Malwarebytes Causing Dell SupportAssist Program Issues ?

[AdvancedSetup]

Thanks Phil 👍

@garioch7

 

[garioch7]

@AdvancedSetup

As always, Ron, you are most welcome.  It was your influence that led me to join the Bleeping Computer Study Hall so many years ago, one of the best decisions of my life.  Thank you.

I will keep monitoring my SupportAssist Scan Hardware topic daily over at the Dell Forums and I will keep you apprised of anything noteworthy that might affect your team.

Keep up the great work, Ron.  Have a great day.

Regards,
-Phil

[Bonecrusher]

Did this, still not doing hardware test.  Put same in Bitdefender, no change.  Any ideas?

[garioch7]

@Bonecrusher

I don't really have any new ideas.  It is known that McAfee as well interferes with Dell SupportAssist.  If you have that installed, you should add exceptions in that application, though I would recommend that you not have more than one anti-virus installed providing real-time protection.  That can cause all kinds of system issues and conflicts.  I use Bitdefender 2020 Total Security on both of my Dell computers (laptop and desktop).  I uninstalled the McAfee trial products when I took delivery of my Dell computers.  There is no need to add exceptions to the Bitdefender program.

You should make sure that you are running the latest version of SupportAssist (Version 3.4.5.366).  It is possible that uninstalling the program, rebooting, and then reinstalling it might resolve your problem.  It is available for download here.

I hope this helps.  Good luck and have a great day.

Regards,
-Phil

[SPDIF]

It is the best to uninstall this DELL bloatware...

Critical flaws in Dell bloatware

This is not the first time Demirkapi found critical vulnerabilities within software that comes pre-installed on major vendors' computers, including Lenovo and Dell.

For instance, he previously discovered a remote code execution flaw tracked as CVE-2019-3719 and impacting most Dell machines that come with the SupportAssist Client software installed by default.

Demirkapi also found a local privilege escalation vulnerability affecting Dell's SupportAssist Client which comes "preinstalled on most of all new Dell devices running Windows operating system."

SupportAssist "proactively checks the health of your system’s hardware and software," according to Dell and it will send "necessary system state information" to Dell for troubleshooting when issues are detected.

[Bonecrusher]

Thanks; something is fishy, the download link does not offer supportassist that I can see.    Since the other sections work, I incline to not pursue the hardware check, and wait to see if Dell fixes.    I do have correct version and no McAfee.

[Porthos]

18 minutes ago, Bonecrusher said:

the download link does not offer supportassist that I can see

Here is a direct link for that download if needed.https://downloads.dell.com/serviceability/catalog/SupportAssistInstaller.exe

[Bonecrusher]

Thanks, will keep that.   My guess is that Dell has a bug to fix.   Since the other features work, replacing program which is correct version is probably not answer.     Back on W7, I used System Mechanic for years.     It did not check hdw, but cleaned files and reg.  I dropped it when supportassist did same for free.     It is nice to know hdw errors, but they usually mean repair shop or replace.

[Bonecrusher]

Yesterday,  Support Assist ran to completion, including hardware check.   I did nothing to fix, so guess  someone fixed something.

[AdvancedSetup]

Possibly, but why would you continue to use an old version of Dell software known to have exploits? Why wouldn't you update it if  you really want to use it?

 

[Bonecrusher]

What do you suggest?   I used System Mechanic on the previous machine.

[Porthos]

11 minutes ago, Bonecrusher said:

I used System Mechanic on the previous machine.

My.02 That ^^ is even worse. I you really need dells software, I would always have the updated version to guard from newly found exploits that compromise their software.

The first thing I do with my clients computers is wipe them and clean install and let Windows install drivers. Dell supplies Microsoft with certified drivers that install with Windows update. 90% of computers from Dell work just fine with those provided drivers.

 

 

[AdvancedSetup]

If your computer is more than 3 years old it is very unlikely that there will be any manufacturer updates. It's possible but not too likely. Have you ever obtained direct support from Dell via remote control? Do you use and have tested that their backup software does in fact work well for your needs?

What issues are you having or concerns do you have that you feel you need additional assistance with @Bonecrusher

 

[lmacri]

17 hours ago, Bonecrusher said:

Yesterday,  Support Assist ran to completion, including hardware check.   I did nothing to fix, so guess  someone fixed something.

