What are /r/Malwarebytes' favorite Products & Services?

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RStudio is an IDE for the R language (https://www.rstudio.com/). It's one of the more popular IDEs for R actually so its not really obscure/new. I've been using it for the past few months with no issue except last night. I manage to reinstall it after the restart and MWB has not flagged it again.

> Were you doing anything specific when this happened?

I was running my program but it wasn't anything new and have been working on this particular file for over a week. I can still run it now fine without any issues. I created the file from scratch, it wasn't downloaded from any source.

Try this:

1) Run ADWCleaner and remove everything it finds

2) Run Junkware Removal Tool and reboot.

Then try MBAM again.

This is most likely due to Windows 10 fast startup, which is where your computer actually hibernates when you shut it down. Can you try either disabling Fast Startup (https://lifehacker.com/enable-this-setting-to-make-windows-10-boot-up-faster-1743697169) or hold shift while shutting down your computer (which skips fast startup for the next boot)

-I do the same, but I use HostMan from http://www.abelhadigital.com/hostsman/ to manage and merge the lists. Never had a problem doing it that way, plus HostsMan works very well and continually downloads the latest updates to the lists that I choose.

Edit: I mean merge the lists into my Hosts file. I have over 37,000 lines in my Hosts file. Turn off DNS cache.

I understand this is your job, but please don't mislead people in my post.

ADWcleaner does a better job than Malwarebytes at removing "adware, bloatware, unwanted toolbars", at least according to your own marketing.

When you say you're getting a "greater level of protection" with Malwarebytes, you're referring specifically to virus protection.

However, the virus protection that Malwarebytes offers is worse than the free, default antivirus protection offered by Windows Defender, according to comparison sites.

In other words, by paying for your "premium" virus protection, you're actually making your computer less secure, since the default Windows Defender provides superior protection.

I loved using Malwarebytes, and I recommended it to many people over the years. It doesn't make me happy to eviscerate your product. This is the cost of trying to monetize with nagware. You alienate your word-of-mouth advertisers, people like me, and you turn them into word-of-mouth critics.

I can't say how it's going to work out for you, but Amazon bends over backward for customer satisfaction, and they're doing okay. My suspicion is you're going to lose more money than you gain by going the nagware route.

If you'd simply added a "disable advertisements" toggle in the Malwarebytes settings, I'd never have made this post. These popups are an ugly money grab, burning up your goodwill for some short term cash.

The built in Windows Security (previously Windows Defender) running with Malwarebytes Pro is all you need. As one of the other posters commented, I have been using it for years without any issue, and Windows Security is only getting better.

If you keep up with https://www.av-comparatives.org/ reports, Windows Security ranks right up at the top with its only weakness being a high level of false positives. However, in practice I am not seeing such alerts. The only warnings that I will occasionally get are from Malwarebytes stepping in to protect me from a sketchy website now and then.

> I feel i have unknowingly awakened a beast that laid dormant deep in my files.

Don't get paranoid. Malwarebytes did what it was supposed to do and if scans are now clean then it did it's job.

 

Yontoo is adware and not complicated to remove compared to other virus and malware. It wasn't fully installed so could have been from an install wrapper or optional software offered while installing something unrelated to Yontoo. It could also be part of a browser addon. Without the Malwarebytes log it's hard to tell though.

 

You might also run Malwarebytes AdwCleaner to see if anything turns up. It will often find PUPs that other scanners miss.

https://cock.li/ is an anonymous mail service that "allows registration and usage using Tor and other privacy services." What you are seeing is an email client error message regarding a handling exception. Are using you're using any Peer 2 Peer (P2P) software such as uTorrent or accessing P2P websites? Maybe use TOR browser and OnionMail? What email client(s) do you use? Anything non-standard?

Your title "Odd messages popping up on my PC" says a lot. If it was me and I was experiencing an unusual popup, I would want to ensure my computer wasn't compromised.

You can get free help in removing any existing malware at the Malwarebytes forum: https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/9573-im-infected-what-do-i-do-now/

Yes, if it was flagged and you didn’t choose to install it, then it’s probably masquerading.

http://www.videolan.org is the official site.

The only other reliable source I know of is:

https://ninite.com

Where you can download VLC and the other programs you see listed there, including Malwarebytes (just check off what you want; it’s free.)

1. Generally speaking, there should be little to no impact on overall performance. If there is an impact, it's usually due to common things any other software would have impacts as well like: low hardware specs, OS health, other software you have installed, etc. You can experience a bit of performance impact if you are attempting to do other performance impacting tasks at the same time you have scheduled a scan to occur at the same time.

2. If you are running the free version, Malwarebytes may notify you of offers to obtain a Premium license at a discount or about features you may need but aren't using. You will also get a notification if you are in Trial Mode or Premium mode and your subscription term is going to expire.

