Malwarebytes 4 - Now RTM.

It's been a semi-secret but it's official now so we can share it - Malwarebytes has a new Beta version MB4.

https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/249586-malwarebytes-4-beta/

It has a new user interface which you can see in this post: https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/250841-mb-401-new-interface/?tab=comments#comment-1330702

It is a beta version so read the 'Known issues' if you are thinking of trying it.

I've had it for about a month and have had no problems at all with it, although others have reported some issues, especially False Positives found during scans.

There is a dedicated thread on the Malwarebytes beta forum for reporting FP's and other issues, see the first link above.

I'm afraid having MBAM on my machines real time is not something I would do.

In my mind and experience it is not the software it once was, however as a 2nd tier scanner it's okay.

I also only use it as a scanner not real time, but that's by choice so that I can see what other unregistered users are seeing. (To answer their questions better).

I have a valid MB licence key, given to me when I was invited to join a 'steering group' on the forum, but have never registered it.

However I do have the Malwarebytes for Firefox extension protecting my browser real time and the stand-alone Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit (beta) running real time, as well as Windows Defender of course.

The browser add-on (there's one for Chrome as well) is particularly good at spotting/blocking dodgy websites and links.

It also works as an adblock and clickbait blocker.

From the screenshots the new GUI looks good. However, hopefully they've fixed bugs from version 3 into version 4. The bugs in version 3 forced me to keep using the ancient version 2.2.1.1043 from 2016, version 3 always had issues no matter if it was on WinXP or Win10.

I've had MBAM real-time protection since it went v3, no issues on any of my many home PC's except for the bug sometime last year that effected Excel but that was easily 'turned off' until they fixed it.

hadn't heard about the new v4, will give it a spin now.

Surprised at the cartoonish looking robot on the GUI, after all security is supposed to be a serious business.

yeah, they're getting quiet a bit of flak about it as well on their forum.

The robot has been a bone of contention with some since they started using it on the advertising/download webpage a while back.

Along with their use of wording like '<strong>Awesome</strong>' and other teenage type wording.

You should see the Android version, when you launch it it looks more like a game than a serious security application.

I guess it's just the new generation of young programmers coming through.

8 hours ago, nukecad said:
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		I guess it's just the new generation of young programmers coming through.
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Is it the same bunch that think an all white GUI with no design thought whatsoever is acceptable? Although I did think the MB gui looked OK, not as bad as some things I've seen in the last year on Win10.

Edit:

Ah, the robot. Looks like a Transformer using Captain America's shield.

On 24/08/2019 at 19:36, mta said:
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		no issues on any of my many home PC's except for the bug sometime last year that effected Excel
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The bug I'm referencing I was able to re-produce with every version 3.xx release they had from the get-go, so I gave up on version 3 last year . That and the myriad of upgrade failures where something would always get broken or missing in the process, although that never really bothered me much since I prefer to always do clean installs of anti-malware and anti-virus because I've seen several of them damage themselves attempting an upgrade (Panda Free Antivirus comes to mind).

What the annoying bug was:

After awhile of doing multiple scans of the Downloads folder version 3 will eventually fail; wouldn't be able to scan anything, stopping and restarting the service had no effect, etc., and the only solution was a system reboot, ultimate solution was to uninstall it. Pretty much not usable in that regard. Of course I know someone might chime in and say, <em>"just scan the Downloads folder once and problem solved."</em>

Malwarebytes 4.0 is now officially Released to Market (v4.0.4) and is no longer a Beta product:

https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/253227-announcing-malwarebytes-40-for-windows/

Please note post #6 there regarding MB4 currently registering itself with the Windows Security Centre by default if/when first installed from scratch.

This is a change from the previous default install behaviour and will turn off Windows Defender, or your other previously installed AV, in favour of Malwarebytes 4.

You can change this back in the settings in order to run Defender, or another AV, alongside MB4 for extra layered protection.

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		if you prefer to run Malwarebytes alongside any other traditional antivirus (including Windows Defender, Symantec or McAfee) you can disable the Windows Security Center setting in Security Settings within Malwarebytes 4.0. This will prevent Malwarebytes from registering in Windows Security Center and either your secondary antivirus or Windows Defender will show as registered. Malwarebytes 4.0 will continue to run seamlessly alongside these other solutions in compatibility mode.
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If you are upgrading from Malwarebytes v3.x (or 4.x beta) then your current Security Centre settings will be honoured and retained.

If you are running MB4 in Free mode, (for scans only - no real time protection), then it will not register with the Security Centre.

(PS. Following user feedback from the beta test versions the contentious 'Robot' has been banished from the GUI in this RTM version).

No!

For certain size Win10 displays where it has to be scaled to at least 175% in order to see most text MB4 has areas that run off screen like so many other updated programs. As of late it seems obvious like so many other programs it wasn't a consideration to test visibility at default built-in Win10 scaling up to 175%. MB4 is not usable scaled at 150% which is the largest scaling that will fit everything on screen on my 15 inch Win10 laptop since all the text is just too small.

I don't like the fact that there isn't a full offline installer. Something else interesting when I did a clean install was on first launch MB4 had an unhandled exception that popped up on Win10. Didn't even bother scanning with it or even attempting to uninstall it, I just restored from a Macrium image to be forever done with it.

They are still refining (playing with) the GUI, and are listening to user feedback.

They are aware that some non-standard resolutions can cause issues at the moment.

Some would say that they should have finalised the GUI before RTM, but as the detection/protection is working well they decided to put it out and keep refining/improving the GUI based on user feedback.

Many programmes make minor changes the GUI over time - look how often CCleaners has changed recently.

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		I don't like the fact that there isn't a full offline installer.
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There is now an offline installer available for MB4, (obviously it's a larger download, 150,608 KB as opposed to the standard installer at 1,840 KB): https://malwarebytes.app.box.com/s/cymqa8o7sxj9zrj22n643ujt8rqoozkm

9 hours ago, nukecad said:
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		They are still refining (playing with) the GUI, and are listening to user feedback.


		They are aware that some non-standard resolutions can cause issues at the moment.
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Good for them listening, it was a strange issue since the GUI could be maximized that it would run off. Although part of the issue is of course Win10 scaling, and of course 16:9 aspect ratio screens, but it should've at least been tested, although it would've never been an issue say back in the day if they were only coding for an OS (XP, etc) that didn't have that weirdness let alone HD screens. It running off screen using a standard built-in Win10 scaling (not a custom scaling) was not a good first impression, much like Samsung Magician v6.0 and a whole laundry list of other software.