Malwarebytes causing bad sound?

[tkmops]

There was a post by one of Malwarebytes technos,(a few weeks back) that to resolve the issue, while they are trying to fix it, we can 'roll back' to a prior version of Malwarebytes.

In my mind, that indicates that this 'bad sound' issue(something about increasing the cycles...which puts a strain on your CPU), was due to one of their updates sometime in Feb 2020.

Now, even though I've been a IBM mainframe hardware/software tech since the early '70's, I'm not a PC expert. But, there could be a case made, that a combination of Malwarebytes updates AND issues with Realtek audio and/or Network Adapters are causing the issue.

One of the ways to research this is to read all the lines of that update code, and then try to correlate it to possible impacts to the Realtek audio/Network drivers. 

[marka2049]

5 minutes ago, tkmops said:

...was due to one of their updates sometime in Feb 2020.

...

But, there could be a case made, that a combination of Malwarebytes updates AND issues with Realtek audio and/or Network Adapters are causing the issue.

The odd thing is I only started experiencing this issue shortly before my initial post on this topic (May 15th). My buddy has been experiencing this for several months. I have also found some different threads asking about the same/similar issues that go back years.

I agree that some combination of updates is causing this and that one factor (particularly Malwarebytes) is not solely to blame.

 

[Bill01568]

My audio is going through HDMI to an LG OLED TV: LG TV (Intel(R) Display Audio)

My Ethernet card: Intel(R) Ethernet Connection I219-V

My WiFi adapter is turned off.

I, too, completely wiped my system and reloaded Windows 10 to try to get rid of this problem. It returned. The problem definitely appears as a RAPID stutter of audio, like a tiny loop, that lasts from a fraction of a second to a couple of seconds.

[tkmops]

For everyone, especially the new people, read this post by 'exile360' from Apr 17:'I suspect that it was the I/O, not RAM usage, that caused the sound to stutter.  The issue is likely related to DPC latency, and somewhere between your sound driver and network driver (which is where Web Protection in Malwarebytes comes into the picture) there exists an issue with interference.
And this post by 'AdvancedSetup' Staff, on Apr 15:No promise this will fix your issue but you can do the following and let us know.
Option 1: Disable Web Protection via the tray icon
Option 2: Revert to Malwarebytes 4 CU1 and disable program updates until the next beta is available
Step 1:  Uninstall and reinstall using the Malwarebytes Support Tool but do not allow the program to reinstall after the reboot. Decline the install
Step 2; Download Malwarebytes 4 CU1 and install it
Step 3: Open Malwarebytes, click the wheel image.png (top right) for Settings, General, then disable Application updates.    
Step 4: Restart the computer

Might be a good idea to just re-read the entire thread?

[AdvancedSetup]

For many people, the DPC tool is going to probably be a red herring. If you do a bit more research on the tool and its use and results there isn't a lot of "current" information and reports of using the tool to solve an issue. Nvidia drivers are also often the cause of poor DPC results.

 

The first step in possibly resolving the issue is to do a clean removal and reinstall of the program using our tool. For many people, this resolves the issue. For those that it does not resolve the issue then you may want to try enabling the Beta downloads from within Settings, General.

If the latest beta also does not correct the issue, then please gather logs to help us track down and resolve the issue.

 

 

STEP 1
Please do the following Uninstall and reinstall Malwarebytes using the Malwarebytes Support Tool

Please have lots of patience with the tool.  The first phase is a cleanup and does require a Windows Restart.
After the Restart, it may take 2 - 3 - 4 minutes till the Support tool screen shows up.   Please be patient and have faith.  Wait for it, whatever it takes.
The 2nd phase is where it offers to do a new Install.

 Let us know if that clears up the issue or not.

 

If STEP 1 did not help then please restart the computer and  proceed to STEP 2 so that we can get logs to help us determine the cause

STEP 2
When the issue occurs, do you have a VPN or any other network filtering software enabled (besides Malwarebytes)?
Does this issue consistently present itself when Web Protection is enabled?
Does the issue occur when you are not using Bittorent, qBittorrent, or any other P2P torrent software?

We're in need of additional information to help narrow down the cause of this issue.
Part of this process will involve manually triggering a crash to obtain a memory dump, which will hopefully show what the Web Protection driver is doing to cause this issue. You can read more about this process here.

