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Does the installer add startups/etc? (legacy version)


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Hi,

Several questions:

- Does the installer (for the legacy Win XP installer) add any automatic startups, services, or anything of that sort?  I hope not, because I'm looking for something that only runs when I manually run it (doesn't run anything otherwise) and quits afterwards, and it is my understanding that this program is an "on-demand" antivirus; I'm I understanding that correctly?  I ask because I have fought with a lot of programs of any category (not just antivirus) that insist on installing stuff that runs in the background all the time, and many antivirus programs are NOT on-demand, so definitely do so.

- It is my understanding that the software is free for basic use, but is that still the case for the legacy windows version?

I am new to this forum, so I apologize if I have made any mistakes in posting such as the wrong subforum or the question has been answered previously.  Regarding the previous, I did a search and didn't find anything, but if there's an existing post with the answer please point me to it - thanks

Any help would be appreciated, thanks

 

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Hello @agxp,
 

3 hours ago, agxp said:

Does the installer (for the legacy Win XP installer) add any automatic startups, services, or anything of that sort?

Yes, a service is installed that is configured to start with Windows. If you have the Premium version of Malwarebytes, additional drivers are installed that are loaded at startup.
 

3 hours ago, agxp said:

I hope not, because I'm looking for something that only runs when I manually run it (doesn't run anything otherwise) and quits afterwards, and it is my understanding that this program is an "on-demand" antivirus; I'm I understanding that correctly?

The Premium version of Malwarebytes includes various Real-Time Protection modules, which does not make it an on-demand security product.
The Free version does not include any Real-Time Protection modules and is therefore considered on-demand.

You can disable Malwarebytes from starting up with Windows. To do so:

  • Open Malwarebytes.
  • Click Settings.
  • Click Protection.
  • Scroll down to Startup Options.
  • Turn the, "Start Malwarebytes at Windows startup" option off.

You can then launch Malwarebytes manually by double-clicking the Desktop shortcut. Note that upon closing the user interface, the service I mentioned above will still be running. If you wish to stop Malwarebytes entirely, right-click the Malwarebytes icon in the notification area/system tray and click Quit Malwarebytes.

 

3 hours ago, agxp said:

It is my understanding that the software is free for basic use, but is that still the case for the legacy windows version?

Yes, the legacy Malwarebytes for Windows version (3.5.1) is no exception. Both a Free and Trial/Premium version are available.

If you are only looking for an on-demand scanner and are not interested in Real-Time Protection, I recommend sticking with the Free version of Malwarebytes. This will allow you to perform manual, on-demand scans with the program. If you choose this option, you can carry out the bullet point steps above to prevent the program from starting with Windows.

Edited by LiquidTension
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  • 1 month later...

Hi,

Thank you for your reply, I really appreciate it; sorry it took a while to get back to you - unfortunately, I had to deal with some life issues that side-tracked me from this anti-virus task for a few weeks.  Anyway, besides thanking you, I also did have one more question:

As mentioned, I want to install the free version (of the XP legacy), but I'm not sure if the install file is the same for the free and premium (with some option to choose one or the other) or if they are separate files.  The file I downloaded is "mb3-setup-legacywos-3.5.1.2522-1.0.365-1.0.5292.exe", which I found in another thread about XP support; is that the right one?  Or is there a different install file for the free version?

Thanks

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Thanks

When I ran it just now, the install program said it requires service pack 3, but it turns out that the machine I'm installing it on unfortunately doesn't have that and I really don't want to make further changes to the OS itself (the machine is very stable as it is and I do not want to provoke it by making big changes to the OS, particularly because it unfortunately has no install disk/drivers because the OS was pre-installed); is there an older version that will still accept anti-virus definition updates and yet run under SP2?  If so, could you point me to the newest version that will work?  (Note that I did notice the CPU requirements for sse2 and ran the test; the tool says the machine does have that.  The main reason I bring that up is that I also noticed the instructions for sse2 say that if you don't have it you can install an older version, which is what prompted this question about if an older version works for SP2.)

Also, I noticed the deactivation instructions say that the free version has limitations, which is of course expected, but it did get me to thinking that I should ask: You can still at least pick specific files/dirs to scan, correct?

 

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Beyond the questions in my previous reply, I should also ask: Since it installs in premium mode to start with, is there more stuff that is installed to run in the background while premium mode is on (Internet Explorer or other browser add-in's, startup scan processes, etc.)?  If that's the case, will deactivating premium mode get rid of those completely, or do they remain installed (but in a deactivated state)?

 

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Malwarebytes version 3 has never officially been supported on Windows XP SP2. The legacy Malwarebytes Anti-Malware version 2 was supported on Windows XP SP2, but please note that this product reached end of maintenance nearly 2 years ago. It does still receive definition database updates, but it is severely lacking in detection capabilities and other areas when compared to Malwarebytes version 3 (in Free mode).

My advice would be to strongly consider moving away from XP in favour of a support Operating System.

