Malwarebytes (Free) - Why System Tray Icon?

[PinguJohn]

I have just installed Malwarebytes (Free) Version 3.2.2.2029 running under Windows 10 64 bit.

As I only wish to run Malwarebytes (Free) on demand, I was surprised to find a Malwarebytes icon in the system tray as it is totally unnecessary.

Is there a way to stop the Malwarebytes system tray icon loading when Windows starts?

 

[nukecad]

It's a known issue.

Apparently it was done as part of a temporary 'fix' for another problem in the paid for version, and should be sorted in a future update.

When you open MB3 free to run a manual scan it also starts a process and puts the icon in the system tray.
If you close the MB window after the scan the process gets left behind.

You can right click on the tray icon and quit the MB window that way instead. (You will get a UAC pop-up).
If you close the MB window and leave the icon in the tray then you can just right click on it and quit to remove it (till next time).

Or you could just leave it there in the tray.

Edited October 15, 2017 by nukecad

[lmacri]

Hi PinguJohn:

Since you recently installed MB v3, you should also confirm that your 14-day trial of the Premium (real-time protection) features have been disabled.  The support article How-To: Deactivate the Premium Trial in Malwarebytes for Windows has instructions on how ensure you have switched to the Free version of MB v3 by going to Settings | My Account tab and clicking the Deactivate Premium Trial button.
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32-bit Vista Home Premium SP2 * Firefox ESR v52.4.0 * NS Premium v22.11.0.41 * MB Premium v3.2.2.2018-1.0.212

[PinguJohn]

Hi nukecad,

Thanks for the info, will wait for a future update to correct this.

 

Hi Imacri,

I downloaded and installed the free version of Malwarebytes 3 and so I am not running a 14-day trial of the Premium version.  The Deactivate Premium Trial button does not appear in the My Account tab

 

[dcollins]

I think there's a bit of confusion here.

The system tray icon will run in free mode as it's used to show any relevant notifications during a scan (threat found, etc). On top of that, free users get one free monthly scan, and if the tray icon is closed, this effectively closes the service, which means the free scan won't run either. There is no harm in closing the system tray if you want it gone, but it stays open for the monthly scheduled scan.

[nukecad]

Thanks for that clarification Devin,

 

My opinion is that it's still a bug/oversight in the free version.

 

The problem is that even if you have deleted the scheduled monthly scan the process runs and the system tray icon opens (OK, it's for notifications) and will remain open until you close it manually.

So it's just sitting there, a running process that is doing nothing and is going to continue to do nothing until you close it manually.

 

I still call that a bug, albeit only a small one, if there are no scheduled scans it should close itself.

(It also seems unusual to have a UAC pop-up to quit a programme/process. But I do see the point of that with security software that runs in the background, to make sure malware is not trying to close it).

 

I also query why you need notifications during a manual scan anyway?

You will see the results once the manual scan has finished.

 

I stand by my thoughts that this process is desired for the real time protection / scheduled scans in the paid for version, and has been left behind in the free version because it's easier than coding to check if it is actually needed for a monthly scan or not.

Edited October 16, 2017 by nukecad