Incessant 'Protection disabled' popups

[SoulsCollective]

Hi folks
Long time MBAM user here, been quite happy with product until recent update - as of about a month ago, MBAM has started popping up 'protection disabled' warnings telling me that "one or more components of protection are disabled". These appear every time I log in to Windows, and also appear at random when working at desktop.

I am aware that real-time protection and malicious website blocking are disabled. This is intentional, as I run regularly scheduled scans and MBAM takes issue with a number of websites hosted in eastern Europe that I visit on a semi-regular basis, and I do not wish to be nagged about my choice of settings every time I start my machine. As above, previous versions of MBAM did not nag me about this.

I have done a bit of searching and come across some other threads on this issue that indicate that this is perhaps not expected behaviour. As such, I have attached to this post the 'FRST', 'Addition' and 'CheckResults' logs requested in other threads. I have also attempted to perform a 'clean' uninstall and reinstall of MBAM as listed here and tried the 'Restore default settings' option in MBAM's Settings window. I have also disabled MBAM notifications. None has fixed this issue.

Would appreciate any help in returning MBAM to the original desired behaviour of not spawning annoying popup windows - seriously considering jumping ship if this keeps up.

Addition.txt

CheckResults.txt

FRST.txt

[daledoc1]

Hi:
 
 
Sorry, but if the user disables a critical component of MBAM Premium (e.g. the IP/Website protection module) -- or of any security product, for that matter -- the program WILL notify the user, either with popups, and/or through the GUI, and/or through the system tray icon.
https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?/topic/144984-disable-notification-when-i-choose-to-disable-website-protection/#entry813524
https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?/topic/144984-disable-notification-when-i-choose-to-disable-website-protection/#entry894565
 
Currently, notifications in MBAM Premium 2.x are "all or none"; they can be disabled, but this is not recommended.
The development team has promised more granular user control -- at least for non-critical notifications -- with a future program release.
 
If you are visiting sites that generate an IP block from MBAM, then there are several ways to address that. For example:

 

• Follow the steps HERE and then report the requested information HERE to the IP Block Team as a possible "False Positive".
• Set a particular IP to the MBAM "Ignore List" -- NOTE: this is NOT the safest way to proceed without first verifying that the IP is safe, as MBAM is likely blocking the IP for a reason.

ALSO, for additional information:
There is an FAQ Section here: Common Questions, Issues, and their Solutions
And here are links to the MBAM 2.0 User Guide: Online and PDF
And there are many useful KB topics and videos at the helpdesk support page

 

Thanks,

[SoulsCollective]

Currently, notifications in MBAM Premium 2.x are "all or none"; they can be disabled, but this is not recommended.

Thanks for the reply, however, as above in my original post I have attempted to disable notifications in order to solve this issue but the popups remain. From your reply it seems that if notifications have been disabled the behaviour I am experiencing should not be happening?

[daledoc1]

Hi:

 

AFAIK, critical notifications -- such as those alerting the user that a key protection component has been disabled -- cannot currently be entirely disabled, at least from the GUI.  The popup notifications control will be added in some form in a later program version, as I mentioned.

The links to the forum posts by the MBAM Product Manager, exile360, in my previous reply explain why that is the case and is not likely to change.

Here is an excerpt:

 

 

Well, to be frank, I do not believe that most of our customers permanently disable one of the major components of protection that our application provides. It is quite true that some do, and that we do intend to make some allowances for that, including the ability to specify which tray notifications are displayed, however I have yet to see any security application which allows the user to have the application display a 'green' or 'everything is OK' status when one of its major protection components is disabled (and we tested many when determining what the best practices were for the functionality of our application).

 

The links in my previous reply also mentioned some options for managing the IP blocks.

Another option would be to "Deactivate" from the GUI link (dashboard > my account > deactivate) or to cleanly uninstall MBAM and reinstall it as the Free version.

Doing so will completely disable the IP blocking feature, as MBAM Free is only a manual, on-demand scanner that can only remove infections that have made it past your anti-virus onto your system.  This is NOT recommended, as you will lose all real-time protection from MBAM.  However, it will enable you to visit any and all websites without seeing any MBAM IP blocks.

 

Thanks again,

 

P.S. I could be missing it, but I don't see an anti-virus (AV) installed or running in your logs (Windows Defender is disabled)? For the record, MBAM is not an anti-virus, and is not a substitute for one. So, regardless of how you choose to proceed with the MBAM Website Protection module, it would be advisable to install a robust AV, either free or paid, to run alongside MBAM.