Hi Bonecrusher:

Dell SupportAssist should run an automatic check for updates at each launch, and the SupportAssist for my Inspiron 5584 recently received an update from v3.4.5.366 to v3.5.0.448 a few days ago in early May 2020.  Unfortunately, the link to the release notes <here> hasn't been updated yet and still downloads a PDF for the old v3.4.5 change log.

I currently use Malwarebytes Free v3.8.3 as an on-demand scanner so I haven't experienced the same "Scan Hardware" issues described in this thread, but I did have to do a complete wipe of SupportAssist using Revo Uninstaller Free back in January 2020 and then reinstall with a fresh copy of the Dell SupportAssist for PCs installer (SupportAssistInstaller.exe) to fix "An unexpected error occurred" message that occurred every time "Get Drivers & Downloads"ran.
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v1909 build 18363.720 * Firefox ESR v68.8.0 * Windows Defender v4.18.2004.6 * Malwarebytes Free v3.8.3-1.0.629 * Dell SupportAssist v3.5.0.448 * Revo Uninstaller Free Portable v2.1.1
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U@1.60/1.80 GHz, 8 GB RAM, Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620

[SPDIF]

Just as porthos said, i have 20+ clients with an Dell laptop. The first thing i did do was de-installing Support Assist. There are no problems so far. They get al updates via Windows update. In fact the laptop is now a little faster because it is sometimes power-hungry, (uses a lot of memory and CPU time) and they don't have to think anymore about privacy. Without these exploits the computer is also more safe then before! This program sends al User behavior to Dell...for statistics.

If this is all no problem for you then i suggest to run it once every month or so, instead as an automatic task.

[lmacri]

31 minutes ago, SPDIF said:

Just as porthos said, i have 20+ clients with an Dell laptop. The first thing i did do was de-installing Support Assist. There are no problems so far. ...This program sends al User behavior to Dell...for statistics....

Hi SPDIF:

Do your clients rely on Dell for customer support?

My Inspiron 5584 is less than a year old and is still under warranty, and I've been warned by Dell that uninstalling the Dell SupportAssist (DSA) will essentially void my warranty and I will not be allowed to initiate support tickets with Dell Customer Support (which I've already had to do once after Windows Update delivered an incorrect driver update that didn't match my Inspiron model; driver updates are now disabled for Windows Update on this Win 10 Pro machine).  If I disable data telemetry in the DSA settings at Settings | Privacy I've also discovered that the online "Detect Drivers" check for the latest certified drivers cannot detect my Dell Service Tag (the unique identifier that specifies my hardware configuration like my SSD make/model, etc.) on the Inspiron 5584 support page at https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-ca/product-support/product/inspiron-15-5584-laptop/drivers.
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v1909 build 18363.720 * Firefox ESR v68.8.0 * Windows Defender v4.18.2004.6 * Malwarebytes Free v3.8.3-1.0.629 * Dell SupportAssist v3.5.0.448
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U@1.60/1.80 GHz, 8 GB RAM, Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620

[Bonecrusher]

Thanks for help.   Never needed support on 2 year old machine.   Main good thing in supportassist is registry cleaner.

[Porthos]

7 minutes ago, Bonecrusher said:

Main good thing in supportassist is registry cleaner.

That is the issue. No one should be using a "registry cleaner"  no matter who wrote or provides it.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2563254/microsoft-support-policy-for-the-use-of-registry-cleaning-utilities

 

Edited May 8, 2020 by Porthos

[SPDIF]

Registry Cleaners... The most bad software that ever existed. It BREAKS more then it REPAIRS. There is a very famous saying in the world very well known.

IF IT AIN'T BROKEN, DON'T FIX IT!

[AdvancedSetup]

Do I need a Registry Cleaner?

https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/126481-do-i-need-a-windows-registry-cleaner/

 

[Bonecrusher]

Thanks.  So just use the junk file cleaner in W10?

[AdvancedSetup]

You need to first decide what it is you're wanting to accomplish or  do to decide if it even needs to be done or what is the best method to achieve  your goal.

Can you please explain what it is you believe you either want to do or need to do and we can help you decide if it has value or not and if so what methods are available

Thanks

 

[Bonecrusher]

Mainly slowing, which is mostly buildup of junk and temp files. W10 has utility for that.

[Porthos]

1 minute ago, Bonecrusher said:

Mainly slowing, which is mostly buildup of junk and temp files. W10 has utility for that.

Does your computer have a SSD? If not, That would be my next investment. Along with min 8 gigs of ram if possible but the SSD will give the most improvement.

 

3 minutes ago, Bonecrusher said:

W10 has utility for that.

Storage Sense. Off by default though.