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Malwarebytes blocks Adobe Acrobat Reader DC

seglea

By seglea
in Resolved Malware Removal Logs

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seglea

seglea

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I'm using the Malwarebytes free edition in Windows 10 Pro, version 1909.  Whenever I use Malwarebytes, Acrobat Reader DC (Continuous Release version 2020.006.20042), which is my default application for .pdf files, becomes unable to load.  If I click on a pdf file in a directory listing,  or try to launch Reader directly, nothing appears to happen.  Task Manager shows an Acrobat process (one for each attempt to load a pdf), but the program does not launch.  The problem remains until I do a Restart or Power off.  I have a copy of Acrobat X Pro on the system, and this launches and functions normally.  This problem occurs every time, but it is of fairly recent origin - I am guessing dating from an update of Windows, Malwarebytes or Reader.  I've hunted on the web but can't find any reports of this problem, or fixes for it.  Can anyone advise, please?  Many thanks.

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seglea

seglea

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Thank you for your support.  I have been trying to follow the instructions in the KB article, but it took a very long time for the Gather Logs stage to complete, and the FRST stage has now been running for about 18 hours without completing.  I can't believe that this is normal, and I have to shut it down now.  When I restart the machine, I will try again; it would be helpful to know (a) whether I need to repeat the Gather Logs stage, and (b) whether it is credible for the FRST run to take so long, or whether it indicates some kind of error.  Many thanks.

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AdvancedSetup

AdvancedSetup

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Okay, let's see if we can get just the FRST logs. If it won't run or complete from Normal Mode then please try from Safe Mode

RESTART THE COMPUTER FIRST

 

Please download Farbar Recovery Scan Tool and save it to your desktop.

Note: You need to run the version compatible with your system.
You can check here if you're not sure if your computer is 32-bit or 64-bit

  • Double-click to run it. When the tool opens click Yes to disclaimer.
  • Press the Scan button.
  • It will make a log (FRST.txt) in the same directory the tool is run. Please attach it to your reply.
  • The first time the tool is run, it also makes another log (Addition.txt). Please attach it to your reply as well.

Thank you

 

 

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seglea

seglea

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Thanks.  When I downloaded FRST separately, it ran to completion in a sensible time.  The fbst.txt and addition.txt files are attached.

I did a bit of experimenting to pin down where the problem is coming from.  I always do Custom scans.  It seems that if I give it just a few files (on the C: drive) to scan, Adobe Reader is unaffected.  But when I set it to scan the whole of C: (including looking for rootkits), sooner or later Adobe gets blocked - not immediately the scan starts, however, and not until it has scanned quite a few files.

Addition.txt FRST.txt

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seglea

seglea

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18 hours ago, AdvancedSetup said:

Please try again logging in with an account that has Administrator rights.

Ran by Stephen (ATTENTION: The user is not administrator) on IFLAMEPRO (Novatech Ltd Desktop PC)

Thank you

 

Thanks, I'll do that as soon as I can - the machine is busy for now.

Not sure what the intervening two posts were about...

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Firefox

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7 minutes ago, seglea said:

Thanks, I'll do that as soon as I can - the machine is busy for now.

Not sure what the intervening two posts were about...

We have folks that like to tag along to other users topics, you can disregard them.  We prefer each person start their own topic for one on one assistance since each computer is different.

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AdvancedSetup

AdvancedSetup

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Okay I'm going to move this topic to the malware removal forum where I can assist you one-on-one to review your computer.

I notice the computer appears to have had Windows 10 either installed or upgraded from a previous Operating System about 4 months ago. You're also running some extremely old software that does not know or understand many of the newer file system structures present in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 10

Task: {6C272425-C497-42A4-A9B6-8EBDD1C4435A} - System32\Tasks\{40AECE6D-5E16-4C65-A6E2-37B3A79A7DCF} => C:\Users\Stephen\Downloads\fsync.exe

Nothing wrong with the program depending on how and why it's used but there is a potential risk of it not copying or syncing data properly depending on what folders or locations you're trying to sync. Perhaps RoboCopy script or Backup software might potentially be a better option, but again if it does what you want then no harm in using

I'll be back after lunch

 

 

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seglea

seglea

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21 hours ago, AdvancedSetup said:

If you right click on Malwarebytes in the Task Tray and Exit out of the program will Adobe Acrobat Reader now open and read PDF files ?

 

 

 

Thanks for this suggestion.  I've just tried that, but no joy - Adobe Reader still won't run.  As before, it shows up as a Background Process in the Task Manager report, so it is obviously starting off but then getting blocked somehow.

The machine was originally supplied with Windows 7, but was upgraded to Windows 10 a few years ago - the recent upgrade you noticed must have been the upgrade to the 1909 edition.  That must have been done in the past 4 months, and it is just possible that my issue with Mbytes and Adobe dates from that time - I can't remember exactly when it first appeared (or when I did the upgrade, for that matter).

Thanks too for your comment about filesync.  A good program in its day, but I haven't used it in years (I now use SyncBackFree); I'd forgotten I even had it on the machine.  Does the fact that it appeared in the logs mean that it has been run somehow?  If so I'd better nail it down more securely. It can't be downloaded any more, so I kept it in case I ever needed to look into what it might have done on an old project. Is it going to do any harm, if it is never run? 

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AdvancedSetup

AdvancedSetup

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Due to the lack of feedback, this topic is closed to prevent others from posting here.

If you need this topic reopened, please send a Private Message to any one of the moderating team members. Please include a link to this topic with your request.

This applies only to the originator of this topic. Other members who need assistance please start your own topic in a new thread.

Thanks

 

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