[Tweak]

Thanks for the reply, however, as above in my original post I have attempted to disable notifications in order to solve this issue but the popups remain. From your reply it seems that if notifications have been disabled the behaviour I am experiencing should not be happening?

Shot in the dark but if you have CCleaner running in the background and it has real-time monitoring enable especially it may be related to your issue, it was for me. Hope that info is helpful and my apologies if it isn't useful information to you.

[Tweak]

Shot in the dark but if you have CCleaner running in the background and it has real-time monitoring enable especially it may be related to your issue, it was for me. Hope that info is helpful and my apologies if it isn't useful information to you.

Disregard...worked for awhile but ultimately the issue returned.

[Tweak]

Disregard...worked for awhile but ultimately the issue returned.

Just as an FYI...

 

Right around the time the mbam issue happened I added a new HD, turns out that I tested and found 1 of 6 memory modules was in the early stages of failure. Once that module was removed mbam went  back to working and I have since RMA'd and reinstalled the modules, all is well. While this may not apply to others with this issue I felt it should be stated things are resolved and the only changes are the replacement of the memory modules.

 

Thanks

[daledoc1]

Hi, Tweak:

 

This thread is pretty old now and "SoulsCollective" has not been back to follow-up.

So, it's hard to say if s/he is still having problems or even monitoring the thread.

And it's impossible to say if your problem and solution are the same as the ones reported here in this topic.

 

In any event, thanks for reporting your favorable results.

 

Best regards,

[SoulsCollective]

There seemed little point in 'following up', having been told that the unwanted behaviour is by design - and as the behaviour occurred on both my desktop and laptop I doubt a failing DIMM had anything to do with it.

[Firefox]

A follow-up is always welcomed, if even just to state that the solution worked, or to simply state what you posted above.

[Tweak]

Hi, Tweak:

 

This thread is pretty old now and "SoulsCollective" has not been back to follow-up.

So, it's hard to say if s/he is still having problems or even monitoring the thread.

And it's impossible to say if your problem and solution are the same as the ones reported here in this topic.

 

In any event, thanks for reporting your favorable results.

 

Best regards,

It was my original intent to offer what was a small bit of my experience in the efforts it could be similar but I came to realize this forum works differently than what I am accustomed to so I stopped replying. My last post was to make sure that SoulsCollective or anyone that happened across this did not skim through and take away any non useful information.

 

There seemed little point in 'following up', having been told that the unwanted behaviour is by design - and as the behaviour occurred on both my desktop and laptop I doubt a failing DIMM had anything to do with it.

I was of course not suggesting in this case it was your problem and I wish I had more an opportunity to assist you but I have found this forum has designated helpers more than a community based effort of assistance so I simply bowed out as not to create any issues for anyone. I do hope you find or have found some resolution.

 

A follow-up is always welcomed, if even just to state that the solution worked, or to simply state what you posted above.

I assume you are in this case speaking to SoulsCollective but I did wish to also "follow-up" as it seems appropriate that conclusions be given and seeing as I was intending to offer a bit of help then found it a hardware rather than software issue I wished to voice that fact. 

[Firefox]

Tweak, help is encouraged in most forums, you are right this one works a little different.

Only authorized folks are allowed to provide help with the removal of malware, and that is done in a dedicated area. This is to prevent regular members from making a mistake and cause an OP's computer to become unbootable.

You are allowed to help in the general areas, so long as it does not include helping folks with modifying their systems that may cause problems. Once you have been vetted (or become an authorized helper you are given more rights....

Hope that makes sense.

[Tweak]

Tweak, help is encouraged in most forums, you are right this one works a little different.

Only authorized folks are allowed to provide help with the removal of malware, and that is done in a dedicated area. This is to prevent regular members from making a mistake and cause an OP's computer to become unbootable.

You are allowed to help in the general areas, so long as it does not include helping folks with modifying their systems that may cause problems. Once you have been vetted (or become an authorized helper you are given more rights....

Hope that makes sense.

Totally understandable but when I first came here I was not fully aware of that fact. I quickly realized it and I get the why, just an odd adjustment after having been an Admin on what at one time was one of the largest PC related forums out there and always helping the members. I am now mostly on three car forums on which I am staff of two so I am just very used to being the go to guy. I respect the rule and reasons here and only check back to see that my posts have been seen as to be sure we have some form of closure on the original subject at hand.

 

Thanks Firefox.

[Spud]

Topic is now being closed as the OP has stated he's done (Satisfied with results) and it's veering off topic.