How about some REAL Instructions for running Custom Scan

[jholland1964]

Hope that somebody will really give some real information concerning how and when to run a Custom Scan with the new MBA-M v.2

With previous versions of MBA-M the customary recommendation was to run a Quick Scan, remove items found, and then run a Full Scan, doing the same.

I have read the Manual from front to back. The only "instructions" given for the FULL Scan, now called Custom Scan, are these:

An important feature to note here is the ability to specify certain areas of your file system for scanning, using a Windows Explorer-like presentation model.

 

 

With this new Custom Scan, how can the Average home user know exactly what to scan and not to scan with a Custom Scan choice? I am an amateur but pretty computer literate, have helped with Malware removal at a number of forums for quite awhile, I know how to run most removal tools, but I have no idea what advice to give somebody I am helping for configuring this Custom Scan if it is needed or if it should be run if the Threat Scan has found infected files.

I am testing out this Custom Scan and I am running a 100% CLEAN computer, I know this for an absolute fact. The Custom Scan has NOT Frozen, paused, or caused any type of problem BUT, it is now continuing to run for well over 3 hours and still has not completed. The bulk of this time has been spent on the File System Objects scan. After 3 hours and 30 minutes it has scanned just slightly over half  the total number of files scanned with the Threat Scan and it is still scanning.

I am running Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit with the SP 1 installed. I have a 500 GB hard drive with 398 GB of Free space, so you see I do not really have a lot installed on this computer.

It would be nice if Full Instructions for use of the Custom Scan could be given in case they are needed and just when is this Custom Scan absolutely needed?

[John L. Galt]

the same instructions apply as from before.  Run it when you think you need to run it, or after finding Malware from a threat scan.

 

In your case, having a single HD, with no UFDs (USB Flash Device) connected, you should be fine not having to run a custom scan all that often, unless you choose to.

 

As for taking a very long time, usually, the first go round it does take a huge amount of time, and additionally, it will take longer if:

 

1. Rootkit scanning is enabled
2. Archive scanning is enabled.

[jholland1964]

Thank you John. I really am not asking for myself, I am asking as a malware helper on forums. If the Threat scan would find and quarantine items should we then tell a possibly inexperienced person to run a Custom scan, and if so, what options should we have them use, in easy terms especially. This is my concern, to be able to easily spell out how they should do this and what options to choose. I know some areas can be removed from the scan, that type of thing.

 

As for my own scan it never completed. It scanned for 5 hours and 30 minutes, seemed to be scanning, at least the numbers were moving forward, but at approximately 294,000+ items scanned a threat found alert came up, asked what to do, I said quarantine. Then I received a program not responding warning and the program then shut down. When I looked for a log, there was none. No record whatsoever that a 5 hour and 30 minute scan had even taken place.

The item supposedly found was the following:

PUP.Optional.FastFreeConverter.A, HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432NODE\ZUPDATER\FastFreeConverterUpdt.exe

 

It was not in quarantine. So I looked in the registry, it was not there.

 

I then updated MBA-M again and ran the Threat Scan, this scan ran normally. It too said this PUP had been found, I did the same, told it to Quarantine. This time it did and the log also shows it was found and quarantined. 

That I find very odd, I had not downloaded a thing and certainly would not have downloaded anything like this, never have, never will. But it was found in this ONE scan but it did NOT show in the registry 30 seconds before I began the scan. I have done one Threat Scan a day since the install of the new version, all were clean. Every MBA-M scan done with the previous version all also were clean for probably well over one year. So this also has me stumped.

[John L. Galt]

Ahhh, I see your point.  And with the more complex settings in MBAM 2.0, you're right - a concrete, working method on how to run a Custom Scan would be beneficial.

 

Or, at the very least, a 4th scan option - a resurrection of the complete scan  which will scan every file it has access to on all connected HDs, UFDs, etc. automatically, so user input is minimal.

 

I like your RFF

[jholland1964]

Ahhh, I see your point.  And with the more complex settings in MBAM 2.0, you're right - a concrete, working method on how to run a Custom Scan would be beneficial.

 

Or, at the very least, a 4th scan option - a resurrection of the complete scan  which will scan every file it has access to on all connected HDs, UFDs, etc. automatically, so user input is minimal.

 

I like your RFF

Simple easy instructions would suffice. Or the option to make helpers comfortable to just say, skip it. We deal with a lot folks who have had great difficulty even running the older versions and getting the logs copy/pasted to post, we don't accept attachments, so you can imagine....

[John L. Galt]

Indeed.

[daledoc1]

Hi, jholland1964:

 

Is there anything in the User Guide that might help?

Online:  http://www.malwarebytes.org/support/guides/mbam/

Download PDF: http://downloads.malwarebytes.org/asset/mbamuserguide.pdf

 

I'm just a home user learning to use the new version, as well.

But I'm sure the staff are working on updated versions of the KB topics, videos, forum stickies and other support materials.

 

HTH,

 

daledoc1

[jholland1964]

Hi, jholland1964:

 

Is there anything in the User Guide that might help?

Online:  http://www.malwarebytes.org/support/guides/mbam/

Download PDF: http://downloads.malwarebytes.org/asset/mbamuserguide.pdf

 

I'm just a home user learning to use the new version, as well.

But I'm sure the staff are working on updated versions of the KB topics, videos, forum stickies and other support materials.

 

HTH,

 

daledoc1

The first thing I do when a new program or a new version of a program is released is to download the User Manual if one is available, which of course as you pointed out, there is and I have read through it all multiple times. The reason I asked the question is because there are no real instructions for running the Custom scan contained in the manual and knew this would be the place to receive that answer.

[daledoc1]

Hi:

 

The first thing I do when a new program or a new version of a program is released is to download the User Manual if one is available, which of course as you pointed out, there is and I have read through it all multiple times. The reason I asked the question is because there are no real instructions for running the Custom scan contained in the manual and knew this would be the place to receive that answer.

 

Sorry.

I was just trying to help.

 

Thanks for your patience,

 

daledoc1

[jholland1964]

No need for apology. You posted the links for the user manual so a lot of other people who haven't yet read it now have the links, that's a good thing to do!