Two Malwarebytes icons appearing in taskbar since upgrading to 2.0

[Andrew6974]

Okay - here is a strange one for you...

I upgraded to MBAM 2.0 (premium) last week and it has been working perfectly and I am very pleased with it apart from one very
strange occurence: occasionally when I turn the computer on two Malwarebytes icons will appear in the taskbar on the desktop.
At first I thought it was just some weird graphical error / bug making the icon appear twice but I when I checked in task manager there were indeed two instances of mbam.exe running.
This doesn't happen every time I turn the computer on and when it does simply rebooting the computer corrects the error.

I thought it might just be a small bug and that updating to 2.0.1.1004 would correct the issue but it is still happening.

I have been able to work out that it is linked to the 'Early Lanch Anti-Malware scan' in Norton 360 which runs every so often when the computer boots up. I don't know why but this feature in Norton 360 doesn't run every time the computer is turned on. It seems to be totally random as to when it runs.

So I've been able to establish that when Norton's Early Launch scan runs it creates the error resulting in two Malwarebytes running and when it does not run Malwarebytes starts as normal.

 

I'm running Windows 8.1 64 bit.

 

Any ideas on how to resolve this bug ?

[Firefox]

Lets start by trying a clean install of Malwarebytes, and then enter exceptions in your Norton software...

First:

Please run the following clean removal procedure and let us know if that corrects the issue or not.

NOTE: If you currently have version 2.0x installed make sure you do not have Self Protection Enabled, if you do you must disable it first before running the MBAM Clean tool....

MBAM Clean Removal Process

Second:

Please exclude the following files from your Antivirus Software (not sure what version of you are using):

Note: If using a software firewall besides the built in Windows Firewall you'll need to exclude them from it as well

For Windows XP:

• C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes Anti-Malware\mbam.exe
• C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes Anti-Malware\mbampt.exe
• C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes Anti-Malware\mbamservice.exe
• C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes Anti-Malware\mbamscheduler.exe

For Windows Vista or Windows 7 & 8:

• C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes Anti-Malware\mbam.exe
• C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes Anti-Malware\mbampt.exe
• C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes Anti-Malware\mbamservice.exe
• C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes Anti-Malware\mbamscheduler.exe

For 64 bit versions of Windows Vista or Windows 7 & 8:

• C:\Program Files (x86)\Malwarebytes Anti-Malware\mbam.exe
• C:\Program Files (x86)\Malwarebytes Anti-Malware\mbampt.exe
• C:\Program Files (x86)\Malwarebytes Anti-Malware\mbamservice.exe
• C:\Program Files (x86)\Malwarebytes Anti-Malware \mbamscheduler.exe

Note: If using a software firewall besides the built in Windows Firewall you'll need to exclude MBAM.EXE and MBAMSERVICE.EXE from it as well

Note: Once that's done, please make sure that if either of those programs has any sort of web filter, that you add the following as a trusted site:

data-cdn.mbamupdates.com

The FAQ contains examples of setting file exclusions for some known AV products

Please post back and let us know how it went.

[rwharold]

I too am experiencing the appearance of TWO MBAM icons appearing in the task tray on restart, but not every time. Just randomly. When I right click on the second icon and close it, the remaining icon appears with a red check mark on it. I click on the icon to open MBAM and an error message appears that says protection isn't enabled and to click on "Fix Now". When I cklick on "Fix Now", nothing happens. I have to exit the remaing icon and reopen MBAM from my desktop shortcut which enables protection and makes the system tray icon reappear. Can this problem be fixed?

[Firefox]

rwharold you should start your own topic as everyone's computer is different the fixes could also be different... You can also try the clean install tool to see if it helps...

This is a known bug as well that the development team is working on fixing. I had the same problem, and I have not seen the issue happen again since I did a clean re-install...

[Andrew6974]

I too am experiencing the appearance of TWO MBAM icons appearing in the task tray on restart, but not every time. Just randomly. When I right click on the second icon and close it, the remaining icon appears with a red check mark on it. I click on the icon to open MBAM and an error message appears that says protection isn't enabled and to click on "Fix Now". When I cklick on "Fix Now", nothing happens. I have to exit the remaing icon and reopen MBAM from my desktop shortcut which enables protection and makes the system tray icon reappear. Can this problem be fixed?

