Issues wih Outlook 2016

[bbrener]

I have an issue with Outlook 2016 which is seemingly incompatible with Malwarebytes. When I send an email from Outlook, it clocks and freezes and does not complete the send. I have to force the Outlook task closed and restart it and the email is lost.

As seen on various internet posts. I turn off Malwarebytes web protection module and the problem has not reoccurred. I do not want to run Malwarebytes that way. Running the latest version 3.8.3.2965

[Malwarebytes]

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[bbrener]

1 hour ago, bbrener said:

I have an issue with Outlook 2016 which is seemingly incompatible with Malwarebytes. When I send an email from Outlook, it clocks and freezes and does not complete the send. I have to force the Outlook task closed and restart it and the email is lost.

As seen on various internet posts. I turn off Malwarebytes web protection module and the problem has not reoccurred. I do not want to run Malwarebytes that way. Running the latest version 3.8.3.2965

I sent an email to support with the logs.

mbst-grab-results.zip

[Porthos]

16 minutes ago, bbrener said:

I sent an email to support with the logs.

mbst-grab-results.zip 4.53 MB · 0 downloads

It is possible that Bitdefender is interfering with Malwarebytes web protection. Possibly Bitdefenders fire wall.

 

[bbrener]

2 minutes ago, Porthos said:

It is possible that Bitdefender is interfering with Malwarebytes web protection. Possibly Bitdefenders fire wall.

 

So MB should make them play nice. Are you suggesting I stop using BD??

[bbrener]

Thanks for the reply though. What would the solution be? I am sure thousands of people use BD; MB and Outlook.

[exile360]

I believe the solution is simply to disable the web filtering component in Bitdefender (not the firewall; I believe that component is fine with Malwarebytes), otherwise you may disable the Web Protection component in Malwarebytes.  If the two together are creating a conflict then that is likely the only solution at this time.  You could try mutual exclusions between the two applications if you haven't done so already, however I'm not confident that it would help in this case.  If you'd still like to try (and it may improve overall system performance anyway), please exclude Bitdefender's program folder(s) under Program Files and/or Program Files (x86) as well as its data folder, likely located under C:\ProgramData using the method described under the Exclude a File or Folder section of Exclude detections in Malwarebytes for Windows v3 and exclude the items listed in this support article (or at least Malwarebytes' executables) from Bitdefender's real-time protection.

Please let us know if none of the above resolved the issue or if the problem is independent of Bitdefender.

Thanks

Edited February 20, 2020 by AdvancedSetup
updated link

[bbrener]

Many thanks. I am not sure what you mean by "web filtering component in Bitdefender". It is not called that. I have BD excluded from MB and vice versa. I was planning to try adding Outlook to MB as per screenshot1 and try that. See screenshot2. Would changing anything for MSOffice help?

I have used both for years and they are effective. I am reluctant to turn MB web protection in MB unless you think they overlap and do the same job.

[cage22]

There seems to be an error in one of the pages exile360 references above. When you go to this page, there are a bunch of exclusions that are written as,

"C:\Windows\Sysnative..." I believe this should read, C:\Windows\System32...

i.e.

C:\Windows\System32\drivers\mwac.sys
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\mbamswissarmy.sys
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\mbamchameleon.sys
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\farflt.sys
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\mbae64.sys

[exile360]

It's not an error.  Many AVs still use 32-bit executables so when you try to browse to the native System32 Windows redirects you to SysWOW64 instead, which is the 32-bit system folder created on x64 operating systems for backwards compatibility with x86 software.  Entering Sysnative forces it to go to the real System32 folder thus bypassing the redirection.  You can learn more about this here:

32-bit applications can access the native system directory by substituting %windir%\Sysnative for %windir%\System32. WOW64 recognizes Sysnative as a special alias used to indicate that the file system should not redirect the access. This mechanism is flexible and easy to use, therefore, it is the recommended mechanism to bypass file system redirection. Note that 64-bit applications cannot use the Sysnative alias as it is a virtual directory not a real one.

[exile360]

On 7/29/2019 at 2:35 PM, bbrener said:

Many thanks. I am not sure what you mean by "web filtering component in Bitdefender". It is not called that. I have BD excluded from MB and vice versa. I was planning to try adding Outlook to MB as per screenshot1 and try that. See screenshot2. Would changing anything for MSOffice help?

I have used both for years and they are effective. I am reluctant to turn MB web protection in MB unless you think they overlap and do the same job.

I meant their malicious website blocking component.  I can't recall exactly what it is called, but they have one.  It's up to you which you choose to disable, but if you can find the setting in Bitdefender to confirm that disabling it even helps, that would be the first step.

As for disabling protection for Outlook, that won't do any good.  Those settings cover Exploit Protection, not Web Protection (and you definitely don't want to sacrifice Exploit Protection as it's crucial for the apps that it shields by default).  You could try excluding Outlook from Web Protection to see if that helps, again, just to test.  To do so, follow the instructions under the Exclude an Application that Connects to the Internet section of this support article for Outlook.exe and see if that makes any difference, just be advised that if anything malicious comes through that tries to connect to a malicious website such as a preview of an email containing malicious content downloading from a known malicious site, it will not be blocked, however that isn't a great risk these days as most email clients (Outlook included) are designed to block such active content by default more often than not so that might be your safest bet, assuming it does resolve the problem.

