytes seems to be working again, but only God knows for how long. I've also tried turning the volume up and down from the keyboard but to no avail. All of this is very confusing, I've no idea what's happening.

[daledoc1]

Would it be necessary to have any exclusions for Malwarebytes (free) in AVG Free Edition?

It's not entirely necessary to set the mutual exclusions, especially if you are not experiencing any performance issues & you are only running MBAM Free.

However, it's not a bad idea to do so.

There are instructions in the FAQ section linked in my original reply -- or post back if you need us to provide more direct assistance.

(I don't personally use AVG, but we do have the stepwise instructions and another member who uses this combo (there are many) will post here to help you further.)

I'm just a home user unaffiliated in any way with the MBAM company, but, as a holder of 2 lifetime licenses of MBAM PRO, I think the cost is well worth the investment.

The PRO version offers REAL-TIME protection (better to prevent an infection than to have to remove one!), as well as a scheduler for automated updates/scans, incremental updates and other enhancements. JMHO.

Unfortunately, when I restarted my computer after downloading Malwarebytes, when I logged in, my sound icon in the system tray is gone.

I've never heard of that happening as a result of an MBAM download and cannot imagine why an MBAM download would do that.

That said, Windows (even Windows 7) does have a weird quirk with shortcut icons, & system tray and taskbar icons.

And sometimes, when rebooting after software updates, I've seen a missing icon or two.

It's probably a similar Windows hiccup & you may have a some unnecessary programs cluttering your startup folder.

Close all your open programs, click the start orb --> shutdown (rather than restart), wait ~30 seconds and then restart.

If this doesn't bring back your icon in the system tray, let us know and we will assist you further.

HTH,

daledoc1