Malwarebytes icon not showing in taskbar

[allyy48]

Mbam pro works & updates fine, the problem is on boot up the task bar shows a windows icon "windows has blocked some start up progs." on clicking the icon it shows mbam, click on that & everything is ok.

Before clicking win icon, going into mbam throughstart, all progs, mbam, protection tab, the enable protection module box is always unticked. tick the box re-boot same story.

In ms config mbam is ticked for start up.

Using win defender, avast anti virus & zone alarm----disabling these makes no difference.

Vista Home 32 bit os

[daledoc1]

Using win defender, avast anti virus & zone alarm----disabling these makes no difference.

Vista Home 32 bit os

Hi, allyy48:

Until one of the experts arrives, I just want to be sure: are you really running 3 AVs and/or FWs simultaneously (Win Defender, Avast and Zone Alarm)?

If so, that may well be causing and/or contributing to your issue.

Counterintuitive though it may seem, running more than 1 AV or FW actually makes your system LESS secure, not more (b/c of conflicts and crashes).

One good, robust AV and FW is all you need -- with MBAM (which is not an AV in the strict sense) layered on these, you would be fine.

I suspect this does relate to your problem, esp since MBAM needs full permission in the firewall and AV in order to do its job.

This is explained here, along with instructions on how to do a clean reinstall of MBAM, if needed:

http://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showtopic=10138

In your case, MBAM would need exclusions/permissions in *3* separate programs, and it's likely to be very problematic.

I suspect that one or more of your installed security products may be interfering with MBAM.

(Especially with FWs, "disabling" them from the system tray doesn't really close all their background processes, so it's still possible that it is contributing to the issue, even though you have tried turning them off.)

One of the experts will arrive soon, to assist you further -- you may need to uninstall & cleanup one or more of your AVs, and perhaps do a clean reinstall of MBAM.

It is quite simple to do and should get you up and running.

In the interim, just to check: Is your Vista OS fully patched (IOW are you running SP2 with all current updates)?

EDIT: And one other thing: As I recall the Windows UAC in Vista is a bit wonky. Have you tried right-clicking your MBAM desktop shortcut > run as administrator, then make your changes to your settings and OK your way out? It may be that they are not sticking b/c of a privileges thing...

Stay tuned for more help!

daledoc1

[allyy48]

Hi, allyy48:

Until one of the experts arrives, I just want to be sure: are you really running 3 AVs and/or FWs simultaneously (Win Defender, Avast and Zone Alarm)?

If so, that may well be causing and/or contributing to your issue.

Counterintuitive though it may seem, running more than 1 AV or FW actually makes your system LESS secure, not more (b/c of conflicts and crashes).

One good, robust AV and FW is all you need -- with MBAM (which is not an AV in the strict sense) layered on these, you would be fine.

I suspect this does relate to your problem, esp since MBAM needs full permission in the firewall and AV in order to do its job.

This is explained here, along with instructions on how to do a clean reinstall of MBAM, if needed:

http://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showtopic=10138

In your case, MBAM would need exclusions/permissions in *3* separate programs, and it's likely to be very problematic.

I suspect that one or more of your installed security products may be interfering with MBAM.

(Especially with FWs, "disabling" them from the system tray doesn't really close all their background processes, so it's still possible that it is contributing to the issue, even though you have tried turning them off.)

One of the experts will arrive soon, to assist you further -- you may need to uninstall & cleanup one or more of your AVs, and perhaps do a clean reinstall of MBAM.

It is quite simple to do and should get you up and running.

In the interim, just to check: Is your Vista OS fully patched (IOW are you running SP2 with all current updates)?

EDIT: And one other thing: As I recall the Windows UAC in Vista is a bit wonky. Have you tried right-clicking your MBAM desktop shortcut > run as administrator, then make your changes to your settings and OK your way out? It may be that they are not sticking b/c of a privileges thing...

