What's the conventional version number of the mb4_offline installer?

[1PW]

@H4V0C

Hello Aaron:

The present mb4_offline installer filename (MBSetup.exe) seems to have broken with the conventional naming scheme. As such, it is difficult to differentiate from other files with the same filename.

The current 306 MB mb4_offline file (named MBSetup.exe) analyses as:

https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/18d99ac8bfbdbb77d62ebf40788bcd55c1f0814251e6b121b8e6426c09b83087/detection

The present so-called 2.5 MB stub installer is also named MBSetup.exe, but analyses as:

https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/90750197384e4ed5add4587135f91b2e22a6898906e642b1a4953d5131d92af9/detection

Please shed some light on this issue when you can.

Thank you.

Credit: JasonUK, member  @WildersSecurity, for first report.

Edited June 14, 2023 by 1PW

[lmacri]

Hi P1W:

I noticed the same issue a few days ago.  If I browse to https://downloads.malwarebytes.com/file/mb4_offline I am currently offered a 306 MB file named MBSetup.exe, but I was expecting the latest full offline installer to be named mb4-setup-consumer-4.5.30.269-1.0.2037-1.0.xxxxx.exe (where 1.0.xxxxx is the bundled malware definitions update package).
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.2965 * Firefox v114.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23050.3-1.1.23050.3 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.30.269-1.0.2037 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279

Edited June 13, 2023 by lmacri

[AdvancedSetup]

Checking on this to see why the change

 

[smipx013]

Is there an update on this please?  I too downloaded the offline installer today and I got MBsetup.exe as a 287Mb file rather than the old convention of the exact version release in the file name .

 

Many thanks

Paul

[AdvancedSetup]

The company has changed how it manages the distribution. It will remain this way at least for the time being

 

[lmacri]

17 hours ago, AdvancedSetup said:

The company has changed how it manages the distribution. It will remain this way at least for the time being

Hi AdvancedSetup:

Sorry to hear that.  I hope Malwarebytes eventually goes back to the old naming convention (e.g., mb4-setup-consumer-4.5.32.271-1.0.2051-1.0.71xxx.exe) for the full offline installer so users can easily tell which version of MB v4.x is included with the installer.

It's even more confusing now that the small online 2.5 MB download manager (stub installer) at https://www.malwarebytes.com/mwb-download and the ~280 MB full offline installer at https://downloads.malwarebytes.com/file/mb4_offline are both named MBSetup.exe.  It would be helpful if Malwarebytes could at least use a different generic name (e.g., MBSetupFullOffline.exe) for the full offline installer.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3208 * Firefox v115.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23050.5-1.1.23060.1005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.32.271-1.0.2051 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279

[digmorcrusher]

15 hours ago, lmacri said:

Hi AdvancedSetup:

Sorry to hear that.  I hope Malwarebytes eventually goes back to the old naming convention (e.g., mb4-setup-consumer-4.5.32.271-1.0.2051-1.0.71xxx.exe) for the full offline installer so users can easily tell which version of MB v4.x is included with the installer.

It's even more confusing now that the small online 2.5 MB download manager (stub installer) at https://www.malwarebytes.com/mwb-download and the ~280 MB full offline installer at https://downloads.malwarebytes.com/file/mb4_offline are both named MBSetup.exe.  It would be helpful if Malwarebytes could at least use a different generic name (e.g., MBSetupFullOffline.exe) for the full offline installer.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3208 * Firefox v115.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23050.5-1.1.23060.1005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.32.271-1.0.2051 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279

Sorry, but I may be confused about this, If you have Malwarebytes already installed then who cares about installers? Why does anyone need to download installers, offline or otherwise if you already have the program installed? Someone please enlighten me.

[BillH99999]

This really doesn't make a lot of sense.  It is important to know the version number BEFORE you actually install it.  Could they at least add the version number next to the link on https://support.malwarebytes.com/hc/en-us/articles/360039142934?

[lmacri]

8 hours ago, digmorcrusher said:

... If you have Malwarebytes already installed then who cares about installers? Why does anyone need to download installers, offline or otherwise if you already have the program installed? ...

