My license keeps getting hijacked by unknown devices

[daniel12]

Hi. I am using a lifetime license. I used to have it on my office PC and my laptop. But now since I only work from home, I have been only using it on my laptop for almost a year. During that time, I've noticed some strange devices activated my license. I suspected that my license ID & Key was leaked somehow, and a Google search with my license key did confirm it. But it didn't really bother me since my account was still secured, and my device cannot be removed. So every once in while, I just removed the extra two unauthorized devices. No problem there.

But ever since 2 weeks ago, my Malwarebytes keeps getting unactivated every 2 days or so. I have to removed the three unauthorized devices in order to add my device back in. And I always change my Malwarebytes account password every time it happens, not to mention the 2FA system via email. And yet, it's still happening. And it's always these 3 unnamed devices that were added on May 6th. It's also worth noting that this was the first time I saw an unnamed device. The unauthorized devices that I dealt with last year, they all had names or default names like ADMIN, or PC, or whatever.

I can guarantee that my Gmail is not compromised, there is no recorded login or logout of my Gmail account in the last 30 days. So there is no way someone could sneak in my email and grab the 2FA code, not to mention that I change the Malwarebytes password every time it happens. Yet, it still keep happening.

Please let me know what I could do. Thank you for your time.

[Malwarebytes]

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[unknownguy]

I just found another guy with the same problem as you. I don't know if this helps you. I only noticed this.

 

[daniel12]

I am having the exact same problem, with the same three unknown devices that was added on May 6th as well.

 

This is so eerie. Hope it's not some kind of mass-attack to hijack accounts from lifetime subscription users.

[Maurice Naggar]

6 hours ago, daniel12 said:

Hi. I am using a lifetime license. I used to have it on my office PC and my laptop.

Forgive my intrusion. Just trying to see that the many complications are somewhat classified in appropriate buckets. First and foremost, a "Lifetime license" was only ever valid but for One Windows machine. One mahine. period. Thus if it is active ( or was activated a 2nd time while the 1st machine was also active) then bingo. That is what is wrong. In this situation, you de-activate the license off all extra machines. And see that it ( a lifetime license) is only active on one Windows machine.

[Maurice Naggar]

@niccarreira Do you just have one "lifetime license" ? or else, do you have a Malwarebytes subscription license? and separately, have you logged into the Malwarebytes MyAccount page and found the info for your license?  Did you ever in fact, do a initial login to MyAccount ? and how many machines do you have where you are trying to use same license keys? My concern is that the different individuals who are sharing same thread can well have different layers of factors.

[daniel12]

10 hours ago, Maurice Naggar said:

Forgive my intrusion. Just trying to see that the many complications are somewhat classified in appropriate buckets. First and foremost, a "Lifetime license" was only ever valid but for One Windows machine. One mahine. period. Thus if it is active ( or was activated a 2nd time while the 1st machine was also active) then bingo. That is what is wrong. In this situation, you de-activate the license off all extra machines. And see that it ( a lifetime license) is only active on one Windows machine.

I'm not sure I'm following what you're saying here. It's true that lifetime license is limited to one device, however the policy was "laxed" enough to give users some leeway and make it easier to transfer license. Which in hindsight, has been causing some problems for me. But it's still not the issue that I'm asking for help here. My issue is similar to this post over here:

I also made a comment there but not sure why it was moved back to my topic. If an admin had time to do that, I wish that they had spent some of it to help me troubleshoot too. I'm just gonna follow the other guy's topic to find a solution, I guess. Thank you for your time anyway.

[Porthos]

32 minutes ago, daniel12 said:

But it's still not the issue that I'm asking for help here.

This issue is under investigation. Just be patient.

[daniel12]

Final Update: I created a ticket and CS has contacted me. However, the moment they realized I had lost my proof, they immediately dropped the hammer and told me to renew a subscription. Which is fair, I guess. And I would have renewed, had they not being so cold and ruthless about it.

Because when I said "immediately", I meant immediately. My computer alerted me that malwarebytes was deactivated a whole hour before they sent an email saying that the license was compromised and they had to blacklist it. My device was exposed before I was given a warning to prepare for it. They were so eager to force people into renewal, they forgot to be at least subtle about it. Business must have been tough these days, eh?

