ESET plus Malwarebytes Anti-malware

Discussion in 'ESET NOD32 Antivirus' started by dragoneer, Jul 19, 2012.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. dragoneer

    dragoneer Registered Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2008
    Posts:
    21
    I've noted that many threads in this forum mention the use of Malwarebytes. Has either ESET or Malewarebytes "officially" sanctioned (either meaning of the word) the use of the other product? Has there been any analysis of the interactions, e.g., for some sort of deadly embrace? Are there any war stories that I should hear before buying Malwarebytes?

    I'm currently using Windows XP PRO SP3 32 bits and will be running Windows 7 PRO 64 bits in the near future. My ESET is the latest version with current updates.
     
  2. rcdailey

    rcdailey Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2009
    Posts:
    233
    Check this sticky at the top of the forum:

    V5 lockup issues after connecting USB HDD - known conflicting software

    Apart from that, I know of no "deadly embrace." I have MBAM Pro, but have elected to disable the service and give up the real-time protection in order to avoid that issue with regard to external USB hard drives which the sticky is about. Adding to this, I see no overwhelming reason to pay for the Pro version of Malwarebytes if you are using Eset NOD32. Just use the free version of Malwarebytes for occasional scans on demand. There is no conflict in that case.

    One other thing to consider is that in the thread about USB hard drives and lockups with version 5 of Eset, the consensus is that the lockups were experienced by those running XP, and that users of Win 7 were not experiencing the same problem. Since you are moving to Win 7, I would be less concerned about Malwarebytes and Eset co-existing happily.

    Later. Just for your benefit and my own curiosity, I re-enabled the MBAM serivice on my system running Wioows XP Home Edition SP3. As before, I found that with MBAM Pro set to start with Windows and provide real-time protection, the only issue is with USB hard drives. If I remove and then reattach a USB hard drive while the system is running and MBAM is running in real-time mode, the system will fail to recognize the the USB hard drive and Eset will be in a startup scan indefinitely and it will be necessary to shut down in order to correct the problem. This required a power switch shut down (press the power switch until the system shuts down on a Dell 2350). When the system was turned on again, all was well as if nothing had happened.

    Removing and reattaching a USB flash drive (thumb drive or whatever) is not a problem. So, the issue is isolated to USB hard drives, and I think it affects only Windows XP users of MBAM Pro. There it is for what it is worth.

    Since I have the habit of shutting down before removing my USB hard drive, I will now probably leave MBAM Pro enabled full-time. I did pay for it, after all ;)
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2012
  3. dragoneer

    dragoneer Registered Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2008
    Posts:
    21
    Thank you for a very informative post. Since I haven't paid for it, I think I'll wait until I've built the Win 7 computers to "go Pro". Backups to external USB disks sounds rather painful in XP.
     
  4. siljaline

    siljaline Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2003
    Posts:
    6,618
    We have an ongoing unanswered query at this thread on the ESS sub-board.
     
  5. rcdailey

    rcdailey Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2009
    Posts:
    233
    Yes, and after my previous post, I discovered that with the latest MBAM, I had a new manifestation in that if the service was enabled (protection enabled) then I would get to the screen just prior to the display of user names and the system would hang so that I could not log on. Disabling the MBAM service (and protection) fixed that. So at least with version 5.2.9.1 of Eset NOD32, the conflict with MBAM service continues. For some reason, I thought that it was fixed in the 6 Beta, but I no longer know for sure about that.
     
  6. Marcos

    Marcos Eset Staff Account

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2002
    Posts:
    14,456
    MalwareBytes has received information regarding the issue as well as the listing of the MountMgr stack from the point of a lockup so hopefully they'll be able come up with a solution soon.
     
  7. rcdailey

    rcdailey Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2009
    Posts:
    233
    I hope they do. I was just thinking about a different product line (Kaspersky) which is being used at a place where I help. I looked for how Malwarebytes behaves with their products and found that it was recommended at Malwarebytes' website to exclude Malwarebytes from Kaspersky and exclude Kaspersky from Malwarebytes to avoid problems. Thus, it would seem that there could be problems between Malwarebytes Pro and more than one anti-virus or internet security product. As I recall, didn't some user try this mutual exclusion of executables. but found it did not work with Eset? I'm guessing that the conflict is much too early in the loading process for an exclusion to work. Nevertheless, perhaps Malwarebytes will come up with something similar in the way of a solution.
     
  8. siljaline

    siljaline Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2003
    Posts:
    6,618
    My best information was, unless someone from MalwareBytes misspoke, they and ESET were working in concert to remedy this issue :ouch:
     
  9. rcdailey

    rcdailey Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2009
    Posts:
    233
    The behavior when I enabled protection with the current version of Malwarebytes (v. 1.62.0.1300) seems different from the behavior with the previous version of Malwarebytes. I think before this, I was able to log on and did not hang at the Windows splash screen. Also, I think the last time I tested for the incompatibility, I was running beta 6.0.11.0 of NOD32, and I have since switched back to version 5.2.9.1, which may also behave differently with the newer version of Malwarebytes. Anyway, I will be patient about the fix, whenever it may come.
     