Hi digmorcrusher:

If a user experiences a problem during or after after a product update with the internal updater (Settings | General | Application Updates | Check for Updates) they are often asked to try an over-the-top update with the latest full offline installer (see Porthos' 29-Jun-2023 post in Stuck at 19% of Installation - I Include the Log  for one example).  Given the frequent lag between the official release date that a new Malwarebytes product update starts rolling out and the date the corresponding full offline installer is posted at https://downloads.malwarebytes.com/file/mb4_offline, I imagine most users would like to know if they actually had the "latest" full offline installer before they tried an over-the-top update.

As I noted in my post <above>, my other concern is that Malwarebytes is using the same file name MBSetup.exe for the online (stub) installer and the full offline installer.  I would have thought using different file names for two installers with different SHA-2 hashes was just good practice.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3208 * Firefox v115.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23050.5-1.1.23060.1005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.32.271-1.0.2051 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279

[digmorcrusher]

Ok, thanks for explanation.

[lmacri]

On 6/13/2023 at 8:38 AM, lmacri said:

If I browse to https://downloads.malwarebytes.com/file/mb4_offline I am currently offered a 306 MB file named MBSetup.exe, but I was expecting the latest full offline installer to be named mb4-setup-consumer-4.5.30.269-1.0.2037-1.0.xxxxx.exe (where 1.0.xxxxx is the bundled malware definitions update package).

The inconsistent version numbering of the Malwarebytes v4.x installers continues to cause issues for me.

For example, the latest full offline installer for Malwarebytes v4.6.11.320-1.0.2302 that I downloaded today from https://downloads.malwarebytes.com/file/mb4_offline is MBSetup.exe v4.6.12.399.

 

As a result, the winget upgrade command recommends that I update Malwarebytes v4.6.11.320 to v4.6.12.399 (a version number that does not currently exist in H4V0C's Malwarebytes v4.6  release notes <here>)  ....

 

... and software updater utilities like QuickInstaller that use winget for detecting and installing available updates also flag my current Malwarebytes installation as outdated.

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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.4170 * Firefox v124.0.0 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.24020.7-1.1.24020.9 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.11.320-1.0.2302 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783 * QuickInstaller (Preview) v0.3.8830.19890

[Porthos]

19 minutes ago, lmacri said:

As a result, the winget upgrade command recommends that I update Malwarebytes v4.6.11.320 to v4.6.12.399 (a version number that does not currently exist in H4V0C's Malwarebytes v4.6  release notes <here>)  ....

That happens when the installer changes but the actual program version does not.

[lmacri]

2 hours ago, Porthos said:

That happens when the installer changes but the actual program version does not.

Hi Porthos:

I understand that, but it doesn't change the fact that the current inconsistencies between the MBSetup installer version (v4.6.12.xxx) and the actual Malwarebytes program version it installs (v4.6.11.xxx) are mucking things up for customers who use anything related to winget to check for available program updates.

A similar problem just happened in January 2024 when I had the latest Malwarebytes v4.6.8.311-1.0.2249 (rel. 25-Jan-2024) and winget recommended an update to v4.6.8.370, which was the version number given to the MBSetup.exe installer after a new component package v1.0.2249 was released.

I still haven't heard a reasonable explanation why Malwarebytes can't use something similar to the old naming / numbering system for installers (e.g.,  mb4-setup-consumer-4.6.11.320-1.0.2302-1.0.82xxx.exe for the installer that installs Malwarebytes 4.6.11.320 with component package 1.0.2302).  AdvancedSetup's 12-Jul-2023 post <above> implies that the current system simplifies distribution of new MBSetup.exe installers, but Malwarebytes should also consider the confusion this creates for their customers.  Perhaps there needs to be re-think on this.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.4170 * Firefox v124.0.0 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.24020.7-1.1.24020.9 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.11.320-1.0.2302 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783 * QuickInstaller (Preview) v0.3.8830.19890

Edited March 25 by lmacri