Malwarebytes flag in lower right corner of screen - Can't turn off

[rdurost]

This is a rectangular white box the same height as the Task Bar, with the (M)alwarebytes spelled-out logo on it.  It is roughly four times as wide as it is high.  It has a vertical green band at the left-hand end which is about the same width as a single character in the word Malwarebytes.

This box DOES NOT show up in a Print Screen image!  It remains in the lower right even if the Task Bar is dragged to any of the other sides of the screen.

The image embedded below is from another user's (SkyMirage) post in this same forum on 12/18/2020.  It's almost identical to mine, but my box is blue text on a white background and has the green band at the left.  Also, my box is superimposed on the right end of the Task Bar, blocking access to the time and several other icons.

There seems to be some relationship with the fact that I'm actually using RealVNC to view the desktop in question from a different PC on my LAN.  When I change the view from full-screen to windowed (using the RealVNC option) the box disappears!

I want my Clock (etc) back!

Richard

[Malwarebytes]

***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:

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1. Download Malwarebytes Support Tool
2. Double-click mb-support-X.X.X.XXXX.exe to run the program
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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.
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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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[Porthos]

3 minutes ago, rdurost said:

This is a rectangular white box the same height as the Task Bar, with the (M)alwarebytes spelled-out logo on it. 

Can you please collect and upload as an attachment the diagnostic data using our MBST?

• Download and run the Malwarebytes Support Tool
• Accept the EULA and click Advanced tab on the left (not Start Repair)
• Click the Gather Logs button, and once it completes, attach the zip file it creates on your desktop to your next reply

[rdurost]

May it do you much good.

mbst-grab-results.zip

[Porthos]

I suggest doing the following. Could fix your issue. At least it will rule out program corruption.

Lets use the same support tool and do a clean uninstall and reinstall.

Please close all browsers and programs before running the tool. Right click and quit MB from the system tray also.

Once done it will attempt to reinstall both Malwarebytes and Privacy VPN.

Please say no and close the X button on the top right for Privacy.

[rdurost]

Not to be excessively cynical, but I've been around this track a few thousand times.  What you are saying is exactly what I've told more users than I can count, "I really don't have any idea what could cause your problem, but it wouldn't hurt to reinstall and reboot."

True enough.  On the other hand, I was really hoping that a person paid by Malwarebytes might say "oh yeah, this is an obscure bug we've been seeing for years..."  If you can, I'd appreciate your escalating this to salaried support.  If not, I'll try it. what the Hell.

Richard

[Porthos]

4 minutes ago, rdurost said:

I'd appreciate your escalating this to salaried support. 

Already did that.

4 minutes ago, rdurost said:

I'll try it. what the Hell.

Does not hurt.

[rdurost]

My man!  Will do!

😂

 

[AdvancedSetup]

This really looks like a Desktop Notification.

If I had to guess this computer also looks like it was upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 7 at some point. There are many settings, entries, policies that look to have been brought over from an older version of Windows.

I would recommend that you first disable ALL push notifications of all browsers. Then restart the computer and see if it's still present or not.

 

 

 

Are you sure you want this enabled or allowed? Push Notifications on your browser appear to be enabled.

Edge Notifications: Default -> hxxps://www.facebook.com
FF Notifications: Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\l7kukcgi.default -> hxxps://berniepost.com; hxxps://www.s10forum.com; hxxps://www.newegg.com
 

https://blog.malwarebytes.com/security-world/technology/2019/01/browser-push-notifications-feature-asking-abused/

Turn notifications on or off - Google Chrome

Web Push notifications in Firefox

 

Then when that's done I'd recommend you create a new System Restore Point and let us help you run a clean up script on the computer.

Let me know how that goes and if you'd like to try a clean up script for general computer operations @rdurost

Thanks

 

 

[rdurost]

Greetings Captain-

Well, I deleted all the Push Notifications in FF (I never use anything else unless I have a gun to my head) last night.  The problem didn't go away immediately, and not overnight, but apparently this afternoon or evening.  I'll take it either way, but in my Technician brain it would be nice to know whose bug it was and what they did to fix it.  That way when one of my clients calls with a similar problem, I'd be able to tell them which program they need to force-update to fix it.

Since the symptom only manifested itself while remoted in with RealVNC, I'll lay it at their feet unless I find out any different.

Thanks very much for your help, and Merry Christmas (or whatever)!

Yours Faithfully,

Richard

[AdvancedSetup]

Merry Christmas @rdurost

The logs did not indicate any cause that I could see. Sometimes things are kept in a cached local page that may be called back up by one of the Internet aware apps. Cleaning temporary files and caches as well as cookies can often stop those.

Another similar tool you could run if needed in the future would be the following.

 

 

Create an Autoruns Log:

• Please download Sysinternals Autoruns from here:   https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns
• Save Autoruns.zip to your computer. Then locate it and extract it to a new folder where you can find and run it.
• Once it starts you may not be able to easily stop the scan but you can try to press the Escape key on your keyboard.
• Once scanning is stopped, click on the Options menu at the top of the program and select Scan Options... 
• Then place a check mark on the following items Verify Code Signatures, Check VirusTotal.com, and Submit Unknown Images
• Then click the Rescan button. Agree to the VirusTotal EULA
• Once the new scan has been completed, please click on the File button at the top of the program and select Save, or use the Save icon, and save the Autoruns.arn file to your desktop and close Autoruns.
• Right-click on the Autoruns.arn file (it will typically be the name of your computer) on your desktop or where you save it, and hover your mouse over Send To and select Compressed (zipped) Folder
• Attach the Autoruns.zip folder (your computer name.zip) you just created to your next reply.

 

 

 

 

You could also look at a tool like these from Microsoft

Process Monitor: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon

Process Explorer: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

 

When really pressed by something running but not sure what caused it you could try this one

SYSMON: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/sysmon

 

Best wishes and have a wonderful weekend

 

 

 

Edited December 10, 2022 by AdvancedSetup
Updated information