• Enable debug logging in Malwarebytes (Settings -> General -> Event log data).
• Quit Malwarebytes using the notification area icon. (right-click Quit-Malwarebytes)
• If Smart Screen attempts to block the next step please tell it to allow it.
• Download and double-click the following .reg file: https://malwarebytes.box.com/s/21gdrmaj74xbeiazf6km7tfube246eid
• Download and double-click the following .reg file: https://malwarebytes.box.com/s/c323ski2qkrdvwds615z00j3hg75fn0y
• Restart the computer.
• Launch Malwarebytes and ensure Web Protection is enabled.
• Reproduce the issue.

Once you've reproduced the issue and are actively experiencing it, force a crash by pressing the following keys at the same time: Left Ctrl+Left Alt+U+U.

After the machine has rebooted, you should find a memory dump named MEMORY.dmp in C:\Windows. Please zip this up and provide it to us.

Please follow the directions from the following topic:  Upload Malwarebytes Support Tool logs offline and upload that new log as well on your next reply
 

STEP 3 (if step 1 did not help and you do not wish to participate in step 2)

 

Option 1: Disable Web Protection via the tray icon

Option 2: Revert to Malwarebytes 4 CU1 and disable program updates until the next beta is available

Step 1:  Uninstall and reinstall using the Malwarebytes Support Tool but do not allow the program to reinstall after the reboot. Decline the install
Step 2; Download Malwarebytes 4 CU1 and install it
Step 3: Open Malwarebytes, click the wheel  (top right) for Settings, General, then disable Application updates.      
 

Step 4: Restart the computer

 

Thank you

 

 

 

[Propheticus]

On 5/29/2020 at 2:29 PM, AdvancedSetup said:

For many people, the DPC tool is going to probably be a red herring.

How so? When it comes to properly handling real-time audio, ISR routine / DPCs and the time they take to execute (latency) are relevant.
AV/Anti-malware products often tie in on a low kernel/driver level, so driver issues or conflicts are not unimaginable.
A good explanation (and tool to measure) can be found at Resplendence's LatencyMon page.

It does take a bit of IT understanding and is not a cookie-cutter answer, that's true. 
LatencyMon at least uses general rules of thumb that make sense to estimate whether a system is running in a way suitable for handling real-time* audio.
Anything under 2000 µs (2ms) is considered ok. On my PC it measures 500 at the highest and 10 µs on average.

Please note the how to use page also mentions there's several other possible causes for drop-outs: audio buffer size, CPU thread contention (high load/competing programs), buggy drivers, buggy software. Also CPU throttling/power saving functions can cause spikes during state switching. 

Since the tool shows drivers' DPC execution times and processes' hard page faults they can at least help you find possible culprits of audio issues. Probably the DPC latency spikes are much bigger than 2ms if they're the cause of dropouts in normal music playback.

 

*: real-time refers to use-cases where you use low-latency (midi) devices with a small buffer... Like artists or recording studios do to obtain a low total roundtrip latency in the monitor/artist earbud. Regular music/video playback is not real-time and should be able to handle higher latencies. Buffer sizes for recording input could be e.g. 256 samples. At a sample rate of 44.1kHz that's only 5.8ms input latency (2000µs = 2ms)
Audio/video playback software often uses buffers 10x that or more. 

[AdvancedSetup]

I fully understand what it is, how to use. I also think there are misleading results in my opinion that lead people in some direction only to find out it was a temporary condition, thus my concerns it can be a red herring and regardless of results it will not fix it if Malwarebytes is the cause. The options to fix or workaround are above.

Thank you

 

 

 

[tkmops]

Just curious, have the technos found the fix?

[AdvancedSetup]

14 hours ago, tkmops said:

Just curious, have the technos found the fix?

Three has not been an update to address this yet

Thank you

 

[Basiltiel]

why not ?

 

like many others here, i had to fix my bad audio by deleting malwarebytes pro. that, with no other changes, fixed it.

 previously, again like many others, latency spikes began after a few hours and worsened until a reboot. . i wasted many hours swapping DACs and trying other changes when all the time, it was your product that was ruining my expensive audio set up

so as at now i have 2 x useless lifetime keys, which I am inclidned to give away, as your product is no longer fit for my purpose

[Porthos]

4 minutes ago, Basiltiel said:

so as at now i have 2 x useless lifetime keys, which I am inclidned to give away, as your product is no longer fit for my purpose

You also have the option of reverting to an earlier component package version, which will allow you to keep Protection enabled.
You can download this from here: https://malwarebytes.box.com/s/z6cravnwptrzx5tyjw36jq6zt6c7apsx

Once installed, you will need to disable the two update options found in Settings -> General -> Application updates to prevent the product from updating back to the affected version.

I suggest using the following clean install guide.

