mbam service using up too much memory

[jdawg]

I have done a clean uninstall and reinstall using the tool provided mbam clean... as a result of that, got a memory usage reduction of about 10% but still using way too much memory even when not using any cpu. Thanks.

[Malwarebytes]

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[jdawg]

mbst-grab-results.zip

[exile360]

Greetings,

It's pretty normal for Malwarebytes to use a fairly large amount of memory due to the fact that it retains most if not all of its detection databases in memory.  It does this to accomplish much faster threat analysis, web filtering and threat detection/blocking since it doesn't have to hold up the system to load its databases whenever a new process or website attempts to load (unlike many other AV/AM solutions, which will exhibit much higher CPU usage and much slower response times).

That said, I'd also advise taking a look at the following articles and discussions on the subject of RAM usage:

https://computer.howstuffworks.com/question1751.htm
https://lifehacker.com/5415355/do-you-really-need-more-than-4gb-of-ram
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/memory-module-upgrade,2264.html
https://www.howtogeek.com/128130/htg-explains-why-its-good-that-your-computers-ram-is-full/
https://techlogon.com/2011/03/28/will-more-ram-memory-make-my-computer-faster/

Basically what it boils down to is free RAM doesn't make your computer any faster, and the only time it matters is when you actually don't have enough RAM to perform the tasks that you use your system for and the system is forced to use the paging file on disk as virtual memory.  As long as this is not occurring you're fine.

With all of that said, if Malwarebytes is using more RAM than normal then there could be some kind of conflict or issue.  On my own system (Windows 7 x64 SP1, fully patched) it is currently using around 140,000K for the Private Working Set for MBAMService.exe (which is actually less than Chrome, IE, Adblock Plus and Thunderbird, and only slightly more than MSE, which itself sometimes uses more than Malwarebytes as each program varies in how much they use).

Approximately how much RAM is Malwarebytes using on your system?

[jdawg]

Hello Exile,

Thanks for your feedback. It's using about 120MB on my system. That said, thanks for clarifying the situation.

[exile360]

No problem, I'm glad to help

That said, I have still made a note for the Developers to see if there is anything that they can do to reduce resource usage in the future assuming that it would be possible to do so without sacrificing performance (I'd rather it consume more RAM while not slowing down the system by using more CPU cycles; a common issue seen with many other antimalware/AV applications that are 'lighter' on resources (i.e. they use less memory but actually consume more CPU when analyzing files/processes in memory because they have to load their databases from disk to check the objects to see if they are malicious or not).

[Amaroq_Starwind]

I think Ravioli Memory and Large Memory Pages are the answer here.

[Firefox]

Honestly, these days with the amount of RAM and processors/cores on computers these days, I think it using 120~250 MB ram is nothing... heck if you look at most peoples task manager you will see the biggest memory hogs are usually a browser such as IE, Firefox, Chrome etc. with multiple tabs open.

I know there are some that still have older computers, but even then I would rather have the protection and be safe than having a few extra MB of ram available.

[mbyuser]

tbh malwarebytes hogs my comp nowadays in comparison to a few years it was bound to happen tho with all  the features folks keep asking to be added years back.

it used to be the other big name that made my comp slow nowadays its vise versa this isn't a trash malwarebytes post as ive been here a long time and know if you have a comp problem  and if your software can't fix it you guys use your free time to do so and trashing malwarebytes gets noone no where.

its just simply I had to stop my premium edition as it made my comp far too slow and macfee didn't run as well along side it as it used to do.

 

[Amaroq_Starwind]

I'm very sorry to hear that.

Unfortunately, the only surefire solution in that situation is upgrade your computer, which sadly will always be an expensive thing to do. Doesn't matter which you slice it.

Maybe in the future, the Malwarebytes team will give you two options; Use more CPU to save memory, or use more memory to save CPU.

[exile360]

2 hours ago, mbyuser said:

tbh malwarebytes hogs my comp nowadays in comparison to a few years it was bound to happen tho with all  the features folks keep asking to be added years back.

it used to be the other big name that made my comp slow nowadays its vise versa this isn't a trash malwarebytes post as ive been here a long time and know if you have a comp problem  and if your software can't fix it you guys use your free time to do so and trashing malwarebytes gets noone no where.

its just simply I had to stop my premium edition as it made my comp far too slow and macfee didn't run as well along side it as it used to do.

