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[ RESOLVED ] Scheduled Custom Scans fail to start/run

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***This is an automated reply***

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GTM

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Excuse me if I ask too many questions, I understand that Malwarebytes cannot have two scans running concurrently (I think that this is a shortcoming but it's irrelevant for the issue), let's say I boot the computer at 1:00PM instead of 12:00PM (like I did today), the only scan that started is the daily scan and not the weekly one (as it should have).  Could this be due to the fact that the weekly scan could not start because the daily scan was running?  I still think that the weekly scan should have started after the daily scan finished.               

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Porthos

Porthos

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7 minutes ago, GTM said:

Could this be due to the fact that the weekly scan could not start because the daily scan was running? 

Only one scan can run at a time and after that scan, it will not start the other one that was scheduled at the same time.

I would have the different scans start on a different day of the week.

I do not know what you have your custom scan doing but a threat scan is all you ever need to run on such a regular basis.

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Porthos

Porthos

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2 minutes ago, GTM said:

BTW, the custom scans are to scan the hard drives. 

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 block files like these if malicious on execution-only.

And,

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.

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Thanks for the detailed explanation.  Perhaps I am being paranoid, but I have the antivirus application examine any executable file (*.exe/*.msi) that I download (even from trusted sites), and also worry about trojans and that is why I have the custom scans scheduled to run once/week, or once/month.          

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2 minutes ago, GTM said:

Perhaps I am being paranoid

If you are concerned/paranoid, I suggest you turn off the following setting in Malwarebytes so Windows security (Defender) can run alongside MB.

The reason many of us members are pushing Keeping Defender on is the following.

An AV will catch the file just by downloading it or just opening a folder with a detected file in it.

For example, if you get an email with an infected attachment, Malwarebytes will not even blink until you run it yet Defender will detect it if it is in their database without even actually clicking on it. Remember the list of files Malwarebytes does not target.

Then I will leave you with this.

As good as Malwarebytes is, it is just a layer of protection.

Using a browser that has Ublock Origin and the Malwarebytes Browser guard enabled is also a layer of protection.

Not opening attachments from an email unless you were expecting it from a specific user during a specific time period.

Do not use Torrents. Do not install every free software you find. Do not click links in an unknown email. Go directly to the site listed in the email.

Having a monthly image of your computer on an external drive that is only connected during the backup is actually better than any protective software ever made.

Also suggest scanning files on Virus Total as well. https://www.virustotal.com/gui/home/upload

 

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I have an additional AV app installed on the computer.  I know many "experts" advise against having more than one AV app on a computer, and that is correct when you're talking about mainframes, however I do not agree with this premise for personal computers running Windows, as I feel that not all AV solutions provide the same functions - and you have quite correctly verified that by explaining how Malwarebytes functions vs other AV's. 

Having worked (retired now) for 40 years in computers (mainframes) and spent about 35 of those years developing software for computer security (all for mainframe) I have seen many bad apps and attempts to penetrate the Operating System (especially buffer overflows).  Perhaps that can explain my extreme caution (approaching paranoia :-) ).  

I have taken your advice and set Malwarebytes to only do Threat scans.  I can have the other AV app do periodic system scans.   BTW, your other suggestion (Also suggest scanning files on Virus Total as well. https://www.virustotal.com/gui/home/upload) is appreciated (I was not aware of it).     

In addition, I have a backup app to make weekly images of the boot drive on two external drives.   Windows Update has caused enough issues over the years (I am now trying to determine why the latest Windows 11 update (KB5031455) fails while installing - return code --> 0xc19000401  ---- makes no sense as DISM and SFC /Scannow indicate there is nothing wrong with the OS).       

But, that's Windows ...  (I am biased - I still think the mainframe OS (z/OS) is what an operating system is supposed to be).      

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Porthos

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4 minutes ago, GTM said:

(I am now trying to determine why the latest Windows 11 update (KB5031455) fails while installing

 

That update was a preview for November's patch Tuesday update. Preview updates should be avoided. If it tries to install automatically, then the following setting is on and should be kept off.

That update for some users failed because of Malwarebytes. To install that update, Malwarebytes had to be set to not start with Windows and quit from the system tray icon to allow the update to complete.

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image.png.629e7b2987d2452212b4285982ff22f9.png

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I am using Bitdefender as the second AV.  I had avoided using Windows Defender when I purchased Bitdefender a few years ago.

FYI, I do have the option to get early updates turned OFF (that is how I have set up all the PC's that I worked on), as I am not too eager to become Microsoft's test vehicle.

I find it quite discouraging that they are releasing patches without having test them sufficiently.  We had (and I believe my colleagues at  IBM still do follow) a strict process regarding the releases of fixes to problems reported by customers.  The code had to be reviewed after the developer had finished their "Unit Test" (UT for short) and before it was released to the Function Component Test (FCT for short) team, and after it was thoroughly tested by the FCT team it would be released to the System Test (ST for short) team (all teams were internal obviously).  On occasion, after the three testing phases (UT, FCT, and ST) were completed successfully (no errors), we would ask the customer who had reported the problem if they would want to test the fix before we made it available to all customers.  Yeah, it was a time consuming process but it ensured we did not release crap to our customers.  Oh well, ...  

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Yes, I am aware of that.  I have added to the exception lists of both, Bitdefender and Malwarebytes the appropriate entries (a few years ago you had helped me with this) to make sure that they do not interfere with one another.  

FYI, Malwarebytes is not a culprit in Windows 11 update (KB5031455) failing to install, and neither is Bitdefender.  Yesterday, I uninstalled both, ran DISM and SFC /Scannow, rebooted, rechecked the OS build (DISM and SFC /Scannow), and allowed the patch to be downloaded and installed - the process failed with the same reason - while being downloaded, so, I went to the Microsoft website and downloaded the MSU file so I could run it from the pc.  Before trying to execute the MSU, I rechecked the OS build (and took some snapshots/screenshots so I can post them in elevenforum (https://www.elevenforum.com/).    

The execution of the MSU file failed as well.  Not sure what is wrong.  I can debug z/OS Security Server issues (the security product I worked on for years), but not Windows unfortunately.  It is frustrating ;-)   

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"Your screenshot has confirmed my suspicion. The update that won't install, won't because it has been superseded by the current update. "
 

Can you elaborate?  Is this patch  (KB5033375) superseded by (KB5032288) the 2023-11 Cumulative Update Preview for Windows 11 Version 23H2 for x64-based Systems?

 

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So, Is it fair to assume that I do not need this particular patch?  Please excuse my ignorance. so, if I do not need this patch, why is it that Windows Update cannot recognize it?

Perhaps I am expecting too much (from Windows Update).  I wish they would be issuing Return Codes/Completion Codes that people could be able to interpret/understand.  

 

 

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