Jo-Anne news 16 Dec 2017 18:04:10 GMT in alt.windows7.general, wrote:

On 12/16/2017 11:34 AM, Diesel wrote:
Ed Cryer news Wed, 06 Dec 2017 13:35:23 GMT in alt.windows7.general, wrote:

Jo-Anne wrote:
On 12/5/2017 12:56 PM, Ed Cryer wrote:
Jo-Anne wrote:
Over the past week, my computer has locked up three times--to
the point where I had to turn it off manually. I suspect the
problem is Malwarebytes. I run the free version when I want
to check for malware. However, the last time I did an update,
it installed a trial version of the full program. (I don't
remember being asked to confirm that I wanted it.) What made
me think of this program being the problem is that today I
got a message from the program that I had three more days of
the trial version.

Assuming that it is Malwarebytes causing the problem, what is
the best approach for dealing with it? Should I uninstall
Malwarebytes and then try to reinstall the free version? Wait
for the trial version to end? Something else?

--
Thank you,
Jo-Anne

Try the Reliability Monitor.
Type "reliability" in the Start Globe.
It should have the defaulting prog marked with a red star.

Ed


Thank you, Ed! I never thought to check that. I just did and
got the following: Windows Wireless LAN 802.11 Extensibility
Framework: Stopped working

Not sure what exactly it means...


That's your wireless network.
Go to Device Manager, Network Adaptors, see when latest drivers
were installed. If within the period of your recent problems,
then roll the drivers back. If you suspect they were installed
from an MS update, go to the manufacturer's site, and get the
latest from there.

This is either secondary or primary symptom to the lock-ups
you're having. I would have thought that if it was primary you'd
find an entry in Reliability Monitor for every occasion.

Ed



The wireless is a secondary issue, brought forth by Malwarebytes
becoming 'resident' in the trial mode. It includes a few features
and a low level system driver that doesn't always play well with
other software present on the system. These aren't online in full
force in the freeware version, but the trial copy and paid for
editions do enable them. And, this does cause compatability
issues with some system configurations. From mildly annoying
lockups and freezes that don't happen all the time, to the ones
that bring the system down around it's ears frequently. It's been
an ongoing struggle for Malwarebytes to improve those sections of
their codebase.



Thank you, Diesel, for confirming my experience. I uninstalled
Malwarebytes on December 5, and I've experienced no more computer
lockups.


In fairness and so I'm not accused of being shady, I'll disclose that
I'm a former employee of the company. I was one of the malware
reseachers who disected bad software and wrote definitions to detect
and remove it, without making things worse for the computer/os in the
process. I'm not talking about script based malware, despite having
worked with that junk too. I'm talking about real, executable based
unfriendly software that you wouldn't want on your machine, and if
you had the misfortune of acquiring it and for some reason your av
couldn't help you, at one point, Malwarebytes could and was genuine
in the way in which they went about it.

I'll also go ahead and disclose the fact I didn't leave on bad terms,
either. After putting in two years, I decided it was time to move on.
I didn't like the way some policies were being created on the
internal side and I didn't like the direction the company that
started out small with a genuine interest in helping people was
growing and their sights/ goals changing with the increasing
cashflow. It was a very honest company to work for at one point that
really did care about the users. When I noticed that beginning to
change, I decided it was time to be going. I'm proud of having worked
for the original Malwarebytes, but don't associate myself with what's
become of them these days. Not by a long shot. I understand that
bills need to be paid and people need to be paid, but, there's a
right way and wrong way to go about getting that done. If you catch
my drift here.

That being said, the company has done some pretty shady things since
my departure with them; upto and including claiming to be a
replacement for your antivirus. They are not and never will be a
suitable replacement for your antivirus for several reasons. None of
which I'll get into unless you actually want to know the boring
details.

Suffice to say, do not ditch your antivirus and depend on their
product offerings alone to protect you; it's not going to happen. If
you must use the program, use it in the freeware mode that isn't
resident and don't enable the trial features. If you feel you must
pay for software, I'd recommend eset nod32, kaspersky, avast, etc
long before paying for what Malwarebytes is peddling.

Back in the day, the company had a real interest in protecting people
and they did the best they could with what they had to work with.
Times have changed and their primary focus has along with it. I'm
disappointed in the way things turned out, and I'm saddened that they
feel it's okay to basically fraud people concerning their programs
abilities. Suffice to say, for the tech work I do, I do not recommend
usage of the program to my clients anymore and I haven't done so in
several years now. I like being able to goto bed with a clear
conscience. I do feel bad for the loyal users who preach as if it's a
god saving program with special abilities. I feel partially
responsible for that bad line of thinking, but, I wasn't in the
marketing dept. And, malwarebytes has an impressive one. They could
probably convince an eskimo to pay for additional ice.



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