If this truly isn't possible, the legacy Malwarebytes Anti-Malware version 2 can be downloaded using the following link: https://malwarebytes.box.com/s/4usptr0ghcqoer1z07o1br2yk9g2cbtd
 

Quote

Also, I noticed the deactivation instructions say that the free version has limitations, which is of course expected, but it did get me to thinking that I should ask: You can still at least pick specific files/dirs to scan, correct? 

Yes. For Malwarebytes version 3 and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware version 2, Free mode includes the ability to run scans on specific files/folders.
 

12 hours ago, agxp said:

Beyond the questions in my previous reply, I should also ask: Since it installs in premium mode to start with, is there more stuff that is installed to run in the background while premium mode is on (Internet Explorer or other browser add-in's, startup scan processes, etc.)?  If that's the case, will deactivating premium mode get rid of those completely, or do they remain installed (but in a deactivated state)? 

Real-Time Protection drivers are installed dynamically in Premium/Trial mode. Once reverted to Free, those drivers are automatically uninstalled. There are no leftover running elements from the Premium/Trial mode.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi,

Sorry it again took me a while to respond, life issues yet again.

Anyway, thanks for the information and assistance, I really appreciate it.  One more thing, thank you for your advise about going to a newer OS (which sounds like would be more compatible with the primary development on this software), but actually this is a non-option for me (and not necessarily a good thing for other customers); I have several older machines for not just one, but several very significant reasons and the XP support is the entire reason why I am interested in this particular product (a direct install is vastly easier than having to use the boot disk anti-virus method like I do for my 9x/dos machines, which is a hassle).

I'll explain further, largely for the company to better understand their customers and for the sake of anyone else reading this: The first reason is that old software tends to run the best on the machines for which it was originally designed (particularly older games, which I do enjoy every so often when I have time).  The second reason is that I design my own software when I have time and strongly believe software should ALWAYS be backwards compatible whenever possible (and it often is entirely possible), so I need my older machines to make sure of it (I respect this company for the XP support and selected this software specifically for this reason, otherwise I'd have just kept my existing antivirus software).  The third reason is that, bluntly, I've never met a version of Windows after XP that I've liked better than XP, so I often end up using an XP box when possible to do most of my work (if Microsoft decides to release a version of Windows that is truly better than XP, I'll be first in line to buy it, but I'm not holding my breath; for many years now each new version of Windows has consistently been a regression from the versions prior to it, "fixing" (breaking) what isn't broken (often the UI and bloating everything), and neglecting to fix what IS actually broken.  Even XP had some things that were regressions from 9x/NT4, although various actual improvements mostly evened that out).  Due to these rather significant issues, I go so far as to recommend to people (particularly people that play games or design software) that they always keep their old machines.  In technology, particularly software, newer all-too-often does NOT equal better, sadly.  I really wish newer was actually better more often, it would make things much easier for customers and certain companies would not have to resort to immoral tactics like planned obsolescence and trick updates to force users to newer versions.  Anyway...

Again, thanks for your help
 

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I definitely hear where you're coming from with regards to older games.  That said, if you haven't already, I'd highly recommend checking out gog.com as they have a lot of older games which have been made compatible with modern operating systems which makes it a lot easier to get them up and running (including without needing the original CDs as are often required with many older games for their DRM) on newer Windows versions.

Obviously that's not the only reason to continue using an older version of Windows, but I just thought I'd mention it in case you weren't aware as it can be most useful and convenient when seeking to run older games on newer hardware/operating systems (plus it's all DRM-free and you can backup your games locally, so even if GOG ever goes out of business you'll still have all your games as long as you've backed them up; something services like Steam can't promise should their servers ever be taken down).

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exile360: Thanks, I appreciate the recommendation.  I am actually aware of them and have paid for some downloads from them in the past.  In particular, I sometimes do use DosBox instead of my actual dos machines to play games since that emulator does sometimes works better than actual dos, but it sometimes takes a lot of work to find the optimal settings, so I was curious how they configured some of those games and therefore paid them for some downloads when they were on sale.  I've found that a good emulator of very old machines/OS's like DosBox can sometimes be an exception to the rule of the original OS/hardware being better; I was mainly referring to various older versions of Windows.  Anyway, there seem to be some distinct pluses and minuses of their service, but I'd be getting too far off-topic if I enumerated each of those (I would just say you already pointed out most of the pluses and that my biggest complaint is not actually their fault, but rather that, as far as I can tell, some of the current license holders that I assume they must pay royalties to seem more than a little nefarious, making me very hesitant to give those companies any of the money that they would theoretically receive downstream).  It is probably enough to say that while I vastly prefer physical products, there are definitely times when I would advocate their service, particularly when they have a sale, and they are probably the best game download service that I am currently aware of (for example, I had a bad experience with Steam when a single-player (non-internet) game I bought on DVD insisted that I run their poorly-behaved internet-based DRM program in the background, therefore I do not purchase downloads from Steam).

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