3. Yes, our Malwarebytes Privacy product is highly rated and well received. The VPN backend is actuall powered by Mullvad, which is also a leader in the VPN industry from a performance and security standpoint.

4. Yes, we cover all aspects of malware including viruses (which is a form of malware) since Malwarebytes 3 in 2016. You can use us as your primary anti-virus/anti-malware solution.

I had this same issue today and fixed it by basically following along with what crisis2k said with the 3 programs he recommended. http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/t/590149/malwarebytes-repeatedly-blocking-outgoing-to-istaticeshopcomp-ouch/

It says jrt but the other 2 also found more for me.

Do you have Private Internet Access(or probably other VPNs), running in the system tray? Even if you aren't currently connected to the VPN. For me, I keep getting this same deal, because PIA is doing whatever it's doing in the background(probably checking it's servers/services/whatever), and some of it's IP's must have been flagged as having nefarious activity, so MB is blocking them.

I was unable to reproduce your results on a Win 10 machine. I contacted Ninite Support yesterday and received this response:

Hi,

Thanks for passing this along. I have not seen any other reports of that particular conflict, nor have I been able to reproduce the freezing described by the OP. You are correct that Ninite installs each app one after another, and doesn't do any installs/updates simultaneously. I'll keep trying to reproduce the problem, though, just in case.

Thanks,

Kat Winter Support — Ninite — https://ninite.com

Try this:

1) Run ADWCleaner and remove everything it finds

2) Run Junkware Removal Tool and reboot.

Then try MBAM again.

Thanks for this info! I'll let our forum manager know.

edit: Hrmm, I just checked and I was able to get to the Farbar recovery tool (http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/farbar-recovery-scan-tool/) without issue. This might be stemming from your infection. This info might also be useful for the malware removal expert who will be assisting you.

Those sound like old reviews, I'd recommend checking out some more recent ones such as this avtest review : https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/windows-10/february-2021/malwarebytes-premium-4.3-211113/

I just installed NPP, ran a scan, and nothing flagged. Are you sure the download you have is good?

I downloaded here. Might be worth downloading from there and seeing if it still is flagged. If so, it may be worth contacting MB support to determine what may be causing the problem.

if you've downloaded from here

https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

as of now there are no trojans, nor is there any other adware etc.

Though there are ads on the site that adblocker picks up.. Which may have 3rd party sophistication but...

I didn't do any in-depth analysis, but general inspection/scan doesn't show anything ambiguous..

According to https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/ AV site comparison you actually don't do better than other security software anymore....

I have been using the AV Comparatives site for years in supporting a professional IT role. Their testing is a great resource for assessing the ever changing performance of anti-virus programs.

https://www.av-comparatives.org/tests/real-world-protection-test-july-october-2019/

Scroll to the bottom of the page and look at the last bar graph. Microsoft Security (Windows Defender) was never compromised. But, as I said, it does have a disproportionate level of false-positives on the way to achieving that level of performance. Unless you are doing some really sketchy stuff, it is all you need. You don't even see Malwarebytes in the results as it's approach to protection is altogether different and supposedly can't be tested in this same manner. I can't speak to that thought but I can say that it does catch enough odd items for me that I have no qualms about paying for the premium license each year.

This site you can use (checked it)

https://www.malwarebytes.com/adwcleaner/

Virus-total link: https://www.virustotal.com/gui/url/9a2e5d7a6790394324c109a71ec6fcff0004f17ed304ef914c686b8fb3f27303/detection

Did Malwarebytes fix it? I can't help but think it came from Acronis but I could be wrong. IIRC they do have third party installers bundled with some of their software.

You might also run Malwarebytes AdwCleaner to make sure nothing else is found. It's free, fast and works well.

Also do you have any registry cleaners or system cleaners/optimization in add/remove programs? Systweak could be a part of multiple different system optimization installs.

Windows 10 actually comes with a pretty decent antivirus built-in that works very well with Malwarebytes.

It should work with Norton antivirus but at a heavier cost of system resources

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https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/comprehensive-security

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Hey, The website was http://ejie.me/ since I use their software Clover and it must be calling home from time to time.

If I can report the issue no problem, but I will not be able to do troubleshooting for the support team since I have uninstalled Malwarebytes.

I have since uninstalled the software because it was causing major lockup on my Win7 machine. I've seen on the forum that there is a lockup known issue due to Windows Essential, but I'm not using this software so maybe it's a different issue.

The lockup makes it impossible to log in my user account, I will be staring at a black screen infinitely. After rebooting repeatedly I might get to load some of my UI, but most windows will be unresponsive. The only way for me to remove the software was to start in safe mode.

Once this issue will be fixed I will re-install Malwarebytes.

