Marketing Popup

[Meathead]

Just came back to my Windows PC to find a popup from the MBAM app asking if I wanted to learn more about the android version.

Why are we getting marketing popups?

[Buffdaddy123]

I had this too tonight, done full scans nothing showing as infected, first time ive had this, is this legit ad for android version on a win 10pc

[crrider13]

I just got this popup too.

Has anyone found a way to opt out of these kinds of marketing and app suggestions?

I've been looking through all the settings, but I can't find anything. I don't want to have to disable ALL notifications, since that would also disable important virus alerts.

MBAM has been my favorite antimalware program by far for years. Due, in large part, to the fact that I historically I haven't ever get these kinds of things from them. It's always just been reliably running in the background, doing it's job and not demanding my attention unless there is a problem.

I'm really hoping this is just a one-time odd occurrence, and not a sign that they're becoming one of "those companies".

 

[exile360]

Greetings,

This is indeed legit, I just saw it on my own system as well.  I will request that they provide an option to opt-out of these kinds of notifications/advertisements.

[Not_My_Real_Name]

Umm. .. yeah...  This app is a PAID FOR version.  AD's ?.. um No Thank you.  Also why are you presuming Everyone on the planet Has an Android ??

Am i missing something here ?? 

Also.. Why are these Forums So hard to find / get to.-  goto Support.MalwareBytes.com.. and try and get to these Forums in the Support Area - Without finding that Tiny Link at the Bottom.

There's a Sign in link on support.malwarebytes.com.. but it doesnt appear to be for users.. appears to be just for Employee's.

 

<sigh>

 

[exile360]

46 minutes ago, Not_My_Real_Name said:

Also.. Why are these Forums So hard to find / get to.-  goto Support.MalwareBytes.com.. and try and get to these Forums in the Support Area - Without finding that Tiny Link at the Bottom.

I don't know what their thinking was regarding the ad notification, but my best guess is that they were trying out this new functionality and figured it couldn't hurt to try and drive some awareness for the Android app.  I agree that I don't like this practice however, and will be recommending they change it/at least allow users to opt-out of it for what that's worth (it's not up to me as I just help out on the forums here, though I do send them feedback from the users on the forums on a regular basis).  Just based on my past experience, I believe that given the feedback so far on this new "feature", that they will be far more cautious about using it in the future and are likely to act on this feedback by providing some sort of opt-out functionality if they do intend to use it again going forward for this sort of purpose (i.e. a non-urgent alert/advertisement).

As for finding the forums, that's probably because since the development of other resources such as the knowledgebase (which didn't exist originally when the company was founded unlike the forums, which used to be the only way for customers to seek help) as well as the helpdesk support system (which is now the primary customer support channel/mechanism, with many more Malwarebytes employees dedicated to working on the helpdesk full-time than on the forums), I'm sure they're deliberately trying to divert as many people as they can to their primary support tools and main contact method (the helpdesk and the live chat, when it is available during office hours) as those are generally much faster for getting support, not to mention private vs the forums here which are public, and not everyone is comfortable posting publicly, especially since things like diagnostic logs etc. are required for troubleshooting which can expose a lot of info about a person's system, and potentially about the individual depending on how they have their system/OS/user account set up.

[digmorcrusher]

I haven't seen this yet, however, if they plan to continue with this it there definitely needs to be an opt out.

[Stave]

Malwarebytes Premium user here and not happy to see this popup tonight. Please disable it and add and opt-out setting to block any future marketing tests.

Until this is patched, does anyone have a hosts file entry, IP block, permission setting or another way to block these without breaking the legitimate Malwarebytes functionality that I paid for?

[exile360]

Sadly, no.  I doubt it can be blocked as it's likely being pulled into the encrypted config files along with database updates and then displayed through the standard notification system/tray, so blocking it without impacting database updates and protection likely isn't possible at this point.  I have collected the feedback and comments from users and customers unhappy about this though and will be submitting it to the team for review and consideration, so hopefully this will be changed soon.

