Edge and Chrome browsers don't work if Malwarebytes "Web protection" is on

[JES]

Both my Windows 10 machines have the same problem. Malwarebytes Premium prevents Edge and Chrome browsers from working if "Web protection" is on. The browsers just spin. Everything is fine if I switch it off but then I don't have this component of protection. This has been the situation for years.

[Malwarebytes]

***This is an automated reply***

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[exile360]

Greetings,

It could be that something else installed on your system or in your browsers is causing Malwarebytes to interfere with your browsers.

Please launch Malwarebytes and click on Scan Now in the Dashboard to perform a Threat scan of the system.  Once it completes, if anything is detected allow Malwarebytes to remove it and then restart your system if prompted to do so to complete the removal process.  Once that's done try using your browsers again to see if they now work normally with Web Protection active.  If the problem still persists then please run ADWCleaner and likewise scan with it and have it remove anything it detects, restarting your system if prompted to do so to complete the removal process.

If the problem still continues then please do the following so that we may take a closer look at your Malwarebytes installation and system configuration to try and determine what might be causing the issue:

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
   

Please let us know how it goes and if necessary, please provide the requested ZIP file.

Thanks

[JES]

AdwCleaner detected files in the Registry (all under \DOMStorage\ or \EpdDomStorage\ with names like dotomi.com and thebrighttag.com. These were quarantined (I think) but the problem persists so I rebooted (Windows 10 home) and ran the Malwarebytes Support Tool. The resulting zip file is attached.

mbst-grab-results.zip

[Maurice Naggar]

Hi JES,

This pc also has Sophos Home antivirus.

Please check out and apply the tips on this support help page about Sophos

https://support.malwarebytes.com/docs/DOC-3177

[JES]

Maurice - No change in my situation but now I understand the problem. Thanks to you.

 

[LiquidTension]

8 hours ago, JES said:

Maurice - No change in my situation but now I understand the problem. Thanks to you.

Hi JES,

If you would prefer not to disable Malwarebytes Web Protection, you also have the option of disabling the Web Protection-related settings in Sophos.

Specifically, the following will need to be disabled in Sophos. This will allow you to use Malwarebytes Web Protection.

• Malicious Traffic Detection (under Protection -> General)
• Web Protection (under Protection -> Web)
• Download Protection (under Protection -> Web)
   

We spent considerable time investigating the issue but ultimately determined it was an unavoidable conflict stemming from both products' use of the Windows Filtering Platform.

Edited June 3, 2019 by LiquidTension

[JES]

In Sophos (free version) I turned off "Real time protection", "Malicious traffic detection", and "Web protection". In Malwarebytes I turned on "Web protection". After rebooting, Edge and Chrome ran just fine. This confirms your diagnosis.

[LiquidTension]

Thanks for confirming! Whilst still not ideal, hopefully this provides more flexibility.

Please let us know if there's anything else we can assist with.

[exile360]

Greetings,

This issue may be resolved by the new beta build of Malwarebytes, version 3.8.  You can learn more about it here.

If you decide you wish to give the beta a try then please open Malwarebytes and navigate to Settings>Application and scroll to the bottom of the tab where it shows the option to enable beta updates and select the option to do so and click Yes at the confirmation prompt then scroll back to the top of the same tab and click on the Install Application Updates button and allow it to download and install the new build, allowing it to restart your system if prompted to do so once the installation completes, making sure that you save anything you were working on before you do.

If you do try the beta, please let us know if it resolved the issue you were experiencing or not.

Thanks