Online code

Malwarebytes | Amazon Exclusive | 18 Months, 2 Devices | PC, Mac, Android [Online Code] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084L8X5VV/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_WVGD0SQX8GVT13GZMQ6A?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Key card version

Malwarebytes 4.0 Latest Version | Amazon Exclusive | 18 Months, 2 Devices (PC, Mac, Android) [software_key_card] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PNFRCZS/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_MA8A30FY3JAE57ZYGYVS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I got the key card version(just your activation key or a paper inside a box) it worked on my two android devices , but it looks like they have an online code so you can get it more instant acess.

We are proud to partner with Mullvad utilizing the organization’s backend VPN server network for the Malwarebytes Privacy VPN product, with Malwarebytes clients across Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS developed by Malwarebytes in-house.

Malwarebytes complies with the GDPR across its portfolio. Malwarebytes, like many other companies, continues to participate in Privacy Shield and maintains its certification despite the framework being invalidated. Malwarebytes maintains its certification as the framework demonstrates a serious commitment to protecting personal information in accordance with a set of privacy principles that offer meaningful privacy protections and recourse for EU and Swiss individuals. In compliance with the GDPR, Malwarebytes utilizes appropriate safeguards including standard data protection clauses approved by the EU Commission.

Malwarebytes strongly believes in the fundamental right to privacy and does not in any way log activity related to individual browsing or use of the Malwarebytes Privacy product or collect any information other than that which is necessary to buy and use our product. Our privacy and logging policies, can be found here: ” (see section entitled “Software Collection – information collected when using our Malwarebytes Privacy software”).

Try maybe this if you know how to use android usb debugging. https://webadb.com. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.csdroid.pkg pm uninstall -k --user 0 [package name]

I've been using the premium version on my android phone for several years and have enjoyed it. I'm a pretty tech savvy user so it's probably overkill in my situation but it never hurts to have the ransomware protection and real-time monitoring for malware and bad apps that the premium features enable.

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For VPN I use ProtonVPN which is excellent. I use their paid service but they also have a free tier you could check out.

Sorry for the late response on this.

It's not intentional, but rather an unexpected compatibility conflict that occurs when multiple products are using the Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) at the same time. The Web Protection module of Malwarebytes uses WFP as does NordVPN and Surfshark for some of their features.

The only workaround at the moment is to either disable the Web Protection module in Malwarebytes or disable the complete of the 3rd party application that also uses WFP.

More info on the WFP conflict can be found here:

I don’t have any particular knowledge of this, but untrustworthy VPNs can potentially harvest information. NordVPN has a reasonable reputation, so they ought to be considered ok, so I am not sure what the reason for the issue is.

Do you get an error message or pop up warning from MB whilst you’re using Nord?

I would try whitelisting the Nord App in MB and see if it fixes it.

On the face of it, I don’t really have a problem with a security program being cautious with network traffic redirection; it’s the hallmark of malware.

If you have the right kind of router, you could install Nord on there. It would simplify things; if your ISP offers more than one IP address, you could have two routers and two wifi networks, one for VPN traffic, and one “straight.”

Hey Devin, does your team have any plans on making Malwarebytes VPN free like ProtonVPN. ProtonVPN is 100% free but the downside is just the reduce in speed and bandwidth usage which is understandable 😅

I’d seen that: ‘Support for Android and iOS is coming soon.’ ... but was hoping to get something more specific.

Mullvad VPN is working on IOS and Android and from what I read Malwarebytes is essentially reselling Mullvad.

Cause it uses wireguard, which is supposed to be faster than openvpn. That's actually true to some extent.

But in my opinion, I think Malwarebytes Privacy is quite lacking in features, like, it doesn't have killswitch, protocol selection, favourite servers, etc.

If you want to use a wireguard vpn, use Mullvad or something.

Looking at the logs, this doesn't seem to be an issue with Malwarebytes, but rather with NordVPN blocking Malwarebytes traffic. If you fail to check in to the licensing servers enough times, you will revert to free.

I see there's a lot of firewall rules for NordVPN, so I'd double check the NordVPN configuration to see if you have to allow specific apps through it.

Sounds neat. My nearest option from your list is a country away (I'm based in Philippines), I guess that'd add quite an amount of ping for me. I might've to look at other VPNs.

Btw, what's this redeem code you mention of, is there a running promo of some sort currently?

Also, can the Privacy VPN be setup on a router level? Was able to do it when I did a trial with NordVPN before and thought that was pretty neat. Can't find any info about that if it's doable with the Privacy VPN though. Iirc, it has something about OpenVPN and NordVPN provided a .opvn file back then for me to use.

> I just realized -- I use a VPN (Astrill) because I live in China. Would this be what is causing the problem?

the only thing i can find online with a Trojan.DNSChanger and Astrill is this link from the apple forums, you might be able to see if anything from that discussion is relevant to you, however im not sure if it was ever resolved