[Stave]

1 minute ago, exile360 said:

Sadly, no.  I doubt it can be blocked as it's likely being pulled into the encrypted config files along with database updates and then displayed through the standard notification system/tray, so blocking it without impacting database updates and protection likely isn't possible at this point.  I have collected the feedback and comments from users and customers unhappy about this though and will be submitting it to the team for review and consideration, so hopefully this will be changed soon.

Thanks for your reply. I hope this is fixed quickly. The first thing I thought was that it was some form of actual malware or phishing exploit masquerading as a Malwarebytes message. I have my browser fairly well locked down, so I haven't seen anything like this in quite a while. I guess it's tough to block a (previously) trusted a application like this on our systems.

[Buffdaddy123]

11 hours ago, exile360 said:

Greetings,

This is indeed legit, I just saw it on my own system as well.  I will request that they provide an option to opt-out of these kinds of notifications/advertisements.

Thx for confirming it is real as my first thought was indeed that I may have accidentally got something malicious on my system as I had never seen this before,

It was easy enough to close, but I was unsure when it first popped up out of nowhere, so I did not click the link and just closed, then scanned my machine fully which was thankfully clear.

[bdubrow]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

The intention of the message was more for education and to provide awareness around our mobile line of products (which offer completely free versions as well).  But I can totally understand how this could be seen as promotional and unwanted.

We are working on providing an option to allow opt out of promotional messages, so hope to have that available soon.

And these sorts of messages should definitely not steal focus, so we'll get that fixed as well. 

This message only went to a subset of users and is only set to display one time, so if you've already seen it you shouldn't see it again.  

Your quick feedback on these issues definitely helps, so it is very much appreciated! 

[Firefox]

1 hour ago, bdubrow said:

And these sorts of messages should definitely not steal focus, so we'll get that fixed as well. 

Not a fan of these types of marketing, most folks pay/buy software to remove ads.... providing an opt out option is good.  If you are going to do this, maybe instead of a popup, maybe put a number on the tray icon notifying a user that there is a message pending in the GUI.

Sort of like this.... (I know its not the Malwarebytes icon, its just an example)

Edited November 15, 2018 by Firefox

[Meathead]

1 hour ago, bdubrow said:

We are working on providing an option to allow opt out of promotional messages, so hope to have that available soon.

Great... thanks!  I did look through the settings tabs first to see if this option already existed.

 

[nheimler]

2 hours ago, bdubrow said:

Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

The intention of the message was more for education and to provide awareness around our mobile line of products (which offer completely free versions as well).  But I can totally understand how this could be seen as promotional and unwanted.

We are working on providing an option to allow opt out of promotional messages, so hope to have that available soon.

And these sorts of messages should definitely not steal focus, so we'll get that fixed as well. 

This message only went to a subset of users and is only set to display one time, so if you've already seen it you shouldn't see it again.  

Your quick feedback on these issues definitely helps, so it is very much appreciated! 

Honestly, I think if we are paying customers this should be OFF by default.  I was not happy to get calls from my clients all in a panic when this came up asking if they need to worry.  I was't sure what they were talking about really until I came back to my desk and saw it up on mine.  VERY disappointed that this even went out without any kind of heads up first.  I and my clients all pay so we don't get these kinds of popups.  This is why I've always recommended MBAM because these things were NOT coming up like many others.  I was ok with the small marketing when opening the program's main dashboard when that first came about, but I'm NOT ok with this.

[RickC99]

3 hours ago, bdubrow said:

This message only went to a subset of users and is only set to display one time, so if you've already seen it you shouldn't see it again.  

Malwarebytes Premium user here. I've just seen the advert pop up 3 times now in the last 40 minutes. This has only just started happening so please take me out of the 'small subset of users'. Not happy!