Stay tuned for more help!

daledoc1

[allyy48]

Hi daledoc1, thanks for your thoughts, I have since tried going into Task Manager/Services/ Service & changing Mbam from automatic (delay) to automatic, that allowed it to run at Win start up, but the Win box "has blocked some" etc still appeared. I then tried going into User Account Control & turning it off, that worked, but then I got a Win box telling me to check UAC.

In the end up I decided to uninstall the Mbam Pro version & go back to the free version, no problems !!!!!!!!!!!

Sometimes the simple things in life are best.

Thanks for your time & trouble

[daledoc1]

Hi, again:

Although the free version is working, it would be advisable to sort out the issues with the PRO version.

Free can be used for on-demand scans, but, as you know, it doesn't provide real-time protection that helps prevent your system from becoming infected in the first place.

BTW, I wasn't suggesting that you disable Windows UAC -- it is there for a reason (security).

What I suggested was running MBAM with elevated privileges by right clicking on your MBAM desktop shortcut > run as administrator, and then allowing the program to run when prompted.

Sometimes that helps with these sorts of bugs running programs in Win7 and Vista.

It is NOT normal for Windows to be blocking MBAM, so my advice would be to wait for one of the more expert folks to provide additional assistance.

There is probably a fix for this.

In the interim:

1) Make sure your OS is fully patched -- did you say if you are running SP2? (I sure hope so, since MS support for Vista SP1 will end soon, and it is not very secure.)

2) You might try www.vistax64.com -- it is a good Vista forum.

3) And you didn't say -- are you running Defender + Avast + ZoneAlarm all in real-time? (If so, then this is a likely source of your inability to run MBAM PRO.)

4) Check out the FAQ (link in my previous post and at the top of the forum) about setting up the necessary exclusions/permissions for MBAM in your AV and firewall. It's not hard, but not doing so could be another major contributor to your issue.

5) Please take a screen shot of whatever error message you are seeing, so that the experts can see the exact wording.

It is the weekend, so many of the mods and experts seem to be away, but I'm sure someone will be around soon to assist you further. The added protection it provides is worth the effort IMHO.

I suggest not giving up on MBAM PRO -- I can hardly recall anyone who could not get it running properly with some expert assistance.

If not here at the forum, then, as a paying customer, you can submit a ticket at support@malwarebytes.org, or by checking out another option here: http://www.malwarebytes.org/premium-support.php

NOTE: please use the "add reply" button, as that will make it easier for all of us to follow the thread without reposting every message in its entirety.

Regards,

daledoc1

[exile360]

Please do the following:

• Click on the START button and click on Computer
  
• Navigate to C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
  
• Right-click on mbamgui.exe and select Properties
  
• Click on the Compatibility tab
  
• Under Privilege Level, uncheck Run this program as an administrator if it is checked, if it is not checked, then check it and uncheck it again, and then click on Apply and OK
  
• Restart your computer to verify that it now starts properly
  

It is also important to verify which component is being blocked at startup. When you receive the tray notification of a blocked startup item and select Run blocked program, you will see a User Account Control prompt displaying the program name, if you click on Show details and look at the Program location: info, it will tell you specifically which startup item/program is being blocked.

The protection module uses mbamservice.exe and mbamgui.exe and does NOT use mbam.exe, so if mbam.exe is blocked during startup, this is normal because it requires administrative privileges to run, the others do not. If mbam.exe is set to run at startup, it will usually show an entry called /runcleanupscript in the Program location: section of the User Account Control prompt. This means that you removed an infection during the previous Windows session and mbam.exe was set to run once at startup to delete any remaining traces that required a reboot to remove completely.

[daledoc1]

Please do the following:

[*]Click on the START button and click on Computer <snip>

Much obliged, exile360!

I hope this helps ally48 get everything running properly, and apologies if my efforts steered him/her in the wrong direction.

Regards,

daledoc1

[exile360]

No problem daledoc1, you provided a ton of good information, I just wanted to add that particular info because I've seen this a few times from other users and I suspect that it is the cause of the issue .