Freeze Problems!

[bmullin]

Hello,

I'm a licensed user of MWB who has intermittent / temporary freezes with his PC. I first searched for similar problems in this forum, but found nothing that exactly matched my freezes, which are lasting 80 seconds +/- 1 second and occurring up to 20 times a day. When the freeze ends, everything returns to normal. After a lot of research, I determined the problem is either caused by McAfee or by Malwarebytes. Since it is a real pain in the neck to uninstall McAfee, Malwarebytes was uninstalled. This was yesterday morning, since then there hasn't been a single freeze!

I originally determined that one of my virus scanners is causing the problem by noting the system clock the instant the problem began and again immediately when the problem ended. Then I went into Computer Management | Event Viewer | Custom Events | Administrative Events. There were no errors shown at the beginning of each freeze, but there were two errors which were saved at the instant the freeze ended. I've done screen captures of each error event and labeled them Error_1.jpg and Error_2.jpg, in the order which they occurred.

Error_1.jpg:

Error_2.jpg:

In looking at the errors again, it appears maybe what I need to do is tell McAfee to ignore mbamservice.exe. If this can be done with McAfee, I'll do it, although I think it might be useful to get another opinion before proceeding.

My PC is a new Dell with a (hyperthreaded) quad core CPU, running Windows 7. Interestingly enough, my previous Vista SP2 system was having similar freezes, but of a much shorter duration. But these freezes were usually accompanied by a McAfee pop-up telling me that I was no longer fully protected and that I needed to click on a McAfee "Fix" button to repair the problem. I have also seen this Fix button a few times on the new PC, although not since I removed MWB.

Can anyone help? FWIW, I'd be happy to run any needed tests, beta test new program versions, etc.

Thanks in advance,

Bill

[exile360]

Greetings Bill

Please take a look at the FAQ located here and exclude the appropriate files and processes from McAfee. You may also use this list as a working guide for the files, folders and processes to exclude from McAfee:

For Windows Vista or Windows 7:

• C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\mbam.exe
  
• C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\mbamgui.exe
  
• C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\mbamservice.exe
  
• C:\ProgramData\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\rules.ref
  
• C:\Windows\System32\drivers\mbam.sys
  
• C:\Windows\System32\drivers\mbamswissarmy.sys
  

For 64 bit versions of Windows Vista or Windows 7:

• C:\Program Files (x86)\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\mbam.exe
  
• C:\Program Files (x86)\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\mbamgui.exe
  
• C:\Program Files (x86)\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\mbamservice.exe
  
• C:\ProgramData\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware\rules.ref
  
• C:\Windows\System32\drivers\mbam.sys
  
• C:\Windows\SysWoW64\drivers\mbamswissarmy.sys
  

Note: If using a software firewall besides the built in Windows Firewall you'll need to exclude them from it as well

Please let me know how it goes.

Thanks

[bmullin]

Please let me know how it goes.

Wow - 7 minutes from my original message until a fix was received!! Unfortunately I won't have time this evening to make the changes but will do so first thing tomorrow and report back here in a day or two how things are working.

Thanks,

Bill

[exile360]

Yep, I'm fast

Keep us posted. Hopefully that will fix it, if not we'll look at some other stuff and possibly get one of the more ingenious members of the forum to take a look at the issue . Thanks for posting back.

[bmullin]

Keep us posted. Hopefully that will fix it, if not we'll look at some other stuff and possibly get one of the more ingenious members of the forum to take a look at the issue .

I've just spent a LONG time trying to figure out how to include MWB programs into the "Trusted List", but I've had no luck. FWIW, your FAQ is written to cover the McAfee Virus scanner version 8.xx. The current virus scanner is 13.15 and the Security Center (oversees all McAfee apps) is 9.15.

I'll see if I can find a good McAfee message forum, then ask them how to add a list of apps to the Trusted List. In the meantime, if anyone here can help - please step in.

Thanks, Bill

[Jacktivity]

Hi Bill,

The FAQ that Exile360 referred to is written for the current enterprise version of McAfee. It looks like you have the home version. According to the McAfee Community Support Forum for home users, exclusions are no longer supported in the home product. They are still supported in the corporate versions though. It would appear that their main solution to false positives and conflicts is to turn off Active Protection.

