Unable to Configure Custom Scan

[kolotyluk]

I am trying to configure a custom scan, but the Scanner dialog does not give me the option per the video instructions... How am I suppose to configure a custom scan?

[Malwarebytes]

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[exile360]

Greetings,

On the screen you posted an image of click the Done button located on the lower right and it should return you to the scan start screen where you can click Advanced scanners to select a custom scan as indicated in the video.

Please let us know if you have any trouble and we'll do our best to help.

Thanks

Edited March 17, 2021 by exile360

[Porthos]

43 minutes ago, kolotyluk said:

I am trying to configure a custom scan

I do not recommend you do a custom scan.

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 with the anti-exploit module of the paid program.

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.

 

 

 

 

[kolotyluk]

10 minutes ago, exile360 said:

Greetings,

On the screen you posted an image of click the Done button located on the lower right and it should return you to the scan start screen where you can click Advanced scanners to select a custom scan as indicated in the video.

Please let us know if you have any trouble and we'll do our best to help.

Thanks

Thanks, I finally found Advanced Scanners, but it was confusing to get there. Overall I find the UI confusing, and I used to teach a 3rd year University course in UI Design.

[kolotyluk]

15 minutes ago, Porthos said:

I do not recommend you do a custom scan.

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 with the anti-exploit module of the paid program.

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.

"so a full or custom scan shouldn't be necessary" - shouldn't, but I had a unique situation were I wanted to do a 'one time' exhaustive scan, not a daily exhaustive scan.

I have Malwarebytes Premium 4.3.0 - is there a better version than that?

I have a problem where after a day or so, my Windows O/S start chewing up CPU cycles, and the operating system is writing an insane amount of data to my SSD C: drive. I can think of no good reason for this persistent behavior. Before troubleshooting further, I want to rule out that there is not some sort of malware in the O/S causing this very weird behavior. So, one-time only, I want to run the most intensive malware hunt possible before exploring other problems.

The current design of the UI makes this all very frustrating and unsatisfying.

[Porthos]

Just now, kolotyluk said:

I have a problem where after a day or so, my Windows O/S start chewing up CPU cycles, and the operating system is writing an insane amount of data to my SSD C: drive. I can think of no good reason for this persistent behavior. Before troubleshooting further, I want to rule out that there is not some sort of malware in the O/S causing this very weird behavior. So, one-time only, I want to run the most intensive malware hunt possible before exploring other problems.

if you want to be certain that the system is clean, We do offer free assistance by trained and vetted malware removal specialists.  If you wish they can analyze your system for you and guide you in removing any threats that might be present as well as help to troubleshoot the issues you're experiencing.  To work with them, simply read and follow the instructions in this topic, skipping any steps you are unable to complete, then creating a new topic in our malware removal area by clicking here and one of our malware removal specialists will assist you as soon as one is available.

[kolotyluk]

1 minute ago, Porthos said:

if you want to be certain that the system is clean, We do offer free assistance by trained and vetted malware removal specialists.  If you wish they can analyze your system for you and guide you in removing any threats that might be present as well as help to troubleshoot the issues you're experiencing.  To work with them, simply read and follow the instructions in this topic, skipping any steps you are unable to complete, then creating a new topic in our malware removal area by clicking here and one of our malware removal specialists will assist you as soon as one is available.

Ah, thank you, that might be my next step.

Many years ago I had a bad 'infection' and finally had to call Microsoft for help. The first thing they told me was to install Malwarebytes, and we finally did disinfect my system. That is why I am still running Malwarebytes today.

[exile360]

Thank you for the feedback on the UI, I've made a note of it for the Product team.  That said, I do believe they keep the custom scan somewhat buried for the reasons indicated by Porthos above (generally speaking, only the default Threat scan is required in most situations).

With regards to the disk/CPU issue you're seeing, it might be due to one or more of Windows' default maintenance tasks, such as Windows Updates or background scans by Windows Defender being run (even when not enabled as the resident AV, Defender continues to run periodic scans occasionally in the background, instantly ramping up CPU and disk usage; something I've experienced on my own Windows 10 devices).

With all of that said, posting in our malware removal help area is a good idea if you suspect that any sort of infection might be involved, just to be safe.  They are also able to perform more advanced diagnostics and use more powerful tools than we are authorized to use in this area of the forums which may aid in finding the root cause and hopefully resolving the issues.