Solved MalwareBytes 2.0.1 taking forever to scan

[Mellon Head]

I just had to update to MBAM 2.0.1 because my last installation of MBAM got corrupted somehow. Doing my weekly scan has turned into something hilarious. What used to take four hours with the old MBAM is now on its 23rd hour, and it's still only checking filesystem objects. It still hasn't done the heuristic analysis.

I'm tempted to scrap this scan and reinstall an older version. Has anyone else noticed that the newest version is very slow?

 

[matts6887]

Well; it sounds like something may have happened with the install of the new version. If I were you i would completely uninstall mwbytes; use one of the good programs to delete all registry entries for it like revo uninstaller. Once thats done I would reboot; re-download the current version and make sure it downloads completely and properly; install and make sure the the install is complete; and then try and run a complete scan and see what happens. If that does not do anything; then something else is amiss which Im not totally 100% sure of. Cause short of uninstalling and reinstalling; this one is stumping me as i dont think ive ever encountered this myself.

 

[Phone Man]

Some have reported a similar problem. The first step is follow this:

https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showtopic=122284

I assume you are using the new Custom Scan (old Full Scan). Do you have Scan Archive or Scan for Rootkits enabled. Malwarebytes recommends the Threat Scan as the best option. There will be a major update in a few weeks that will fix about 30 bugs and hopefully it will help on the scan times. I have 2.0.1.1004 installed on 2 W7 and 1 W8.1 system and my scan times are very good. Threat Scan about 11 min and Custom a little over an hour.

Jim

 

[Mellon Head]

Thanks for the link, Jim. I cleaned it out and re-downloaded it and we'll see how long it takes now. I had the rootkit scanner activated as well, so maybe that added to the time. I don't know. I was doing a custom scan and I have 5 drives, and maybe a TB of data among all of them. The file count was going up about 12 files every 15 seconds or so, it's no wonder it took 23+ hours.

I'll try again and post back.

 

[Callender]

MBAM scan speed

I just had to update to MBAM 2.0.1 because my last installation of MBAM got corrupted somehow. Doing my weekly scan has turned into something hilarious. What used to take four hours with the old MBAM is now on its 23rd hour, and it's still only checking filesystem objects. It still hasn't done the heuristic analysis.

I'm tempted to scrap this scan and reinstall an older version. Has anyone else noticed that the newest version is very slow?

Hi,

I installed the new version of MBAM twice already and used the cleanup utility before installing. The second install had the same scan speed problems as the first install. The answer (from memory as I've uninstalled it again) was to deselect the option in settings that reads something like "Activate heuristic scanning - Shuriken"

Also if you're using any kind of "process taming" software be sure to exclude MBAM from the process restraint.

Then a scan would complete in around 8-10 minutes instead of many hours. I had to leave a scan running overnight as it was so slow!

Possibly this is not good advice but if you're using MBAM as a secondary scanner only and heuristic scanning is already covered by your other installed security apps then it's okay!

If MBAM is your primary anti-malware solution then ignore the above.

 

[DBone]

MBAM 2.0 is a work in progress, and that is being kind. Many, many users have rolled back to 1.75 and unchecked the default option in the settings that allows auto program updates, myself being one. The CEO of MBAM has said that they will not force an update to 1.75 users................yet. He also said that there will be a fairly comprehensive update to 2.0 in 1.5 to 3 weeks.

There is a long thread on Wilders regarding 2.0 and all of its many, many issues.

 

[Britton30]

I'm going to stay with the V.1.75 for awhile yet, it scans in about 2 hours. :sarc:

 

[MoxieMomma]

Hi:

MBAM 2.0 uses new scanning engines that are more powerful and that scan locations not covered by MBAM 1.x, such as ARK (Anti-Rootkit scanning).

[quote name="AdvancedSetup" post="811422" timestamp="1396315975"]
Time taken is due to a many factors some which can be dealt with and others not as easily.