It's also funny how all of this would have been just fine, albeit being a little annoying from time to time, had I not asked for help. It's really unfortunate that the person who was dealing with me sounded like they were just there, luring lifetime users in and bullying them into a renewal.

So be warned, people. Asking for help might get you punished at the end of the day.

This has been a very unpleasant experience.

You guys on the Forum though, have been incredibly helpful and thoughtful. And I thank you for this. CS may learn a thing or two from you guys.

[Porthos]

4 minutes ago, daniel12 said:

sounded like they were just there, luring lifetime users in and bullying them into a renewal.

I understand the frustration. But with out proof of purchase they can not tell from all the devices that are getting activated who actually owns it.

Depending on where the key was purchased is sometimes the key. Many resellers over sold the key to more than one user. This was because resellers figured out they could "get away" with doing it back then because of the lack of enforcement back then.

From WHERE EXACTLY did you buy your key??

[daniel12]

51 minutes ago, Porthos said:

Many resellers over sold the key to more than one user. This was because resellers figured out they could "get away" with doing it back then because of the lack of enforcement back then.

At this point, I'm not even sure if proof of purchase alone would cut it.

The way I see it: Resellers could just sell a key to somebody, hold on to that proof, wait for a while, then use the proof to regain control of the license. And sell the "new" key to somebody else. Thus, the cycle continues. Because most people would think that an email and a password is enough to own a license. I didn't buy the license myself, my father did. And he definitely thought so to himself too, poor old man.

Lifetime subscription availability ended a long time ago. But a quick Google search will show you that the "market" is still very much active. And at the end of the day, it's the users who will suffer. They really gotta tighten the enforcement even more.

 

[Porthos]

2 minutes ago, daniel12 said:

But a quick Google search will show you that the "market" is still very much active.

Yes it is bad that people will fall for something that is not legitimate any longer. We see it all of the time.

11 minutes ago, daniel12 said:

I didn't buy the license myself, my father did.

Sad you were not the one who did and saved the receipt. But the receipt would not do any good if it was from a non authorized reseller. That is why the keys sold now on "those" sites will not work. Those sites and including Ebay are not authorized to resell them.

Like I said, Some of the authorized sellers oversold them, for example some beloved they were good for 3 computers( or at least they knew they would activate) and sold each key to 3 customers because back then they would activate and work.

 

 

[KenW]

I had a key hijacked and being used. I opened a ticket and told them what was happening and to change the key. It still is in mymalwarebytes, but never used since

my ticket.

[raf42]

I just wanted to chime in that I'm having a similar situation occurring. I have a 4-year, 4-device subscription that I bought directly from Malwarebytes. I use it on the 4 computers in my household. A few weeks ago the computers here suddenly said they no longer had a subscription, and when I tried to re-add the key, it said I was at the limit. Same deal, I checked my Malwarebytes account, and it shows 4 blank computers, all added in mid-May. I removed them, re-added my home computers, but the same issue occurred a few days later. I even changed my Malwarebytes account password, still happened again.

Given that my email account is very well locked down with a security key required, the lack of any suspicious activity/logins, and the fact that Malwarebytes requires a 2fa email *each time I log in*, I feel that the chances of this occurring due to a password breach on my end are slim to none. Rather, I assume there's some exploit that allows an existing key to be added, bypassing device limits and forcing existing devices off.

I currently have a ticket out to Malwarebytes, but I figured I'd mention another occurrence of this.

[Porthos]

1 hour ago, raf42 said:

I currently have a ticket out to Malwarebytes

Please wait on your support ticket as we here on the forms have no access to the support licensing system.

[niccarreira]

They solved my issue. They deactivated my license and had me purchase a new subscription. A couple of days later the same thing happened with my new license. They initially suggested my email was compromised but like the previous post my Gmail is pretty much locked down with 2 factor auth. They deactivated the second license and I repurchase again. I haven't had any further problems since.

[raf42]

20 minutes ago, Porthos said:

Please wait on your support ticket as we here on the forms have no access to the support licensing system.

Appreciate it, I'm happy to wait. I just wanted to add my experience to the discussion, as it's starting to seem like less of an isolated incident and possibly more of a systemic flaw of some capacity.

[AdvancedSetup]

These types of issues cannot be resolved here on the Forums. If you're having licensing issues you will have to create a support ticket and work with them. I will be closing this topic

Consumer Support
https://support.malwarebytes.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

Thank you