  10. arsenaloyal

    arsenaloyal Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2009
    Posts:
    513
    been using the ESET AV and MBAM Pro Combo for more than 3 years now,without a problem,latest MBAM Pro but ESET AV is 4.2 though not 5.2.

    I have added exclusions on both EST and MBAM.
     
  11. rcdailey

    rcdailey Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2009
    Posts:
    233
    I never had a problem using MBAM Pro with protection enabled and ESET NOD32 v 4.2. I did not have any exclusions set, either. They just worked together without conflicting. The difference comes with version 5.x.x.x and the way it checks drives from startup (even before other software loads). That's when the MBAM service and Eset start fighting with each other. That's why it becomes necessary to disable the MBAM service and with the service disabled, you have the equivalent of the free version of MBAM, but you paid for it.
     
  12. Phil_S

    Phil_S Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 13, 2003
    Posts:
    155
    Location:
    UK
    I have MBAM Pro and NOD v 5.x on a Win 7 system. I have exclusions set for each in the settings for the other, and have never experienced any issues with both running in real time.
     
  13. rcdailey

    rcdailey Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2009
    Posts:
    233
    Then it's yet another issue with Windows XP. It will probably not be fixed. Added: It is also possible that it is related to the USB hard drive issue that Malwarebytes and Eset are working on with relation to Windows XP SP3, but there may be something else that I've never run down. System Restore settings, for example, are affected when USB drives are removed and then reattached later. If system restore is disabled on an external drive, it may be re-enabled the next time, or the drive may simply show "offline." Again, this is probablyi just an XP issue.
     
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2012
  14. 1 THz

    1 THz Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2012
    Posts:
    2
    Location:
    USA
    Re: ESET plus Malwarebytes Anti-malware and KAV

    I've run ESET & MBAM Pro (as a service) together for a few years and no USB HD problems until ESET V5 came out.
    Since that came out, I cannot plug in my Passport HD on my XP SP3 system, as lockups will occur. This was never a problem with any version of ESET prior to V5. If I re install any V4 version, there are no problems at all.

    On my Win7/64 laptop, both ESET & MBAM Pro run fine, inserting and removing the Passport USB HD drive is fine, no lockups, no problems at all, any version of ESET. I have never set exclusions for either software.

    Now, I'm trying Kapersky KAV2013 as a trial and do not experience any of THOSE problems with external USB HD's. The problem now with Kapersky and MBAM is I cannot run RealVNC to control my other PC's.
    Note, there is no interaction between KAV and MBAM, it is a setting in KAV that must be disabled, "Self Defense". This little item when turned on will break any VNC connection, be forewarned.

    I disagree with other users stating that it's safe to run MBAM only as a non-service, it's caught too many browser activity issues for me to turn it off!

    Where I work as an IT guy, my corp uses SEP11 and that seems to catch nothing. MBAM Pro as a service with SEP11 catches almost everything and we've had zero infections with machines running MBAM Pro and SEP11 together. No oddities to report there other than SEP itself.
     
  15. siljaline

    siljaline Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2003
    Posts:
    6,618
    MBAM has a new Beta released which will be available shortly once testing has been done. It is discussed here:
    http://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showtopic=116780

    Among the fixes in this new build will be:
    If you are running a Pro version, some modules of MBAM must be disable so as not to conflict with ESET products.
     
  16. rcdailey

    rcdailey Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 25, 2009
    Posts:
    233
    MalwareBytles just released ver. 1.65.1.1000. Unfortunately lockup is still a problem if protection is enabled in MBAM while Eset NOD32 5.2.9.1 is active. It seems that the MBAM Service, on the other hand, can be left in automatic mode and does not lock up the system when it is started. However, it does slow loading, suggesting that there is a struggle between Eset and Malwarebytes and then Malwarebytes lets go. For practical purposes, if protection in MBAM is disabled, there is no reason to have the MBAM service in automatic mode, either.

    Once again, this is in Windows XP SP3. I think that there is not the same problem in Win 7.

    Correction: I have found that if the MBAM service is left in automatic, then the system does lock up if external USB drives are attached at boot. Lockup occurs at the point when login should display. So, the update to MalwareBytes Pro did not fix this issue. If no external drives are attached, then login will work. After that, the MBAM service should not cause a problem, so long as protection is not enabled. As I said before, if protection is not enabled, there is not much point in having the MBAM service started, either.

    Of course, if you never attach external USB drives, then you don't have a problem in the first place.

    Once again, this is XP SP3, so those with Win 7 need not be concerned.
     
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2012
  17. siljaline

    siljaline Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2003
    Posts:
    6,618
    The announcement thread is here:
    https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=334275

    This has been an ongoing conflict issue with MBAM and the v5 engine of ESET A/V for quite some time. You could experiment with disabling the MBAM service and report back if there are delays in scanning on either software. I'm remiss to make further recommendations at this time since I don't run the ESET v5 engine nor do I run the MBAM Pro version that has the service. To my best recollection, MBAM fixed the delayed start of the service at the last release. That was confirmed as fixed elsewhere. We should probably wait for others do post pack and let us know if the new MBAM build continues to show these symptoms.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.