Please add malware to virus definitions

[Humanoid_Dragon]

Spybot anti beacon messed up my computer my cortana was not working, so I had to refresh my PC. So don't trust any programs that disables cortana even if I revert changes on the program cortana is still missing. The program is in the attachment. 

SpybotAntiBeacon-3.1-setup.rar

[Malwarebytes]

***This is an automated reply***

Hi,

Thanks for posting in the Malwarebytes 3 Help forum.

 

If you are having technical issues with our Windows product, please do the following: 

Spoiler

If you haven’t already done so, please run the Malwarebytes Support Tool and then attach the logs in your next reply:

NOTE: The tools and the information obtained is safe and not harmful to your privacy or your computer, please allow the programs to run if blocked by your system.

1. Download Malwarebytes Support Tool
2. Once the file is downloaded, open your Downloads folder/location of the downloaded file
3. Double-click mb-support-X.X.X.XXXX.exe to run the program
   • You may be prompted by User Account Control (UAC) to allow changes to be made to your computer. Click Yes to consent.
4. Place a checkmark next to Accept License Agreement and click Next
5. You will be presented with a page stating, "Get Started!"
6. Click the Advanced tab
   
    
7. Click the Gather Logs button
   
    
8. A progress bar will appear and the program will proceed with getting logs from your computer
   
    
9. Upon completion, click a file named mbst-grab-results.zip will be saved to your Desktop. Click OK
   
    
10. Please attach the file in your next reply. Before submitting your reply, be sure to enable "Notify me of replies" like so:
       

Click "Reveal Hidden Contents" below for details on how to attach a file:
 

Spoiler

To save attachments, please click the link as shown below. You can click and drag the files to this bar or you can click the choose files, then browse to where your files are located, select them and click the Open button.

 

One of our experts will be able to assist you shortly.

 

If you are having licensing issues, please do the following: 

Spoiler

For any of these issues:

• Renewals
• Refunds (including double billing)
• Cancellations
• Update Billing Info
• Multiple Transactions
• Consumer Purchases
• Transaction Receipt

Please contact our support team at https://support.malwarebytes.com/community/consumer/pages/contact-us to get help

If you need help looking up your license details, please head here: https://support.malwarebytes.com/docs/DOC-1264 

 

Thanks in advance for your patience.

-The Malwarebytes Forum Team

[David H. Lipman]

MS Windows based file submissions are performed in;   Newest Malware Threats

However I can state right now it not malicious.   It has no detections on Virus Total and it is Digitally Signed by Safer Networks and it is their, trusted, software .

https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/a38d4ec3f9884851981f07afd615d95e026746e28464396ba33f4d5be24a9b8d/analysis/

 

Edited February 21, 2019 by David H. Lipman

[exile360]

Greetings,

Spybot Anti-Beacon is a valid program from Safer-Networking Ltd., the makers of Spybot Search & Destroy.  It is designed to disable features in Windows (like Cortana) that are known to compromise your privacy by providing tracking and telemetry data to Microsoft.

That said, if you are having problems with the program you can seek the assistance of the software's creators either through their support system or through their forums and also make sure that you reboot your system after making any changes in Anti-Beacon as some changes require a reboot to take effect according to their FAQ:

How to check if Anti-Beacon is responsible for missing Windows functionality?

Anti-Beacon blocks various parts of Windows that can be regarding as tracking you, the user. In case this has unwanted side-effects, please open up Anti-Beacon, press the Customize button and test, one by one, which Anti-Beacon immunizer is responsible for this.

Some changes Spybot Anti-Beacon applies can only be reverted by rebooting the system after undoing the Anti-Beacon immunizer.

 

I should also mention that Microsoft has been making changes to Cortana recently and has plans to change the feature even more in the future due to Cortana's falling popularity compared to other digital assistants like Google, Alexa and Siri.  I don't know if that has any bearing on the issue you're experiencing or not, but it may if you are running the latest Windows 10 update/build from Microsoft depending on the changes they might have made at this point.

[Humanoid_Dragon]

Is there a free open source alternative to spy bot ant beacon? 

[exile360]

There are several, however like Spybot, they will be likely to disable features such as Cortana which are closely tied to Microsoft's telemetry services.  I don't know the full extent of what's available but I do know there are several options out there as this has been a hot topic of discussion on the web since Microsoft's EULA for the preview builds of Windows 10 first became available, not to mention all the new telemetry components they added to Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 around that time along with the whole GWX debacle.

If you're seeking alternatives to Spybot Anti-Beacon WildersSecurity.com would be a good place to start.  It's a general security forum with a large user base with a wide range of topics on various tools and security/privacy issues.  I found this thread which has a lot of info on the subject but there are likely others and of course you may start a new discussion on their forums on the subject if you wish to seek their community's advice to get the most up to date info.

[Humanoid_Dragon]

 I found a simple program called privacy repairer it made my computer faster than Linux mint and more battery friendly. Now I'm uninstalling Linux mint from my dual boot.

[exile360]

Cool, I have my own set of tweaks that I use on my own systems in the form of various batch and reg files to optimize their performance, and more often than not I find that just eliminating startups/background processes that aren't necessary is the most effective way to speed up system performance, and for that I use MS Sysinternals Autoruns.

As far as eliminating tracking/spying/telemetry goes, I use Spybot Anti-Beacon along with several custom items I've collected over the years for blocking various tracking servers and I disable, remove or cripple all the components in Windows that I don't need or use such as CEIP (the primary source of telemetry in the OS), anything related to sharing/connecting to other devices on the network since I use a single PC that connects directly to the web, and anything related to remote access/remote desktop since I don't want or need anyone connecting to my system interactively from the outside.  I also disable any services that I don't need running in the background and remove things like tablet and ink functionality since I don't own a touchscreen/tablet device or writing tablet/stylus.  Of course it doesn't hurt that my system has some pretty decent hardware, but I still like to manage everything that runs on my system.

[Humanoid_Dragon]

You should install bleachbit it is open source and deletes junk from my computer.

[exile360]

Yep, I'm aware of Bleachbit.  I use my own custom-built tools along with CCleaner so I'm good, but thanks