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Patch reliability is unclear, but widespread attacks make patching prudent. Go ahead and patch, but watch out for potential problems. |
I run Malwarebytes Free and on the Settings > Security tab there is a switch to toggle “Launch Malwarebytes in the background when Windows starts up”
I understand the Free edition doesn’t have real-time protection so why would you run it the background at start-up?
Windows 10 Home 21H2, Acer Aspire TC-1660 desktop + LibreOffice, non-techie
Malwarebytes Free starts popping up advertisements (for Malwarebytes Premium) if you leave it open long enough, so presumably they want people to agree to launch it in the background at Windows start up so they can advertise to you. I suppose one could argue that having it already open would slightly improve the initial scan time, but I prefer my theory!
I’ve had MBAM on my Win 7 computer from the beginning, and now this. It looks like they’ve pulled the plug on older versions. I’ve also read, that the only way to get the free version now is to get the premium 14 day trial version and let it run out. It then supposedly reverts back to the free version. I’ll experiment some more before I give up on Malwarebytes.
If I come up with anything I’ll post it here. Thanks again.
We're getting Sticker Shock everywhere now, not just car dealers.
Thanks @Charlie, I am going to sit tight for a while. According to recent forum updates, looks like MBAM servers problems, Malwarebytes admits a back end problem, and one of MBAM staff advises users to wait.
@Bob99 Thanks for the information but I have tried and don’t like the newer versions. I actually use a very old 1x version on an older computer for which I still can get updates. So was odd that 2x versions stopped getting updates.
Both of you need to install the latest version of MBAM, which is certified to work with Windows 7. The latest version number is, as of this writing, 4.59.198 for MBAM.
To get the free version, install the item located at the link that I provide below that goes directly to the Malwarebytes download server. The file that you will download will be about 259 megs in size, so please be patient as it downloads. Even if you use a little “stub” downloader from Malwarebytes, it will still go out and get the entire 259 meg file once it realizes you’re on such an old version. OK, here’s the link:
https://downloads.malwarebytes.com/file/mb4_offline
To get things going, just double click on the file and it will take things from there. Be careful to NOT click on (or decline by clicking “Skip this for now”) the offer to install Malwarebytes’ Browser Guard, as it’s NOT required in order to run the latest version of MBAM. Browser Guard is an extension intended to help keep you safe from things such as drive by downloads and sites that are regarded as laden with crapware, but your already-installed regular anti-crapware solution might already be providing this type of service.
Please keep in mind that the installer might not proceed, instead asking you to first uninstall the older edition. Please do so if it asks you to.
Either during the installation or the very first time you launch MBAM, it will very likely go out and get the latest definitions that are available for itself.
I’ve also read, that the only way to get the free version now is to get the premium 14 day trial version and let it run out.
Once you get it installed, you don’t have to wait out the 14 days to get the free version, you just have to turn off the trial within the application itself. To do so, launch MBAM and once it’s up and running, click the “gear” shaped icon in the upper right corner of the window.
That brings up the Settings menus. Go ahead and click on the setting that’s labeled “Account” and is towards the top of the window. Be default, the “General” area is highlighted when you get into the Settings menus, so just click on the above-mentioned item that says “Account”.
That will then take you to the account-related info and settings. Simply look on that page, and there should be an item that says something like “deactivate trial” or “terminate trial”. Clicking on that item should then produce a warning that you won’t be protected full time and maybe other “dire”warnings. Ignore them and click “OK” anyway, and in just a couple of moments, your license status will then say “Always free (Upgrade to Premium…)” and “Malwarebytes Free” will be listed for the type of edition of the program you have. Based upon my experience with MBAM and the many updates I’ve gone through, if you’ve made any configuration changes in the settings, they will be preserved when you deactivate the trial license. Any changes made to the paid stuff obviously won’t be preserved.
Any other ??’s, feel free to post back here!
BTW, in case you were wondering, the reason you’re no longer getting any kind of definition updates is because your version of MBAM is so old.
I hope this helps!
R/
Bob99
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