[TheQuickFox]

I got the same message on my Windows Desktop. Malwarebytes Premium Lifetime. How do I stop this?

Because I learned not to click on ads I killed it with task manager. But I'm not sure if it will come back or show up at my other computers. (Who also have licensed versions of Malwarebytes)

[bdubrow]

34 minutes ago, RickC99 said:

I've just seen the advert pop up 3 times now in the last 40 minutes. 

That is definitely not supposed to happen, so I certainly apologize for that. We had already suspended this message earlier, so hopefully you won't see any further instances.  We are investigating.

[pumbrapie]

I'm really glad to see I'm not the only one who experienced this issue. It's saddening but not surprising to see malwarebytes going down this path.

Popup ads??? Have you lost it entirely? For a paid product?? Do your business customers get this also?? No?? Then why give it to us??? Treat us better.

And your "solution" now is to make it opt out??? Make it opt in for pete's sake. Obviously you're not going to make it opt in because no one would want to opt in to this garbage.

There's been a slow decline of malwarebytes over the last several years and I fear this may be the final straw for me.

[MajesticWi]

I'm a Malwarebyte's Premium owner with 3 subscriptions and have experienced this on 1 PC so far.  I can see having pop-up ads on the Free version, but the Premium version should be just that....... a premium version of the software free nags.   If the marketing folks still wish to annoy their loyal customers, at least provide an opt out option.  On top of that, I don't even own an Android device.  ?

[Doctor9fan]

I’ve seen the same pop up. I’m surprised to see an ad within paid software. ?

[ram1220]

On 11/15/2018 at 7:52 AM, bdubrow said:

Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

The intention of the message was more for education and to provide awareness around our mobile line of products (which offer completely free versions as well).  But I can totally understand how this could be seen as promotional and unwanted.

We are working on providing an option to allow opt out of promotional messages, so hope to have that available soon.

And these sorts of messages should definitely not steal focus, so we'll get that fixed as well. 

This message only went to a subset of users and is only set to display one time, so if you've already seen it you shouldn't see it again.  

Your quick feedback on these issues definitely helps, so it is very much appreciated! 

 This should be an opt in and not an opt out! If I paid for your software I do not want ads or marketing promotions popping up at all. Actually I have paid for it and will not renew. With all of the problems lately with having to disable this or that in the program to get it to work and now ads. No way I will pay for it again. This is the type of sleezy practices that make me avoid a company.

[RickC99]

On 11/15/2018 at 1:52 PM, bdubrow said:

This message only went to a subset of users and is only set to display one time, so if you've already seen it you shouldn't see it again.  

Quite a large number of responses here from 'a subset of users' and, from responses in another forum, I know of many others who saw the advert(s) but just closed them instead of heading here to ask what the heck is going on.

IMO, paid users should not be used for your testing purposes without their express 'opt-in'.

We are your reason for existence, not your 'cannon fodder' for experiments.

[Meathead]

On 11/15/2018 at 8:52 AM, bdubrow said:

Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

The intention of the message was more for education and to provide awareness around our mobile line of products (which offer completely free versions as well).  But I can totally understand how this could be seen as promotional and unwanted.

We are working on providing an option to allow opt out of promotional messages, so hope to have that available soon.

And these sorts of messages should definitely not steal focus, so we'll get that fixed as well. 

This message only went to a subset of users and is only set to display one time, so if you've already seen it you shouldn't see it again.  

Your quick feedback on these issues definitely helps, so it is very much appreciated! 

I just got another popup for a Privacy add on or additional product.  There have been other occasional marketing pop-ups since I created this thread.

It's been almost two years and still no option to opt out of these messages.  Why is this taking so long to implement?

[Porthos]

9 minutes ago, Meathead said:

It's been almost two years and still no option to opt out of these messages.  Why is this taking so long to implement?

There are I would say more issues to fix before adding extra controls to opt out of messages. It all falls into what things to fix first.