Size of disk
Disk type
Disk speed
Disk caching
CPU speed
Controller type and speed
Operating System used
Amount of files
Amount of folders
Amount of archived files such as zip, rar, sfx, etc.
Rootkit scan or not
PUM/PUP scans
Other security programs running at the same time that may potentially be monitoring all file accesses by any other process.
Drive integrity - if a drive is failing it can take a long time to ignore and bypass sectors on a disk or simply fail period and hang the scan.
Other ongoing disk I/O processes
System being infected can also affect speed of scans

https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showtopic=145429#entry811422

Another factor not listed there is the size of the definitions database, which can change from day to day.

Having said all that, improvements to ARK scanning are due with a future build; I don't personally know if it will be in the next release due out in a few weeks.

In addition to modifying the variables in the list above, users can disable ARK scanning after it has been performed once (assuming there is no suspicious computer behavior suggestive of possible rootkit activity), and can disable archive scanning. Doing so many shorten scan times.

NOTE: Under normal circumstances, the Threat Scan (formerly called the Quick Scan) is the only type of scan routinely needed on a regular basis. Scanning one's entire system (esp non-system drives) with a full "Custom" scan is not necessary after a clean baseline scan, and is a task better suited to one's anti-virus; doing so with MBAM frequently could lead to premature wear of your HDD, esp a SSD.

HTH,
MM

 

[UsernameIssues]

Thanks for the link, Jim. I cleaned it out and re-downloaded it and we'll see how long it takes now. I had the rootkit scanner activated as well, so maybe that added to the time. I don't know. I was doing a custom scan and I have 5 drives, and maybe a TB of data among all of them. The file count was going up about 12 files every 15 seconds or so, it's no wonder it took 23+ hours.

I'll try again and post back.

See this post:
http://www.sevenforums.com/system-security/240099-latest-version-malwarebytes-21.html#post2740554

Wow, 23+hrs :-(

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi:

MBAM 2.0 uses new scanning engines that are more powerful and that scan locations not covered by MBAM 1.x, such as ARK (Anti-Rootkit scanning).
NOTE: Under normal circumstances, the Threat Scan (formerly called the Quick Scan) is the only type of scan routinely needed on a regular basis. Scanning one's entire system (esp non-system drives) with a full "Custom" scan is not necessary after a clean baseline scan, and is a task better suited to one's anti-virus; doing so with MBAM frequently could lead to premature wear of your HDD, esp a SSD.

HTH,
MM

Wow with that little tidbit I believe I'll just give up on mabm,
Releasing a version with a scanner that will do more harm than an infection,
Not a good sign,
Cheers.

 

[Britton30]

Since MBAM is not a full blown AV program I'd expect it to scan much faster. Even given all the "reasons" of slower than cold molasses scans, 1.75 does a lot better, not good, but better.

For comparison, Norton scanned 842,615 items, MBAM only 334,718. Norton took 18 minutes, MBAM 2+ hours.

 

[MoxieMomma]

Wow with that little tidbit I believe I'll just give up on mabm,
Releasing a version with a scanner that will do more harm than an infection,
Not a good sign,
Cheers.

Not sure what you mean by that.
MBAM never was an antivirus.
Wasn't meant to be.
It's a specialized tool designed to run alongside an AV to provide layered protection against zero-hour and zero-day threats often missed by AVs.
It is designed to catch live infections on the boot drive.
Flat file scanning of an entire system is fine once, upon install.
But if you want to scan an entire system with multiple local or NAS drives, looking for dead remnants of old infections, then an AV with a ginormous database of 10-years' worth of infections is better suited to the task.

