Malwarebytes blocking all browsers

[SRatson]

I have come into contact with this problem on several systems now... Malwarebytes seems to block any browser from starting. If you disable MB they work fine. It also seems to be having issues with some of it's services starting properly. After uninstalling and reinstalling it seems to work properly for a while, but the issue crops up again... WTF? I do not see any indication of any infections...

[Porthos]

@SRatson

We need some diag logs to trouble shoot

• Create and obtain an mb-check log
  1. Download MB-Check and save to your desktop
  2. Double-click to run MB-Check and within a few second the command window will open, then click "OK" 
  3. This will produce one log file on your desktop: mb-check-results.zip
     • Attach this file to your forum post by clicking on the "Drag files here to attach, or choose files..." or simply drag the file to the attachment area
• Create and obtain Farbar Recovery Scan Tool (FRST) logs
  1. Download FRST and save it to your desktop
     Note: You need to run the version compatible with your system. You can check here if you're not sure if your computer is 32-bit or 64-bit
  2. Double-click to run FRST and when the tool opens click "Yes" to the disclaimer
  3. Press the "Scan" button
  4. This will produce two files in the same location (directory) as FRST: FRST.txt and Addition.txt
     • Attach both of these logs to your forum post by clicking on the "Drag files here to attach, or choose files..." or simply drag the files to the attachment area

 

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[KendoKane]

Just want to mention I believe I have experienced the same issue on a Windows 10 Pro install, but have already done a clean uninstall and reinstall of MalwareBytes so it is working again now.

If the issue happens again I will try to collect the MB-Check and FRST logs, then post them here.

Edited June 28, 2017 by KendoKane
incorrect grammar used.

[SRatson]

It does seem to be related to Windows 10 installs...

[KendoKane]

After a reboot the issue started happening again.  Attached is the MBCheck zip, but I can't download FRST as our company proxy is blocking access to it.

Hope this helps.

mb-check-results.zip

[Porthos]

5 minutes ago, KendoKane said:

After a reboot the issue started happening again.

Hello

A conflict between Malwarebytes and Symantec Endpoint Protection was discovered recently. To fix the issue you have to add exclusions and reboot your computer a few times for both programs to start working correctly.

The AV Exclusions that need to be added to SEP are below

I would like you to add these files to your Anti-Virus exclusions list as mentioned in this FAQ HERE (my list below includes the exe files as well)

 

• C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes\Anti-Malware\assistant.exe
• C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes\Anti-Malware\malwarebytes_assistant.exe
• 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\mbamtray.exe
• C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes\Anti-Malware\MBAMWsc.exe
• C:\Windows\system32\Drivers\farflt.sys
• C:\Windows\System32\drivers\mbae64.sys
• C:\Windows\System32\drivers\mbam.sys
• C:\Windows\System32\drivers\MBAMChameleon.sys
• C:\Windows\System32\drivers\MBAMSwissArmy.sys
• C:\Windows\System32\drivers\mwac.sys

Also please exclude the following folders too: (The complete folder)

• C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes\Anti-Malware
• C:\ProgramData\Malwarebytes\MBAMService

[SRatson]

That may explain the service starting issue, but not the browsers being unusable..

[Porthos]

19 minutes ago, SRatson said:

That may explain the service starting issue, but not the browsers being unusable..

Still needing your logs, please.

[SRatson]

MB-Check attached

mb-check-results.zip

[SRatson]

FRST logs attached..

Addition.txt

FRST.txt

[KendoKane]

Thanks Porthos, unfortunately the exceptions didn't work so I just uninstalled SEP as a troubleshooting step and now all browsers appear to be working as expected.

I hadn't thought SEP would be an issue as we have been using it with MalwareBytes for about 3 years now no issues.

I'll do some further trouble shooting and report back if I find a solution that gets them both running.

FYI, for anyone else reading it version 14 of SEP.

[Firefox]

After you add all the exceptions, it requires around 3 to 4 restarts for the settings to take effect on some systems... it is not only isolated to SEP 14....

[Porthos]

9 hours ago, KendoKane said:

I hadn't thought SEP would be an issue as we have been using it with MalwareBytes for about 3 years now no issues.

This version of MB has only been live since Dec 8, 2016. It is nowhere near the same as previous versions.

[nikhils]

Hello @KendoKane

There is another workaround you can do to have both SEP and MB3 running at the same time.

1. Install both SEP and the latest MB 3.x

2. Reboot into the safe mode and turn off Self Protection within Malwarebytes.

3. Reboot into normal mode again and you should be able to use both SEP and MB 3.x side by side without issues.

Thank you.

[SRatson]

On 6/27/2017 at 11:00 PM, Porthos said:

Still needing your logs, please.

So, I posted the logs... any comments?

[dcollins]

We just released CU160 which should resolve the SEP issue and hopefully resolve your browser issue. Can you please check your version under Settings -> About and if you don't have Component Update 1.0.160 then please download the latest MB3 from the thread below and install it. Then reboot and see if your web browsers return to normal

 

[SRatson]

That seems to have fixed it... Thanks!