 

Are you also running Norton by any chance ?

 

My problem seems to be linked to Norton as it only occurs when this 'Early Launch Anti-Malware scan' runs.

 

I am not experiencing the 'red check mark' or error messages you describe though so our problems, although similar seem to differ slightly.

 

Firefox - thank you for your swift reply. I will follow your instructions but I probably won't have time to post back the results until tomorrow.

[Firefox]

Here is some additional information that may help you with the issue.... READ HERE from the product manager....

[Andrew6974]

Okay. I have done a clean install of MBAM and that seems to have solved the issue of two instances of mbam.exe appearing when Norton runs
it's early launch malware scan.

I am still having a small issue however. A couple of times since upgrading to MBAM 2 the Norton icon has failed to appear in the taskbar.
When this happens I have noticed in task manager that the instance of n360.exe under my username has failed to start. Normally there should be two instances of n360.exe (running under my username and system).
Again - this has only happened a couple of times and simply restarting the computer corrects the error.
It does seem to me that there is some incompatibility between MBAM and Norton which did not exist before.

I also have a couple of questions about setting mutual exclusions in Norton and Malwarebytes...

When adding exclusions in Norton there are three categories: items to exclude from scans, items to exclude from auto-protect and signatures to exclude from all detections. Am I supposed add the MBAM exclusions in all three categories ?

Can I / should I add mutual exclusions for Norton in Malwarebytes under 'malware exclusions' ?

[Andrew6974]

Update -

 

Unfortunately it seems I spoke too soon. I have just turned my computer on to once again find two MBAM icons in my taskbar - only this time one of them had a red symbol telling me that protection was disabled whist the other was all green telling me everything was okay.

 

Also, I may have been wrong about the Norton early launch malware scan being the culprit as it did not run on this start up.

 

I suppose I could try delaying MBAM on start-up and seeing if that makes a diffence, but this is less than ideal as I would prefer to have MBAM's protection as soon as Windows starts.

[daledoc1]

Hi:
 
Well, that's a bummer.
I'm sure Firefox will be back soon to help you.
Until then, here is another recent post from the Product Manager from that same thread:
 

If doing this or performing a clean install of 2.0 does not resolve the issue where 2 instances of mbam.exe are observed at startup, then this is not the cause. It's far more likely that some race condition is occurring such as a scheduled scan or update kicking off at the exact instance that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is launching at startup, resulting in 2 instances of the UI/tray running at the same time. Of course that is just speculation on my part though.   https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showtopic=145101#entry810630

I wonder if that could be (part of) the explanation?

They might need to have you perform a bit more testing, e.g. with Sysinternals autoruns.exe or another tool.

And adding mutual exclusions between MBAM and Norton wouldn't hurt, either.

But until then, it might help to collect some logs about the system.

 

To do so, please run these scanners here >>Diagnostic Logs<<, and then please attach the logs to your next reply here in this post.

The staff/experts will review them and take it from there....

 

Thanks for your patience,

 

daledoc1

[Andrew6974]

Thanks daledoc1,

I have read the thread you are talking about. I'm not sure it has anything to do with a scheduled scan occuring at startup as I don't have any
scheduled scans set for MBAM. I prefer to run scans manually.

I have run the mbam-check. Log attached.

I'm a bit reluctant to start running lots of different malware / diagnostic tools at this time.
After some teething problems with the Windows 8.1 upgrade my new laptop has been running very smoothly (for a change) these past few months.
I'm worried about 'rocking the boat' as it were and upsetting the system.

If I do run farbar recovery tool will it make any changes to my system and is it easy to completely remove afterwards ( I don't want any traces left behind) ?

I have opted to delay protection startup for 90 seconds which seems to have solved the problem.

I am now more convinced it is some sort of clash between Norton and Malwarebytes at startup which is causing this.