[quote name="AdvancedSetup" post="816703" timestamp="1397181686"]

Use Threat Scan. That is the equivalent of the previous Quick Scan.
We added the Full Scan (now Custom Scan) due to many complaints from users wanting to scan all files even though we've told them many times that their antivirus is much better at non active threats on a flat file scan. The new 2.0 includes a rootkit scanner but unless you're going out to very risky sites and downloading cracked software all the time then once you've done a rootkit scan once and a Custom/Full Scan once there really is no need to do one again unless there is really some reason to cause you to believe that something did get past your security and get onto the box. Doing a rootkit scan daily or a full scan daily is certainly going to place more stress on your hard drive and if its an SSD then that could potentially greatly reduce the life expectancy of the drive.

https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showtopic=146219#entry816703

As for slower ARK scanning "causing more harm than an infection", I really wouldn't know what to say.:huh:


Cheers,

MM

 

[ThrashZone]

The constant reminder of mabm not an antivirus is unnecessary,
I believe we all know that very well,
Personally I've known this for over four years

Clearly choosing the Rootkit option during a full scan is the biggest mistake to repeat,
Knowing what I do now "ever even using at all"
There should be nothing wrong with repeating a full scan weekly or bi-weekly as a damaging process,
If it is then the product is the problem not the habit of running a full scan without rootkit included.

 

[Britton30]

The developers at MBAM are surely hearing about all the freezing/slow scan issues. Hopefully they know how to fix 'em.

 

[MoxieMomma]

I believe I used the word "wear" and AS used the term "stress" (esp for SSD).
That would be true of any security program scanning a drive repeatedly.
Neither of us called it "damage".

But, I'm not here to argue.
I am just a lowly home user and was just trying to help.


You win!


Cheers

 

[Mellon Head]

See this post:
http://www.sevenforums.com/system-security/240099-latest-version-malwarebytes-21.html#post2740554

Wow, 23+hrs :-(

Thanks for the info. I won't be trying the rootkit option again. Like the video there were many hangs and freezes it seems, (now that I know what they were. It's like it kept stopping the scan for 10 to 20 seconds and then the file counter would increase by about 12 to 15 files).

I'm going to run a full custom scan again on just my system and program drives without the rootkit scan enabled and see what happens.

 

[ThrashZone]

The developers at MBAM are surely hearing about all the freezing/slow scan issues. Hopefully they know how to fix 'em.

Unfortunately the only repeated response has been use the threat scanner instead,

Seeing if that's mabm's position the full scan option should disappear after using it once
1.75... has the rootkit option in more tools,
I've never used it or any of the More tools,
Now I see why = beta,
I had a pretty lame correspondence with mabm's email support,
All I got was mabm fine I still don't think they realize the logs were from 1.75...
I believe their new policy is to dump actual customer support for pro licenses and keep repeating the same non-sense if it freezes don't use it but once,
If it freezes once then never use it again = Threat scan/ Threat scan/ Threat scan....... blah......
Cheers.

 

[Callender]

Reviewed. The good and the bad

Anyone who is interested might want to read the review here:

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Premium Review

Headings include:

Measuring performance (Threat detection)

The Good

The Bad

The Truth

 

[ThrashZone]

Bingo, although the instance was a bit different the result was identical,

We have experienced major stability issues on Windows 8.1 and Windows 7. It frequently got stuck in a loop when we attempted to scan a folder via the context menu entry, failing to overcome the pre-scan operations phase. Our attempt to cancel the task was in vain, and we had to terminate Malwarebytes' process.

According to mabm they have hopped-skipped- and jumped to avoid this issue completely without even acknowledging it via my email communications,
After reading the logs they requested they closed the ticket, mabm is okay,
And said if I have anymore questions contact them
Nice support.

 

[AdvancedSetup]

@ThrashZone

If you wish to run a full scan 10 times a day please be my guest. No one is saying you cannot run one if you want to. I said I find that for myself it's not needed.

Are there issues with the latest version - yes. Are we working on them - Yes. Did you participate in the Beta and voice your opinions then before release - No.

Our forum has probably just a tad more information and support available than here and where I would recommend you actually seek support, but that's up to you as well.

I'm not here to argue either. If you want help come get help - we're certainly willing to help.

Thank you.