Suggestion for a GREAT program

[ladydog]

First of all, I'm new and I wanted to THANK YOU for creating this program. It got rid of Live Security Platinum when Nod32 didn't catch it. No, I'm not blaming ESET really, since I realize that no AV program will catch everything, but it's something they should consider adding to their DB. ESET is a good program, very stable, very light, and runs fine with MBAM. As you all have stated, MBAM is designed to complement another AV program.

SUGGESTION: It would be nice if the toolbar icon would show some type of animation to let the user know that the DB update process is in progress. ESET actually has this feature with their icon rotating, so I immediately know it's doing something. This feature would add to an already excellent program. Thanks again, and keep up the great work.

[daledoc1]

Hello and welcome, ladydog:

Thanks for your kind words and support.

Yes, this suggestion comes up from time to time, and was renewed very recently, in fact:

http://forums.malwar...howtopic=112878

With any luck, the devs will be able to add it soon.

Thanks for the suggestion!

daledoc1

(FWIW for the PRO version, database updates are incremental. So, on a high-speed connection, the updating/animation would probably come and go very quickly. There's also a tooltip balloon that shows the updates, as well -- I'm not sure what the "fade" setting is on that.)

[ladydog]

Yes, the tooltip is a good tool. I'd say it fades in about 15s or so, but I can't find any setting to change that, so that would be yet another good UI addition. Also when you say updates are incremental, just so we're on the same page, does that mean if the log says it went from "02" to "04", that you missed "03" ? Or does the "04" include the "03" update ? If "03" didn't get in the system, the user could be missing that particular protection. Thanks again !

[daledoc1]

Hi:

"Incremental" updates means that, instead of d/l and install of the entire definitions database with each new update, only the new elements are added/changed, on top of the existing one.

So, only the changes are added, rather than replacing the entire database.

So, the size of the update is smaller than it would be to replace the entire database each time.

This was a much-requested feature that was implemented several program versions ago.

For folks with fast internet connections and unlimited bandwidth, it's not a huge deal.

But for folks with slow connections, limited bandwidth, and/or older hardware, it was a big improvement.

(Note: if one doesn't update for several days -- perhaps 4 or 5 days = 15-20 database updates? -- then one WILL get the entire database on the next update...)

The numbering of the databases is something altogether different, and is set by the engineers.

So, no, there's no need to worry if your update appears to "skip" a numbered version.

MBAM specializes in 0day threats, so it's not uncommon for there to be 5, 6 or sometimes more new databases released in a 24-hour period, as the engineers make changes to keep up with the 1000s of new malware threats that appear every day.

As long as you are updating at least every 4 hours or so, you are "up to date".

HTH until an MBAM staffer can weigh in with a more geeky, "official" explanation,

daledoc1

[ladydog]

I definitely agree with incremental updates. Doing the entire DB on an already installed program is a duplication of effort and yes, it would increase the time and bandwidth unnecessarily. Adding only what's new on a particular system is really all that is needed.

I have one more question (for now) and either you can answer, or I can wait until a staffer comes on, but please note that I really appreciate your time and you've been very helpful. Question: When a user creates an update schedule (I have mine set for every hour), one of the options to check is "Recover if missed by", and it's measured in hours. What exactly does that do ? If a computer has been off for several hours, does MBAM immediately check for updates when the computer is turned back on ?

[daledoc1]

Hi, again:

The recovery time interval is -- in essence, if I understand it correctly -- how long MBAM would "wait" before trying to perform a missed, scheduled task (either an update check or a scan).

If you search around the forum here, you'll probably find some other versions of that explanation.

So, how you configure that setting depends on a number of factors, including how much the computer is being used, etc.

Hourly update checks are MORE than often enough.

Of course, it doesn't mean that there will necessarily be an update available every hour (in fact, there will not).

There are usually somewhere between 5 and 6 (occasionally more) databases updates released in a 24-hour period.

It is a bit of a "hit" on the MBAM servers to be checking hourly.

I think many of the staffers suggest that every 4 hours is sufficient.

But, it's up to you.

If you are new to MBAM (especially the PRO features), there are quite a few helpful topics HERE and several how-to videos HERE.

HTH,

daledoc1

[ladydog]

Somehow I thought that the hourly setting was defaulted to every hour. I now realize that there is a drop down box to select the hourly interval, so I changed it to every 4. Obviously I'm new to MBAM. I'm currently trialing what should be the Pro version. At least I checked the box that asks if you want to trial the Pro during installation. What is the difference between non-Pro and Pro ?

[AdvancedSetup]

This link should provide you with more information between the two. If you need further information please let us know.

http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free/

Thanks