MalwareBytes 4.3.0.98 hangs system after wake from sleep

[dennismccreery]

I have had this problem happen about 50% of the time when my Windows 10 64-bit system returns from sleep.  The system runs VERY slowly, responding to key and mouse clicks every few seconds.  Running Task Manager shows MalwareBytes as the top memory and CPU user.  I have 64 GB of Ram so I don't think it's using all the memory.  Removing MalwareBytes seems to alleviate the problem completely.  I've run all the repair options in the support tool, removing MalwareBytes and reinstalling several times.  Each time it is installed, the problem inevitably happens again.  Removing it seems the only option.  Attaching support files from the tool.

 

Regards,

Dennis McCreery

mbst-grab-results.zip

[Malwarebytes]

***This is an automated reply***

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[exile360]

Greetings,

Your logs show some leftover traces from Bitdefender and Norton antivirus.  Please run the Bitdefender uninstall tool for the version of Bitdefender you had installed on the system previously by selecting the appropriate version from this page.

If you are no longer using Norton, please run the Norton uninstall tool as documented on this page and opt out of reinstalling Norton when prompted after restarting your system once running the tool is complete.

Once that is done reinstall Malwarebytes and test to see if the performance issue is now resolved.

Your logs also show signs of PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs) and if the device is infected this could also be the reason for the performance issues.  To have your system cleaned please follow the instructions in this topic then create a new topic in our malware removal area by clicking here and a malware removal specialist will guide you in checking and cleaning your system of any threats.

Please let us know how it goes.

Thanks

[dennismccreery]

Thanks.  Stripping out Bitdefender and Norton seems to have done the trick!  Both were surprisingly difficult to remove.

Regards,

Dennis

[lmacri]

On 2/23/2021 at 10:47 AM, exile360 said:

If you are no longer using Norton, please run the Norton uninstall tool as documented on this page and opt out of reinstalling Norton when prompted after restarting your system once running the tool is complete.

Hi dennismccreery:

If you're using the instructions suggested by exile360 be sure to expand the instructions in the section titled "Remove Norton Device Security Completely" [i.e. run the Norton Remove and Reinstall (NRnR) Tool in advanced "Remove Only" mode (Advanced Options | Remove Only | Remove)], which performs a more thorough wipe than running the tool in normal mode. 

For users who do not plan to reinstall their Norton product, the instructions posted at Uninstall Norton Device Security on Windows are the better choice.  Also note the warning in that support article that running the NRnR tool in advanced "Remove Only" mode may remove other Norton products like Norton Utilities, Norton Family, etc.

[dennismccreery]

One thing I did notice during the removal process was that the DisplayLink software was also removed.  Somewhat disconcerting until I found out what happened.

Regards,

Dennis

[lmacri]

44 minutes ago, dennismccreery said:

One thing I did notice during the removal process was that the DisplayLink software was also removed.  Somewhat disconcerting until I found out what happened....

Hi dennismccreery:

I used Norton AV products for several years and the only "non-Norton" product I've ever heard of that was corrupted by running the Norton Remove and Reinstall (NRnR) Tool in advanced "Remove Only" mode was a data backup program called Veritas System Recovery.  That isn't entirely surprising since Symantec System Recovery replaced the old Norton Ghost backup software in 2013, and Symantec System Recovery was then rebranded as Veritas System Recovery after Symantec sold its Veritas division in 2015  - see Pcloverxp's 04-Sep-2017 post in BUG-Norton Security 22.10 Degrades System Performance.

You didn't mention your computer make/model, OS or what DisplayLink (now owned by Synaptics) chipset/hardware you use, but is it possible a recent DisplayLink or Windows update was the cause of your problems?  I'd be surprised to learn that an AV removal tool from Bitdefender or Norton would damage a hardware driver or software program from DisplayLink.
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v2004 build 19041.804 * Firefox v86.0 * Windows Defender v4.18.2101.9 * Malwarebytes Free v4.3.0.98-1.0.1173
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U CPU, 8 GB RAM, Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G 256 GB NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620

[lmacri]

13 hours ago, dennismccreery said:

One thing I did notice during the removal process was that the DisplayLink software was also removed...

Hi dennismccreery:

I don't know if this is relevant to your issue, but there is a new thread created 25-Feb-2021 titled DisplayLink Not Working in Win 2004 in the AskWoody.com forum.
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64-bit Win 10 Pro v2004 build 19041.804 * Firefox v86.0 * Windows Defender v4.18.2101.9 * Malwarebytes Free v4.3.0.98-1.0.1173
Dell Inspiron 15 5584, Intel i5-8265U CPU, 8 GB RAM, Toshiba KBG40ZNS256G 256 GB NVMe SSD, Intel UHD Graphics 620

[dennismccreery]

I spoke too soon.  Even after cleaning BitDefender and Norton Antivirus off of my system and reinstalling MalwareBytes 4.3.0.98 back and running successful scans, my system hung returning from sleep this morning.  I'm removing MalwareBytes to make sure this is the proximate root cause of the system hangs.

Dennis

[AdvancedSetup]

You can use the following tool to fully remove Malwarebytes. When asked to reinstall choose no.

Uninstall and reinstall Malwarebytes using the Malwarebytes Support Tool

 

 

[dennismccreery]

I've already done that a few times, thanks.  Doesn't seem to affect the incidence of the problem.  I'm going to leave MalwareBytes off of this system to validate that the problem doesn't recur.

Regards,

Dennis

[dennismccreery]

So it turns out that the problem was caused apparently by corrupt Windows executables.  I ran the following from an Admin command line window:

DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth

sfc /scannow

The first time I ran these, found some corrupt files and cleaned it up.  Ran them a few more times to make sure.  Haven't had the problem since.

Regards,

Dennis

[AdvancedSetup]

Thank you for the update @dennismccreery