Suggested Program Improvements and New Features

[askankman]

Here are a couple of suggested program features/improvements in Malwarebytes anti-malware:

Program Feature Suggestion #1

When the computer is off for a period of time and the last scheduled time for update was missed because the PC was off, the Update feature does not automatically execute and update the program with the latest malware signatures. I suggest that the update feature detect in the system clock that the last scheduled update was missed and automatically execute a malware database signature update at system startup to make sure the program is always up-to-date, rather than having to manually update or wait for the next time the PC is on to update at the scheduled interval.

Program Feature Suggestion #2

Running a full scan on a multi-hard drive system with upwards of 320 Gigs is processor intensive and can generate a lot of CPU heat which can cause the PC to suddenly shutdown the computer if the CPU reaches a critical heat level. This happened to me while I was running a second full scan of my system hard disk drives after a prior full scan of the same drives. I ran the second full scan because my PC was infected with the Trojan.Fraudpack malware which goes deep into the system. It took a second full scan for my XP system to find all the malware infection, it found one hiding in System Restore on the second pass but CPU did not overheat. My Vista machine was also infected with the same malware and after performing a full scan deleting the malware I decided to run a second scan after the XP system took two, but my Vista system's dual core CPU overheated. This may be a rare situation but its no doubt that running a full scan can really heat up the processor and to prevent CPU overheating I suggest that the program include a CPU heat meter which monitors the CPU heat level and will warn the user that the CPU is reaching critical level. The program needs a feature that gives the user the option to set the program to automatically pause and resume the full scan after the CPU cools down.

[DarkSnakeKobra]

Hi askankman,

We are currently beta testing version 1.45 which will have more finer scheduling options. Such as automatic wake to perform task. However as far as I know, there is no option for immediate update for missed tasks. Now the second one we do not have any progress for that.

[askankman]

Hi Buttons,

That's great, glad to hear the beta has already included some extra scheduling options, but don't forget that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is installed on many PC's like mine that are laptops and not always kept online 24/7 so I really think you ought to consider my suggestion so the latest malware database signatures are automatically updated at system startup--it could simply be a checkbox option where the user can select this box to update malware signatures at system startup.

As for the CPU heat meter feature, I think it's worth considering, it would be a cool innovative feature to safeguard the PC's CPU while optimizing the malware scanning function--if the system shuts down in the middle of a full scan, that's not going to be good.

Thanks for this really great program and I am glad I purchased a registered version to protect my system.

[YoKenny1]

I monitor the CPU core temperatures with SpeedFan and I see that they barley change when doing a Full scan on my Windows 7 desktop:

http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

Laptops need to be checked quite often for built up dust and lint on the CPU fins as they seem to love dust bunnies:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_bunny

[DarkSnakeKobra]

Hi Buttons,

That's great, glad to hear the beta has already included some extra scheduling options, but don't forget that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is installed on many PC's like mine that are laptops and not always kept online 24/7 so I really think you ought to consider my suggestion so the latest malware database signatures are automatically updated at system startup--it could simply be a checkbox option where the user can select this box to update malware signatures at system startup.

As for the CPU heat meter feature, I think it's worth considering, it would be a cool innovative feature to safeguard the PC's CPU while optimizing the malware scanning function--if the system shuts down in the middle of a full scan, that's not going to be good.

Thanks for this really great program and I am glad I purchased a registered version to protect my system.

That is actually a good suggestion. It's something minor that could easily be added for version 1.46 . For now I think malwarebytes' staff already have, what they want implemented into the program. I could see this coming out in the following version.

Now for the cpu part. That might be a little more difficult to add. But with many companies already making security designed for netbooks and such. i can see that happening in the future.

[AdvancedSetup]

Well I have no idea if any such feature will be implemented or not, however if your CPU overheats from any operation that your computer is doing and shuts down then you have a critical hardware issue that you should resolve.

[askankman]

Hello AdvancedSetup,

I am confident that it's not related to any hardware failure. I've been using this system for about 2 years and so far its been very stable -- HP dv9700t CTO. After doing some research on the issue I was able to conclude that the surface area where my notebook system was resting was not properly dissipating heat from underneath the fans which caused the CPU to overheat. My suggestion to add a CPU heat meter feature is more about keeping the user's PC safe (in my situation the warning would have alerted me that I should check my fans or move my PC to allow the fans to have better air ventilation which may have prevented the sudden shutdown). Scanning for malware or viruses where the scan takes a couple of hours or so does generate a lot of CPU heat--this has nothing to do with the program per se, it's just a fact for any intensive full scan for high capacity multi-HDDs systems. With that said, without proper heat dissipation the CPU fans will not be able to do their job and the system's internal circuitry will shutdown the PC to protect its CPU from damage. It's not a surprise, years ago I once was using my Toshiba A35-S159 notebook, it was resting on top of a sofa, and the fans could not dissipate the CPU heat and it shutdown. That was an obvious mistake but I first became aware of the importance of CPU heat dissipation after that incident. I never had another shutdown like this using my Toshiba, but I went and did it using my HP. Now I will be even more careful.

[TeMerc]

I see zero logic in adding any such mechanism to monitor CPU in any fashion, we're a security tool, not a system monitor.

There are a plethora of applications on the Net to do this.

[mountaintree16]

askankman,

I use Speccy to check system specs & it also will tell what temperature your machine is at. I don't think it constantly monitors it though. (Unless you leave it open, of course).

www.piriform.com/speccy

[YoKenny1]

Speccy constantly monitors and displays the system temperature plus hard drive temperature if it permits it.

[askankman]

Hi All,

Okay, I will download and install a CPU heat monitor, just thought it would be cool (no pun intended) to have it built into Malwarebytes user interface for multi-drive system scans that can take a long time to complete, and the feature to warn the user and give him the option to pause and resume once system cools down.

As for the automatic update feature, I hope Malwarebytes will add a feature for registered users which allows them to select and option to automatically download malware signatures at system startup, rather than wait for the scheduled interval (which in the current version it will not be triggered if the system is shut down and the interval is missed).

Thanks.