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Windows 10 Defender and Malwarebytes

Dave-H
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Dave-H

Dave-H

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I'm using Malwarebytes 4.1.0 on Windows 10 Pro version 2004 32 bit , and also the built-in Windows Defender, which I have set to do an occasional scan of its own.

Every now and again, I get a yellow exclamation mark on the Windows Defender system tray icon, and when I click on it, it says "Actions recommended in Malwarebytes".

If I click this to open Malwarebytes, it opens OK but a message pops up saying "Network Settings - Unable to contact the licence server. Check your network settings or contact your system administrator for help." I can't see that it's saying that there are any other actions needed, so I assume this is the cause of the Windows Defender prompt.

There is nothing wrong with my network settings as far as I can see, and my account information in Malwarebytes seems to be correct.

Anyone any idea what could be wrong here?

Thanks, Dave.

🙂

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Malwarebytes

Malwarebytes

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***This is an automated reply***

Hi,

Thanks for posting in the Malwarebytes for Windows Help forum.

If you are having technical issues with our Windows product, please do the following:

Malwarebytes Support Tool - Advanced Options

This feature is designed for the following reasons:

  • For use when you are on the forums and need to provide logs for assistance
  • For use when you don't need or want to create a ticket with Malwarebytes
  • For use when you want to perform local troubleshooting on your own

How to use the Advanced Options:

Spoiler
  1. Download Malwarebytes Support Tool
  2. Double-click mb-support-X.X.X.XXXX.exe to run the program
    • You may be prompted by User Account Control (UAC) to allow changes to be made to your computer. Click Yes to consent.
  3. Place a checkmark next to Accept License Agreement and click Next
  4. Navigate to the Advanced tab
  5. The Advanced menu page contains four categories:
    • Gather Logs: Collects troubleshooting information from the computer. As part of this process, Farbar Recovery Scan Tool (FRST) is run to perform a complete diagnosis. The information is saved to a file on the Desktop named mbst-grab-results.zip and can be added as an email attachment or uploaded to a forum post to assist with troubleshooting the issue at hand.
    • Clean: Performs an automated uninstallation of all Malwarebytes products installed to the computer and prompts to install the latest version of Malwarebytes for Windows afterwards. The Premium license key is backed up and reinstated. All user configurations and other data are removed. This process requires a reboot.
    •  Repair System: Includes various system-related repairs in case a Windows service is not functioning correctly that Malwarebytes for Windows is dependent on. It is not recommended to use any Repair System options unless instructed by a Malwarebytes Support agent.
    • Anonymously help the community by providing usage and threat statistics: Unchecking this option will prevent Malwarebytes Support Tool from sending anonymous telemetry data on usage of the program.
  6. To provide logs for review click the Gather Logs button
  7. Upon completion, click OK
  8. A file named mbst-grab-results.zip will be saved to your Desktop
  9. Please attach the file in your next reply.
  10. To uninstall all Malwarebytes Products, click the Clean button.
  11. Click the Yes button to proceed. 
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If you are having licensing issues, please do the following: 

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Please contact our support team at https://support.malwarebytes.com/hc/en-us/requests/new to get help

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-The Malwarebytes Forum Team

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exile360

exile360

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Greetings,

I'm sorry you're experiencing trouble with the software, but we'll do our best to help.  Please do the following so that we may take a closer look:

  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

Thanks

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Porthos

Porthos

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Just now, Dave-H said:

it's a portable machine so there may be times when there is no connection if I'm away from home

Malwarebytes relies heavily on a connection for many purposes. For examplw when an automated scan tries to start or you open the program to do a manual scan.

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Dave-H

Dave-H

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@exile360

I don't use any proxy or DNS.
I'm sorry, but why should I have to set up an alternative DNS to stop this happening in Malwarebytes when my system is completely standard?
That implies that almost everyone would have to do this!

@Porthos

Yes, but there has been never a time recently when the machine hasn't had a connection when it's running.
This problem has only started to happen in the last couple of days!

🙂


 

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Porthos

Porthos

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Posted (edited)
2 minutes ago, Dave-H said:

but there has been never a time recently when the machine hasn't had a connection when it's running.

Do you have to manually connect or does it connect automatically?

Do you shutdown or sleep.

Edited by Porthos
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Porthos

Porthos

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I also suggest turning off the register in the Windows security Center feature in Malwarebytes for better protection.

Quote

The reason many of us members are pushing Keeping Defender on is the following.

Malwarebytes does not target script files during a scan... That means MB will not target; JS, HTML, VBS, .CLASS, SWF, BAT, CMD, PDF, PHP, etc.

It also does not target documents such as; PDF, DOC, DOCx, XLS, XLSx, PPT, PPS, ODF, etc.

It also does not target media files;  MP3, WMV, JPG, GIF, etc.

Malwarebytes will detect files like these on execution-only.

And,

Malwarebytes is not designed to function like normal AV scanners and uses a new kind of scan engine that relies mostly on heuristics detection techniques rather than traditional threat signatures.  Malwarebytes is also designed to look in all the locations where malware is known to install itself/hide, so a full or custom scan shouldn't be necessary, especially on any sort of frequent basis (like daily), especially since the default Threat Scan/Quick Scan checks all loading points/startup locations, the registry, all running processes and threads in memory, along with all system folders, program folders, and data folders as well as any installed browsers, caches, and temp locations.  This also means that if a threat were active from a non-standard location because Malwarebytes checks all threads and processes in memory, it should still be detected.  The only threat it *might* miss would be a dormant/inactive threat that is not actively running/installed on a secondary drive, however, if the threat were executed then Malwarebytes should detect it.  Additionally, whenever a new location is discovered to be used by malware the Malwarebytes Research team adds that location dynamically to the outgoing database updates so the locations that are checked by the default Threat/Quick Scan in Malwarebytes can be changed on the fly by Research without requiring any engine or program version updates/upgrades.

An AV will catch the file just by downloading it or just opening a folder with a detected file in it.

For example, you get an email with an infected attachment, Malwarebytes will not even blink until you run it yet Defender will detect it if it is in their database without even actually clicking on it. Remember the list of files Malwarebytes does not target.

Then I will leave you with this.

As good as Malwarebytes is, it is just a layer of protection.

Using a browser that has Ublock Origin and the Malwarebytes Browser guard enabled is also a layer of protection.

Not opening attachments from an email unless you were expecting it from a specific user during a specific time period.

Do not use Torrents. Do not install every free software you find. Do not click links in an unknown email. Go directly to the sit listed in the email.

Having a monthly image of your computer on an external drive that is only connected during the backup is actually better than any protective software ever made. Macrium Reflect free is the program I use and place on every computer I service.

 

Edited by Porthos
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Dave-H

Dave-H

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Quote

I also suggest turning off the register in the Windows security Center feature in Malwarebytes for better protection.

OK, I did that and the alert in Windows Defender has gone away.
I'm not sure whether that's a good thing to do or not though!

🤔

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Dave-H

Dave-H

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OK, I will do some more thorough tests and see if having Fast Start on is actually really worthwhile.
If it's causing problems with MB I will probably do without it.
Thanks for all your help. must go to bed now, it's nearly 2am here in England!

Cheers, Dave.
🙂

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Dave-H

Dave-H

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Thanks, cheers indeed! 😁

Anyway, I've done some more tests, with fast startup switched off, and the license server access error is still coming up every time I start the Malwarebytes interface.

Switching off "register in the Windows Security Center" has stopped the Windows Defender nagging me to attend to an unspecified issue in Malwarebytes, so it's at least hiding the problem to some extent, but things still aren't right.

Any other suggestions?

🤔

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