 

Have you tried disabling just the Ransomware Protection component?  That is likely to be the culprit.  It monitors all processes and threads in memory as well as disk activity to look for ransomware behavior and can be pretty taxing on resources compared to the other modules (though the RAM usage by Malwarebytes is mostly from the threat databases and block lists used by Malware Protection and Web Protection, but that RAM usage shouldn't actually slow your system down as long as you have sufficient RAM).

Besides, the Ransomware Protection component, being more of a reactive protection component (i.e. post-infection) rather than a proactive solution is far less critical than the other more proactive layers such as Web Protection and Exploit Protection as they are far more likely to stop an attack before the actual ransomware file/process can even get downloaded/installed to the system.

[mbyuser]

cheers for the heads up,all the best as ever

[exile360]

You're very welcome  

[StevenWilliams]

My MWB Premium Ver 3.7.1 is using 625MB while idle. This is a machine running win 8.1with 8GB ram. This seems like a lot more that what other people have talked about. Is this normal?

[exile360]

That does sound excessive, but a lot depends on what other processes are running in the background and what Malwarebytes is doing at the time.  For example, if Malwarebytes is executing a scheduled scan then that kind of RAM usage would be expected as it uses a lot during scans, however that RAM should be freed up once the scan completes and it should then drop to normal levels of usage at that point.

If you would, please do the following so that we may take a look at what's going on with your installation:

1. Download and run the Malwarebytes Support Tool
2. Accept the EULA and click Advanced tab on the left (not Start Repair)
3. Click the Gather Logs button, and once it completes, attach the zip file it creates on your desktop to your next reply
   

Thanks

[SPDIF]

Here in Windows 10, Malwarebytes takes about 130MB idle. In Windows 8.1 it takes here about 126MB.  I talk about Malwarebytes Service and not the tray Application. Tray application takes only 11MB. Windows 10 has 16GB and windows 8.1 has onlt 4GB gor ram. So yes in your case idle thats a lot.

[exile360]

Resource usage can vary wildly between one system and another as all differences can be a factor, not just the version of Windows.  Everything from the drivers/hardware installed to the processes running in the background and even the Malwarebytes database version and size can be factors.  My suspicion though is that perhaps a scheduled scan may be the culprit here, but we'll see.

[StevenWilliams]

Here is my log.

Thanks!

mbst-grab-results.zip

[exile360]

Thanks.  It does show the last scheduled scan executed at 2019-05-07 03:00:00 in your logs.  Assuming that scan is now completed, what does your memory usage look like?  Is it still over 600MB?

[StevenWilliams]

Yes, 621MB.

[exile360]

OK, thanks.

I noticed that you have both Acronis TrueImage and Second Copy installed.  Are both of these programs running in the background, creating regular/scheduled backups etc.?  If so, that very well could account for the issue as Malwarebytes' Ransomware Protection component monitors all memory and disk activity to look for ransomware behavior, and backup software performs many actions that would be monitored closely as they can resemble some of the activities performed by ransomware (obviously these are legitimate programs so Malwarebytes shouldn't detect them as threats, but it will still monitor their activities).

Could you try disabling each of these temporarily so that they don't run in the background and then restarting the system with them disabled to see if Malwarebytes behaves any differently?

[StevenWilliams]

That did make a difference, it dropped down to 136MB. Wow. Thanks!

[exile360]

Good, I was hopeful that was the issue.  You may be able to have your cake and eat it to by creating exclusions for those applications in Malwarebytes, specifically excluding them from Ransomware Protection.  To do so, simply follow the instructions under the Exclude a File or Folder section of this support article and be sure to select the program folder for each one (usually located under C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86)).  Once the exclusions are created, re-enable your backup programs and restart the PC and check to see if things are better now as they were when you had them disabled/not running.  Hopefully that will correct the problem without sacrificing your backup programs.

[Thunderhead7]

I'm having the same issues with too much memory being used. 

mbst-grab-results.zip

[Porthos]

1 hour ago, Thunderhead7 said:

I'm having the same issues with too much memory being used. 

mbst-grab-results.zip 9.17 MB · 1 download

Could you install the latest component update and let us know if this addresses the issue please.

To install the update:

• Open Malwarebytes.
• Click Settings.
• Click Install Application Updates.

After the update, you should find Component Package version 1.0.627 is installed. You can confirm by viewing the About page within the Settings.

Please let us know how you get on.