See this post, especially at the end where they link to the Artemis FAQ and how to configure it, as well as this one.

[bmullin]

The FAQ that Exile360 referred to is written for the current enterprise version of McAfee. It looks like you have the home version. According to the McAfee Community Support Forum for home users, exclusions are no longer supported in the home product. They are still supported in the corporate versions though. It would appear that their main solution to false positives and conflicts is to turn off Active Protection.

Well that's a pain! I'll turn off the McAfee Active Protection and let MWB be my "active protector" from now on, then will report back here in a few days to let the masses know how it's going.

Thanks for the input!

- Bill

[Amethyst]

bmullin:

FWIW, my son's new Alienware laptop came with McAfee VirusScan Plus pre-installed, 30 day trial version. During that time he ran a full scan and McAfee decided a file which I'm pretty sure came preinstalled on the laptop was a trojan. (Info I've found indicates this was a program used by the manufacturer to custom configure the laptop and would never actually be run again once the customer had it.) Thus we learned that you can't make McAfee ignore or exclude a file, and if you can't convince them it's a false positive and you can't make the software developer make an effort to deal with the AV company either...well, to make a long story short, the file was restored a couple of times by us and then it completely disappeared from the computer, never to be seen again. My son decided that although he liked McAfee's firewall, which was quite good and very detailed, he just couldn't have an AV that might make a legitimate file disappear forever. He's happily using MSE and the Vista firewall (behind a router). He has Malwarebytes free version, McAfee never had a problem with it when scans were run. Actually MSE hasn't fussed with it either.

I won't touch an AV that won't allow a person to ignore or exclude. And that includes the free online scanners. (Avast should be an object lesson right there of what a disaster could ensue if an AV can't be told not to remove something. If people hadn't had that option with Avast, things could have been a WHOLE lot worse.)

[bmullin]

I won't touch an AV that won't allow a person to ignore or exclude.

I have to agree with you on this! Additionally, in my testing I actually had an instance where McAfee froze on one of its own executables and did not give me the chance to add this to the trusted list . . . amazing! Furthermore, I have had a couple of other odd problems, which wouldn't surprise me at all if the root of the problem was McAfee! I've written to Dell Customer service to tell them to refund my $40 (3-year subscription with system purchase) and to have them give me an RMA and mailing address with which to return the CD. Tomorrow when I get time I'm going to uninstall McAfee, then I plan to rely on Windows Defender, Windows Firewall, and MWB to keep the bad guys out of my system!

FWIW, I think all these problems stem from the fact that McAfee was simply not ready for Windows 7.

- Bill

[Amethyst]

Bill,

MWB doesn't bill itself as a substitute for antivirus software. It's meant to be used in addition to AV software, not instead of. (I'll let one of the experts explain more fully the difference between MWB and 'antivirus' software. )

I've been using Microsoft Security Essentials on my XP Pro laptop and my son is using it on his Vista Home Premium 64 bit laptop. So far we both like it. I can't speak to the effectiveness of the Windows 7 firewall. My son is using the Vista firewall and we're all on a home network behind a router and in 3 years, only one item from outside made contact with my desktop's firewall. However, at some point in time, he and I may have our laptops away from home and out from behind the hardware firewall. I, therefore, have Outpost Free on my laptop, since the XP firewall isn't highly recommended. I think the Vista firewall is better, but he'll have to tighten up the security on that if he takes the laptop anywhere. He may also consider a different firewall at a later time, maybe once he's more seasoned at using a computer and able to deal with all the questions a third party firewall might throw at him while the firewall is learning.

One of our experts here, Exile, had a list of AV's he recommended. I'll see if I can find it or he can add it here if he sees this post.

P.S. If you're uninstalling McAfee, follow their instructions. There's a link to their uninstall instructions here: http://service.mcafee.com/FAQSearch.aspx?l...;sg=TS&pt=1

We followed those instructions on my son's laptop, and it went without a hitch.

I have MWB running in real time on my laptop with MSE, and I have some exclusions added to MSE so there are no conflicts. My son uses MWB on demand and he hasn't had any issues during scanning.

[bmullin]

MWB doesn't bill itself as a substitute for antivirus software. It's meant to be used in addition to AV software, not instead of.

