Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Unable to Access Update Server, But the Progress Bar Loads Anyway?

[FlagJackGuy]

Good day, Malwarebytes community. I will be as straightforward as possible, and I will describe my issue as clearly and appropriately as I can. I would like to begin by clarifying that I have used the free version of Malwarebytes frequently for about a month, now. I use avast! Free Antivirus for my real-time protection. I run frequent scans with both Malwarebytes and avast!, about twice a week or so. My scans always come back clean. I also use a program called Sandboxie to surf the web in a sandboxed browser for an extra layer of defense. In any case, I still rely on avast! and Malwarebytes for their reputable scanning, and I know that nothing is 100% effective. I only have one real-time protection program running, and that is avast!, so I do not think there are any conflicts between avast! and Malwarebytes. 

 

I'm presently using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Home (Free) 2.1.8.1057. The Database Version is v2015.09.18.01. My operating system is Windows 7 Professional.

 

I will now describe the issue. Recently, whenever I click on "Scan" to run the Threat Scan, the Database Version under the Dashboard tab does something rather strange. The Database Version will first say, "Checking for updates", and then it says, "Unable to access update server." The same thing happens whenever I try to manually update by clicking on "Update Now". The stranger part, however, is that even though the Database Version says "Unable to access update server", the progress bar on the right continues to load as if it's updating. This is very confusing.

 

Is my Malwarebytes program somehow disconnected from the internet? Does anyone know what is actually causing this or what some likely causes could be? All of my other programs access the internet fine. I just noticed this happening a couple of days ago. 

 

Please, be sure to read the message directly below before you study the image!

 

I have attached an image below to assist in illustrating my issue. You can see that the Database Version, when I scan, says "Unable to access update server". However, and I apologize as I took the screenshot a little later, but on the right where it says "Update Now >>", a blue progress bar will appear there whenever it's attempting to update. The strange thing is that even though it says, "Unable to access update server", the blue progress bar still loads. So far, it has not affected my ability to run scans, but I still think this issue needs to be promptly addressed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[daledoc1]

Hello and welcome back:

 

We will be better able to assist you if you could please provide a wee bit more information.

 

First: 

Did you install MBAM from a Windows Admin account?  Yes or No

 

And:

Are you *running* MBAM from an LUA  (rather than from an Admin account) when you are getting the error message you report? Yes or No

 

 

Thank you,
 

[MBuser1147]

I am running Win 10 (updated from Win 7) and I get the exact same message from the Premium version. I get notifications from MAB to update the database but have not been able to do so since 8-22-2015. It's worked in the past so I'm not sure what happened.

[daledoc1]

Hello and welcome @MBuser1147:
 
 

I am running Win 10 (updated from Win 7) and I get the exact same message from the Premium version. I get notifications from MAB to update the database but have not been able to do so since 8-22-2015. It's worked in the past so I'm not sure what happened.

 
If you did not temporarily uninstall MBAM prior to the OS upgrade to Win10, it's possible that the upgrade may have broken MBAM.

So let's start here:
 
Please follow all the steps in this pinned topic to uninstall your current version of MBAM and reinstall the latest build - MBAM Clean Removal Process 2x
It's important to reboot when prompted after running the removal tool; and it's a good idea to reboot again AFTER the reinstall, as well.

If that does not resolve the issue, please start  your own NEW, SEPARATE topic using this clickable button.
The staff and experts will be able to more easily provide both you and the OP with individual help to get you both up and running.

Thanks for your patience and understanding,

[FlagJackGuy]

Hello, everyone. Recently, I uninstalled my antivirus product, avast! Antivirus, to determine just how much physical memory it was using (I don't know my way around every part of resource manager, so I decided to test it).

 

While avast! was uninstalled, I enabled the free trial of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to serve as my real-time protection. Whenever I re-downloaded avast!, I made sure to close Malwarebytes to prevent any confliction.

 

My problem is this: since the free trial was enabled, Malwarebytes loads on startup, something it's never done before. Also, every time I close Malwarebytes completely, even going as far as to end its process in the task manager, it re-opens itself by itself. It simply re-opens itself. 

 

I suspected this may have been because of the free trial. I ended the free trial since I have avast! again, and so far, after ending the free trial, Malwarebytes hasn't re-opened itself after the last time I closed it.

 

So, was it because of the free trial that Malwarebytes was re-opening itself, after every time I fully closed it, with no intervention from me?

[FlagJackGuy]

(Note: I posted a similar topic earlier, but I couldn't find the edit post option, so I had to make a new post to update my question.)

 

Okay, this is starting to concern me. Recently, I enabled the free trial of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for a short while. After I re-installed my primary antivirus product, which is avast! Antivirus, I no longer needed Malwarebytes' free trial. However, I did not end the trial immediately. I simply closed the program.

 

Since the free trial was enabled, Malwarebytes loads on startup. Because of this, and because I already have avast! for real-time protection, I simply close the program after startup. After I closed the program, Malwarebytes re-opened itself maybe 15 minutes later. So, I closed it again.

 

After I closed it the first time, I ended the MBAM process in the task manager because I noticed it was still going. Then, Malwarebytes opened itself again, without any instruction from me. After the first two times, I suspected this was because I had the free trial enabled. So, I ended the free trial, and thought that would solve the problem.

 

A while later, Malwarebytes re-opened itself yet again, without my instruction, this time the full window displayed, and started updating itself. It did this even after I ended the free trial.

 

I scan regularly, probably three times a week with both Malwarebytes and avast!, and my scans always come back clean. I also use a sandbox for my web-browsing for an extra layer of defense. 

 

What's going on? How can I stop this? Is it possible Malwarebytes, itself, has become compromised by something?

[FlagJackGuy]

Please ignore this question and direct your attention to my latest question which contains an important update of the situation. Thank you. (I could not find the option to delete or edit this post, so I had to make a new question to update it.)

[daledoc1]

Hello and :
 
Is this the same computer as the one here ?
 
Assuming that it is, let's start with some basic troubleshooting.

• Please carefully follow all the steps in this pinned topic to uninstall your current version of MBAM and reinstall the latest build - MBAM Clean Removal Process 2x -- it's important to reboot the computer when prompted after running the removal tool; and it's a good idea to reboot AGAIN after the reinstall.
• If that does not correct the issue, then please read the following and attach to your next reply the 3 requested logs - Diagnostic Logs (the 3 logs are: FRST.txt, Addition.txt and CheckResults.txt)
• NOTE: More info about v2.1.8 HERE; User Guide ONLINE; User Guide PDF; FAQ: Common Questions, Issues, and their Solutions

Please let us know how it goes.

 

Thanks,

 

P.S. New forum members cannot edit their posts, because of abuse in the past by other members.  You can always just post a reply that corrects or clarifies something.   Also, the forum staff may collect all 3 of your topics into one thread, to reduce clutter and confusion. No worries, though.

[daledoc1]

Please see here:

https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?/topic/173424-malwarebytes-anti-malware-keeps-opening-itself-after-i-close-it/#entry992648

 

EDIT:

Your posts were all merged.

New link is to Reply #8 >>HERE<<

 

Thanks,

[daledoc1]

@FlagJackGuy:

 

Please see here:

https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?/topic/173424-malwarebytes-anti-malware-keeps-opening-itself-after-i-close-it/#entry992648

 

 

EDIT:

Your posts were all merged.

New link with is to Reply #8 >>HERE<<

 

Thank you,