I do have boot time protection set to agressive and early launch anti-malware scan enabled in Norton.

[KenW]

I had two icons when I updated a 8.1 machine. Uninstall and reinstall fixed it. I don't use Norton stuff.

[daledoc1]

@Andrew6974:
 

Sorry if I was confusing....
I wasn't suggesting that the entire thread applied to your situation - you're correct, the OP and others were discussing several issues.
That last quoted post, however, specifically addressed the issue of the "2 icons at startup":
 

If doing this or performing a clean install of 2.0 does not resolve the issue where 2 instances of mbam.exe are observed at startup, then this is not the cause. It's far more likely that some race condition is occurring such as a scheduled scan or update kicking off at the exact instance that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is launching at startup, resulting in 2 instances of the UI/tray running at the same time. Of course that is just speculation on my part though. https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showtopic=145101#entry810630

 

@KenW:

I am pretty sure Andrew has already tried reinstalling.

 

In any event, I'm sorry if I confused you.

This issue is a bit over my pay grade, so I will defer to the staff and experts to review your scan logs and to assist you with it.

 

I hope you get it sorted soon!

 

Cheers!

 

daledoc1

[AdvancedSetup]

The logs show that you have Self Protection enabled which will prevent you from making any modifications to the settings.

Please disable Self Protection as explained and then try this fix again.

 

MBAM Always Starts with Windows

 

If still having an issue then post both of the logs from the Diagnostic Logs topic.

[Andrew6974]

No Malwarebytes entries detected with Autoruns.

 

Here are the farbar logs...

 

 

[Andrew6974]

Sorry forgot to attach...

[AdvancedSetup]

Not seeing anything obvious that would cause 2 icons to show on the task tray.

 

Please run the following clean removal

MBAM Clean Removal Process 2x

Let us know if the issue continues

[Andrew6974]

Advanced Setup - thanks for taking a look.

 

Could you please clarify - do you want me to run mbam-clean and reinstall for a second time ?

 

I already followed the process yesterday as Firefox instructed (posts #2 & #7).

[AdvancedSetup]

Yes, please. If that does not work then please post a screen shot of what you're seeing.

[1PW]

In a PM exchange with Quality Assurance (Jekko), at the end of March, if the situation is active, a request was also made for:
 

• We would prefer a complete memory dump and the minidump associated with it.
• An additional request: For this specific issue of seeing multiple instances of MBAM run, a Process Monitor Log would be useful. If you know how to replicate this issue and you can do that while running Process Monitor, that would help greatly. This way we can see what in windows is being called at the time another instance of MBAM is opened which may give our developers a better idea why this is happening.

I had been writing a BBScript/boilerplate for this with Jon, but it wasn't finalized.

HTH

[Andrew6974]

I have now reinstalled again using the mbam-clean method. So far so good.

 

Perhaps third time lucky ?   

 

(I also got the latest upgrade for Windows 8.1 last night before trying this a third time. Is MBAM 2.0.1.1004 fully compatible ?)

 

Thank you to everyone for your advice.

[AdvancedSetup]

As far as we know but the Microsoft update has not been out all that long.

[looper]

For those with Windows 8 or 8.1, do you also have Start8 installed on your system?

 

I have found that changing a registry key value related to Start8 solved the 2 system tray icons issue

[Firefox]

For those with Windows 8 or 8.1, do you also have Start8 installed on your system?

 

I have found that changing a registry key value related to Start8 solved the 2 system tray icons issue

That's interesting, but without the info of what Key you had to change its hard to determine if this will actually help or not...

[Jade]

Hi there,

 

OK here is the fix http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/13102-notification-area-icons-reset.html download the bat file and run it. Worked for me

[dreamhouse]

Hi there,

 

OK here is the fix http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/13102-notification-area-icons-reset.html download the bat file and run it. Worked for me

 

YES JADE! That was the missing info! It solved for me too, but I had to do it manually, the fix did not work. Here´s how to do it manually 

 

http://winaero.com/blog/fix-notification-area-system-tray-icons-are-messed-up-in-windows-8/