Edited February 20, 2020 by AdvancedSetup
updated link

[bbrener]

Thank you very much for the help Exile360. I have a number of options to test now as to which si the most effective with minimum impact. I can try excluding in BD, or excluding the APP in MB, or the outlook folders in MB. I will post back what I discover.

BD has an add in to Outlook which is antispam. That is not the issue as it happens when it is disabled, but it will also handle the case you raise in bold above. I suspect that the module in BD you are referring to is Online Threat Prevention which MB probably covers.

[exile360]

Yes, that likely is the offending module.  It is likely using a similar method to Malwarebytes for blocking malicious websites and servers (it's likely hooked directly into the network stack via the WFP APIs the same as Web Protection in Malwarebytes is).

Please let us know how the testing goes and what you come up with.  Once we discover which options work and which ones don't, then we can try and determine which is the least risk for resolving the situation while retaining as much protection as possible.

[suzy5527]

Thank you so very much, in what i am sure is a very basic description for the help I need BUT...I am such a rummy, I have absolutely No Idea what you are talking about. I imagine I'll have to take this to Best Buy & see IF they can fix this.  But IF you can think of anyone who might be able to help me, at this level, please send them.  Thank you again!

 

[exile360]

Greetings,

I see that you have a thread in the malware removal area where you are being assisted by AdvancedSetup.  Please stick with that topic for now to get that issue resolved, and if you still require assistance after you are done there, then please return to this section of the forums and create a new topic to continue working on that issue.  If you have any trouble following any of his instructions, simply ask him to clarify and I am certain he will be able to walk you through the steps that need to be done.

Thanks

[bbrener]

The results of my testing are as follows:

1. Disabling BD Online Threat prevention module does not help. The problem reoccurs.

2. If I disable the application in MB, the problem reoccurs. See snapshot

3. I have to disable MB web protection and the issue seems solved.

[exile360]

Thanks, and how about if you also exclude BD's process(es) as Web Exclusions the same way you did for Outlook?  Does that help?  I'm hoping we can find a way to eliminate the issue without fully disabling Web Protection.

[bbrener]

36 minutes ago, exile360 said:

Thanks, and how about if you also exclude BD's process(es) as Web Exclusions the same way you did for Outlook?  Does that help?  I'm hoping we can find a way to eliminate the issue without fully disabling Web Protection.

I already have the BD folders from program files; common files; and programdata excluded in MB. Did you want me to exclude something else? If so, which processes? See below.

[exile360]

You have to exclude the individual executables using the same Exclude an Application that Connects to the Internet setting you used for excluding Outlook.exe, otherwise it does not exclude them from Web Protection (it only prevents them from being detected as threats by Malware Protection).

[bbrener]

On 7/30/2019 at 2:46 PM, exile360 said:

You have to exclude the individual executables using the same Exclude an Application that Connects to the Internet setting you used for excluding Outlook.exe, otherwise it does not exclude them from Web Protection (it only prevents them from being detected as threats by Malware Protection).

I have everything excluded as follows:

From BD:

C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes C:\ProgramData\Malwarebytes  C:\Windows\System32\drivers\mwac.sys C:\Windows\System32\drivers\mbamswissarmy.sys C:\Windows\System32\drivers\mbamchameleon.sys C:\Windows\System32\drivers\farflt.sys C:\Windows\System32\drivers\mbae64.sys    and from MB I have BD folders and running processes excluded. (see snapshot) The problem still occurs if MB web protection is running

 

Edited February 20, 2020 by AdvancedSetup
corrected font issue

[exile360]

Well that's a bummer.  I was hoping that excluding the right Bitdefender process from Web Protection would do the trick.  Have you been able to determine which component of Bitdefender being disabled resolves the issue while keeping Web Protection in Malwarebytes active?

[bbrener]

20 minutes ago, exile360 said:

Well that's a bummer.  I was hoping that excluding the right Bitdefender process from Web Protection would do the trick.  Have you been able to determine which component of Bitdefender being disabled resolves the issue while keeping Web Protection in Malwarebytes active?

I haven't found that disabling anything in BD allows MB web protection to stay active. I haven't tried disabling it all.... but not sure that is productive. 

[exile360]

Thanks.  Have we even determined that Bitdefender is at all a factor?  If it isn't, then that may indicate a different problem is causing this so it might be worth testing with Bitdefender disabled or removed just to verify that Outlook works with Web Protection active when Bitdefender isn't active.

[AdvancedSetup]

Please try doing a clean removal and reinstall of Malwarebytes (this will remove all exclusions you've put in place and if needed will need to be put back in place)

Uninstall and reinstall using the Malwarebytes Support Tool

What is the exact version of Bitdefender you're using as well

Edited February 20, 2020 by AdvancedSetup
updated information

[bbrener]

On 8/1/2019 at 2:20 PM, AdvancedSetup said:

Please try doing a clean removal and reinstall of Malwarebytes (this will remove all exclusions you've put in place and if needed will need to be put back in place)

Uninstall and reinstall using the Malwarebytes Support Tool

What is the exact version of Bitdefender you're using as well

I am using BD Total Security 2019. I will not remove MB and laboriously add back all the exclusions. It is time you had a mechanism to save them which has been missing for years. Adding them is also a pain as you have to drill down to each file one at a time and then go back to the beginning. 

Edited February 20, 2020 by AdvancedSetup
updated link