Please do the following Uninstall and reinstall using the Malwarebytes Support Tool

Please have lots of patience with the tool.  The first phase is a cleanup and does require a Windows Restart.
After the Restart, it may take 2 - 3 - 4 minutes till the Support tool screen shows up.   Please be patient and have faith.  Wait for it, whatever it takes.
The 2nd phase is where it offers to do a new Install. Say no and use the download from my above link and install the old version and disable the update before you do anything else.

 Let me know if that clears up the issue or not.

[Basiltiel]

2 hours ago, Porthos said:

You also have the option of reverting to an earlier component package version, which will allow you to keep Protection enabled.

and you also have the option of placing a fully working set of components into the current release, instead of selling a bugged version

 reading back you have mostly been in denial that the problem even exists for ~5 months

i will switch to a  product that actually works, AND WHICH HAS A SUPPORT TEAM WHO ARE CAPABLE OF FIXING SELF-INFLICTED MISTAKES

anyone who wants a free lifetime key can figure out how to contact me, as I somehow doubt you will buy it back

2 hours ago, Porthos said:

 

 

[AdvancedSetup]

Thank you for your feedback.

The company continues to work on this  issue and though various fixes have fixed it for some it has not fixed it for everyone yet. Thank you for your understanding

 

[smethley]

Some feedback:

On the latest stable release I had stutters and occasional blue screens.  It took me some weeks for me to track this down to mwac.sys;

On Beta, the issues were as frequent, but recovered quicker with no BSODs;

The 'STEP 1' solution (reinstall via support tool) above did not help much, if at all;

The 'STEP 3' Option 1 (disable Web Protection) helped, with freezing a little less frequent;

The 'STEP 3' Option 2 (roll back to Malwarebytes 4 CU1 via tool and disable updates; restart) has currently been working for a whole morning, which is a distinct improvement so far - fingers crossed.

 

Please can you let us know when this issue is fixed in your stable version?

 

 

 

[AdvancedSetup]

Updates are listed in the following topic when they've been made

https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/257102-malwarebytes-41/

Thank you

 

[tkmops]

Just upgraded to the latest version Malwarebytes version 4.1.2.73,  component update 1.0.972, Update package version 1.0.26203, turned 'web protection' back on, good sound lasted about 10 mins, then reverted back to what it's been since Feb 2020...cracking, popping, with a spiking CPU. Turned Web Protection back off, sound OK now. Did this latest upgrade fix anyone else's sound problems?

[Porthos]

1 hour ago, tkmops said:

since Feb 2020...cracking, popping, with a spiking CPU.

Without going back and reading the whole thread, Are you using any torrent programs when the sound has issues?

[tkmops]

21 minutes ago, Porthos said:

Without going back and reading the whole thread, Are you using any torrent programs when the sound has issues?

Yes, but have been for years, when MalWareBytes was not causing sound issues. Should I try stopping my torrent program, turning Web Protection back on, and see what happens? I'll try that now. 

[Porthos]

2 minutes ago, tkmops said:

Should I try stopping my torrent program, turning Web Protection back on, and see what happens? I'll try that now. 

Restart the computer as well.

I did do a test and tried qbittorrent and if I was doing anything with sound it would glitch on my otherwise perfectly working system.

[tkmops]

After some experimentation, I found this:
Sound OK with Web Protection on, torrent program up, chrome down

Sound Ok with Web Protection on, torrent program down, chrome up

bad sound with Web Protection on, torrent program up, chrome up

So, the torrent program doesn't seem to be the issue, nor the chrome browser.

But having them both running at the same time results in the bad sound(RAM issues?)

BUT, I used to be able to have ALL my programs running with NO bad sound up until the Feb 2020 MalWareBytes update. 

Are there any other experiments I should try?

[Porthos]

I don't use Chrome normally, I do not torrent except for Linux disks (rare anyway).

Do you remember the actual full version # of the version that worked for you? I do not keep records personally. I am always on the BETA.

[exile360]

It sounds like an IRQ or throughput issue, not too dissimilar from the old I/O port/IRQ conflicts that were once common before MS implemented tech to make installing devices/drivers easier such as plug-and-play.  My suspicion is that the issue is hardware specific, only impacting specific systems/configurations, and even then it might boil down to how Windows and the hardware itself (the motherboard/BIOS/firmware etc.) have assigned and configured the various components' IRQ addresses and the sound hardware and network hardware both consume PCI/PCI-e bandwidth which may result in the issue occurring whenever the Web Protection driver (which itself uses a lot of bandwidth/throughput via the WFP APIs in the network stack) is active at the same time as other applications and system components which use a large amount of bandwidth/throughput as well (which includes the audio chipset when playing back audio, the torrent program which uses a large amount of bandwidth both ways (since P2P apps generally upload/share at the same time things are being downloaded, not to mention the large numbers of connections typical to P2P applications which further adds to it), and of course the web browser itself which, particularly since it is Chrome, likely uses a lot of bandwidth as well (especially if many add-ons/extensions are installed which might also put further load on the network/bandwidth) since Chrome is a Google app, meaning its packed with tons of telemetry monitoring tech and advertising components.