.

.

I have MWB running in real time on my laptop with MSE, and I have some exclusions added to MSE so there are no conflicts. My son uses MWB on demand and he hasn't had any issues during scanning.

I uninstalled McAfee, then ran the final McAfee uninstall program you recommended, even though they didn't have a version of this program specifically ready for Windows 7. The initial uninstall, plus the MCafee program, and two reboots seemed to remove everything re. McAfee. Then thanks to your tip here and other recommendations I've seen in the past, I installed Microsoft Security Essentials. What a relief to find that adding the MWB exclusions (mentioned earlier in this thread) to MSE's scan were so easy to install! Time will tell how well the MWB/MSE pair performs on my system, but if you've had no problems I don't expect I will either.

One of the odd things I've noticed is that following a reboot, MWB is always the last program to load into the SysTray, and generally it loads at least a minute (estimated) behind the previous program. Does this happen on your system? If so, do you (or anyone else) know why?

Thanks, Bill

[bmullin]

I just checked, the exact time from when the next-to-last icon appears in the SysTray until MWB appears is 1 minute, 40 seconds . . . why so long?

To the above post, let me add that I discovered that "Remote Assistance" was turned ON by default by Windows 7. I turned it off . . . can't hurt!

- Bill

[Jacktivity]

Hi Bill,

The reason you don't see the tray icon right away is by design. The default setting for MBAM is for the MBAM Service to start Automatic (Delayed Start). This is to prevent conflicts while other programs such as your AV are also loading. You can open services from administrative tools and reset it to start Automatic and see if you experience any problems.

See this post for more information.

[Amethyst]

I'm not so sure the appearance of the icons necessarily reflects the time of startup for some programs anyway, does it? I think my firewall and AV start up first thing, but their icons don't necessarily show up first. This morning my MSE icon didn't show up at all, but the program was running. (That has happened once before, too. I rebooted and the icon then was present as it should be. I want it there so I can see if something goes wrong with the program itself--it would indicate if the program was disabled for some reason.)

[AdvancedSetup]

It depends on the program. Some programs have multiple parts to the program and may or may not be working/available when the icon is not there.

[exile360]

Since it was mentioned previously:

The following are my recommendations for antivirus protection along with links to downloads for them (free trials for those that require a purchase so you can try them before deciding):

• Kaspersky (free 30 day trial) The official support forum for this product can be found here
  
• Avira Antivir (free for home use) The official support forum for this product can be found here
  
• ESET NOD32 (free 30 day trial) The official support forum for this product can be found here
  
• Microsoft Security Essentials (free for home use) The official support forum for this product can be found here
  
• Avast! (free for home use) The official support forum for this product can be found here
  

Note: If you decide to use one of the trial versions of one of the paid antiviruses then you will either need to purchase it or uninstall it completely and install a replacement antivirus before the trial expires so that your PC is not left unprotected.

Windows 7\Vista Firewall Control is excellent if you want a very simple firewall with outbound protection (meaning it blocks programs on your computer from accessing the internet unless you allow them through).

These are more extensive software firewalls if you want something more advanced:

• Jetico Personal Firewall
  
• Online Armour
  
• Sunbelt Kerio
  

This article is a excellent resource regarding the use of software firewalls: Understanding and Using Firewalls

[YoKenny1]

I would like to mention

Having trouble uninstalling your Anti-Virus or Anti-Spyware?

Sometimes uninstalling your anti-virus program or anti-spyware program can be rather troublesome. Some may even defy the normal uninstall process altogether, while others do seem to work properly but may leave a host of data behind.

http://uninstallers.blogspot.com/2009/11/1-having-trouble-uninstalling-your-anti.html

[bmullin]

Time will tell how well the MWB/MSE pair performs on my system, but if you've had no problems I don't expect I will either.

It's been 7 days since I typed the above sentence. Since then my system has been running perfectly. FWIW, I did apply the information in the 2nd post above to MSE's "Excluded File" list before running MSE actively. That's all I did and things have been running fine ever since. FWIW, I did not test MSE/MWB until I had excluded the MWB files, so for all I know the 2 programs might be OK without the exclusions . . . ?

Thanks for the great support!

- Bill