Malwarebytes for Mac 5.6.0

[Aryna]

Hey everyone!

We're excited to share that a new beta update for our Mac product is available now.

Features and improvements

• You can now access a brand-new Notifications section from the status menu dashboard.
• We’ve also introduced a Notifications settings page in the app, where you can easily customize your notification preferences.
• If you haven’t run a scan in 30 days, we’ll remind you to keep your device safe with a new scan reminder notification
• Plus, we have moved General settings to the main settings page

Issues fixed

• Removed a red dot from the Malwarebytes icon in the dock that appeared when your Trusted Advisor score fell below 100%.
• Fixed an issue where new status menu was only partially displayed to licensed users.
• Added country flags for new server locations in our VPN server location list.
• Miscellaneous bug fixes.

The new update is available automatically to all beta users and can be instantly downloaded at https://downloads.malwarebytes.com/file/mb5_mac_preview 

As always, we are looking forward to your feedback.

[jbm1991]

Thanks for the release. Is it a bug that I cannot hide the menu bar icon? I have a lot of things running and ideally I don't want Malwarebytes using up space

[Aryna]

Hi @jbm1991
Thanks for your feedback. This is an intentional change. Our brand new Status menu dashboard is now an integral part of the product that allows users to access key features without the need to launch the full app. And for user convenience we want it to be at hand at all times. Also, the priority of status menu bar items is handled by the macOS, so if you don't interact with Malwarebytes icon the system will hide it and prioritize icons of the more frequently used apps to be shown. 

[jimbo95]

> And for user convenience we want it to be at hand at all times.

It is for me to decide what 'convenience' features I want in my menu bar on my computer at all times - not you. It's not your computer. Your software is just a guest on my computer, so it should behave like one and follow the rules of the host. Menubar space is not infinite. I choose what I want there. I won't be using your rude, inconsiderate and pushy software without an option to turn the useless menu bar item off.

Edited yesterday at 03:16 AM by AdvancedSetup
Corrected font issue

[MRyan69]

I am running 5.6.0 (release, as I never got a beta key), and the Malwarebytes icon for me is completely invisible.  (Image attached.)

I am running the Bartender menubar icon management software, so though that was perhaps the issue.  Even when moving MalwareBytes back into the visible menubar, not the hidden area, I just get an empty space where the Malwarebytes icon should be.  Just to be entirely sure, I quit Bartender completely.  Still a missing icon no matter what.  And I am not seeing anything on this new "Status Menu Dashboard" other than "Open Malwarebytes."

--

As an aside...in the "About Malwarebytes" screen, there is a "Beta Updates" link in the lower-right that takes people to this forum sub-section:

Home > Announcements > Beta Testing Program > Malwarebytes 5 for Mac Pre-Release

But we are currently discussing this issue here:

Home > Announcements > Beta Testing Program > Malwarebytes for Mac Beta 

It seems the separate "Pre-Release" section has much older topics than where we are now, and perhaps the "About MalwareBytes" link should be to -this- main "Mac Beta" forum sub-section instead...merging the "Pre-Release" topics into the main area here.  Having both "Pre-Release" and "Mac Beta" sections seem redundant at this time.

 

[Aryna]

Hi @MRyan69
Thank you so much for taking your time to provide a very detailed feedback. Now I understand where the beta key confusion originates. Let me address each point separately.

1. If you are interested in using Malwarebytes Beta, you don't need a special key. You can go to Settings -> General -> Beta updates and enable the checkbox. This will give you an opportunity to receive new updates earlier than they go to general public release. We indeed gave out temporary keys to beta users before releasing MB5 to public, because free version wasn't optimized yet in pre-release beta at the end of last year. 
   • The Beta updates link in the About page is indeed misleading. Thanks for bringing it up, we'll make sure to fix it to avoid confusion for other Beta users.
      
2. The invisible icon is completely unexpected and not something we've ever observed. It is possible that it can be a side effect of Bartender trying to remove the icon.
   Do I get it right that there's an empty space between your 2 icons & once you clicked on it -> Malwarebytes menu  popped up?
    
3. Malwarebytes menu in the screenshot looks limited as if you haven't completed installation (which was reported earlier by some forum users & was fixed in 5.6.0).
   I recommend to uninstall & re-install Malwarebytes 5.6.0 to make sure you see a full size menu.
   
   Would you be up for a quick test of the icon with a Bartender?
   • I'd recommend disabling Bartender first
   • Make a clean install of Malwarebytes 5.6.0 so you can see the icon & full size menu
   • Enable Bartender and hide the icon
   • Observe the results  if the icon is properly hidden or if it's not visible, but functional as in the above screenshot?

This will help us better understand your use case. We greatly appreciate your input!

[MRyan69]

@Aryna

Thanks for your own detailed response to my post.  And I now understand better the beta key issue.  I thought that was required for -all- betas.

I downloaded the release version of MB (5.6.0.1748) from the MB website and re-installed, per your recommendation.

Now with Bartender both running -and- disabled, I have the MB icon in my menubar.  I also have the full dashboard as expected, with the ability to start a scan, and Real-Time Protection/VPN/Trusted Advisor visible.  

So it does seem like the issue was completely resolved by re-installing from scratch.  (I had initially gotten 5.6.0 via the internal software update mechanism.)

Hope this helps you, and others seeing this issue.  Happy to do additional testing for you as needed.