Have you tried a Chrome alternative such as MS Edge Chromium or SRWare Iron?  They use the same add-ons and have basically all the same features, though Iron has the bonus of having all telemetry and advertising content either stripped from the code of the browser or simply disabled.  It is possible that one of those might work without causing the issue, however it's also possible that it will occur with any browser.

It might be worth monitoring with a tool such as DPC Latency Checker or LatencyMon, then test by disabling various components and trying different combinations of applications to see if there is some non-essential component or application which you may disable or use an alternative in order to work around the issue until it is addressed by the Developers in a future release.

[tkmops]

15 hours ago, Porthos said:

I don't use Chrome normally, I do not torrent except for Linux disks (rare anyway).

Do you remember the actual full version # of the version that worked for you? I do not keep records personally. I am always on the BETA.

No, I don't remember the version I was using that worked. It was the version just prior to the Feb 2020 update. 

[tkmops]

15 hours ago, exile360 said:

It sounds like an IRQ or throughput issue, not too dissimilar from the old I/O port/IRQ conflicts that were once common before MS implemented tech to make installing devices/drivers easier such as plug-and-play.  My suspicion is that the issue is hardware specific, only impacting specific systems/configurations, and even then it might boil down to how Windows and the hardware itself (the motherboard/BIOS/firmware etc.) have assigned and configured the various components' IRQ addresses and the sound hardware and network hardware both consume PCI/PCI-e bandwidth which may result in the issue occurring whenever the Web Protection driver (which itself uses a lot of bandwidth/throughput via the WFP APIs in the network stack) is active at the same time as other applications and system components which use a large amount of bandwidth/throughput as well (which includes the audio chipset when playing back audio, the torrent program which uses a large amount of bandwidth both ways (since P2P apps generally upload/share at the same time things are being downloaded, not to mention the large numbers of connections typical to P2P applications which further adds to it), and of course the web browser itself which, particularly since it is Chrome, likely uses a lot of bandwidth as well (especially if many add-ons/extensions are installed which might also put further load on the network/bandwidth) since Chrome is a Google app, meaning its packed with tons of telemetry monitoring tech and advertising components.

Have you tried a Chrome alternative such as MS Edge Chromium or SRWare Iron?  They use the same add-ons and have basically all the same features, though Iron has the bonus of having all telemetry and advertising content either stripped from the code of the browser or simply disabled.  It is possible that one of those might work without causing the issue, however it's also possible that it will occur with any browser.

It might be worth monitoring with a tool such as DPC Latency Checker or LatencyMon, then test by disabling various components and trying different combinations of applications to see if there is some non-essential component or application which you may disable or use an alternative in order to work around the issue until it is addressed by the Developers in a future release.

Oh, yeah, I remember those days, when one had to set the IRQ settings on your motherboard to get devices/drives to work together...fun times.

So, we think that this is a PCI/PCI-e bandwidth issue? Sounds very possible.

When did Malwarebytes start including Web Protection with Malwarebytes Premium? Was it with the update in Feb 2020? If so, then that's the issue, as before Feb 2020, I used to be able to have all my programs running, playing audio, playing video, all with no problem. 

No, haven't tried MS Edge Chromium or SRWare Iron, but have used Firefox.

With Chrome, with 6 tabs open(which is normal for me for most of the day), Task Manager shows 21 .exe running, avg of 100k each. Running Firefox with one tab shows 5 exe avg of 50k each. 

The Chrome has so many high usage .exe probably because I have the following running in Chrome..WOT(web of trust), Disconnect, Ghostery, scriptsafe, HTTPS everywhere, antiminer, password checkup, and MalWareBytes Browser Guard.

Is this over-kill? Can I stop/delete some of these and still be safe browsing the Web?

Is there another web browser that would provide the same level of protection(with or without the above extensions), but with less overhead? 

[Nazoman]

I've recently switched to the new Edge and the problem still persists. Chrome was a nightmare with memory usage. Edge is so much better behaved.