15 replies to this topic

[duckmanneo]

Hi, I downloaded the trial version from the malwarebytes.org website.

As usual as I am playing a game, my computer freezes up due to overheating, and I have to do a force shutdown.

Once the laptop has booted up to to the desktop. This message appears. Well I am paraphrasing.

A pirated version has been detected (says it is of malwarebytes)
Certain Information has been forwarded to our servers.

I do not see how I have done something wrong that goes against this product. Is this some sort of glitch?

Thank you for your time.

[Insomniac]

A couple of others have reported the same issue. The developers should fix it up soon.

[Richie629]

Insomniac, on Mar 28 2009, 01:31 AM, said:

A couple of others have reported the same issue. The developers should fix it up soon.

Yea! what's going on??? Am I to understand that Malwarebytes has the ability to violate the privacy of my PC and collect information from my pc and save it to their servers? I deleted the trial version of this software because it scared the crap out of me. So exactly what kind of info did Malwarebytes STEAL from my PC illegally? This is very disheartening to say the least to install a program that you assume "has your back" when it comes to protecting your pc from malware. Meanwhile, it has the option to collect information on your pc about you without your control over it? isn't that the main definition for a hacker? or Virus? or Malware or Adware and other nefarious programs?

If this is true then I do believe my rights have been violated.

[Insomniac]

I doubt it is anything too sinister... I don't know exactly what it uploads, but I'm guessing it's stuff like motherboard serial number, stuff like that. Things to identify that computer, or it may be somthing as simple as the IP address of your computer.

Malware and spyware would collect private info such as web habits, personal documents, credit numbers etc, that sort of thing. I'm pretty sure what MBAM collects is just some basic info to identify the machine. Hopefully one of the developers will read this and clear up exactly what it sends to the servers.


Either way, they are aware of the problem and I'm guessing they'll delete all the info collected over the last few days.

[Richie629]

Insomniac, on Mar 28 2009, 07:05 AM, said:

I doubt it is anything too sinister... I don't know exactly what it uploads, but I'm guessing it's stuff like motherboard serial number, stuff like that. Things to identify that computer, or it may be somthing as simple as the IP address of your computer.

Malware and spyware would collect private info such as web habits, personal documents, credit numbers etc, that sort of thing. I'm pretty sure what MBAM collects is just some basic info to identify the machine. Hopefully one of the developers will read this and clear up exactly what it sends to the servers.


Either way, they are aware of the problem and I'm guessing they'll delete all the info collected over the last few days.

either way this situation has turned me off to the idea of actually purchasing the software now. doesn't matter how many good reviews I see online for this product. it still won't equal to leaving my pc and it's private info open to the boys over at malwarebytes. I have a database of over 6000 clients with their personal information. I would hate to think that their information has been compromised by a trial version software.

[TeMerc]

Richie629, on Mar 27 2009, 11:22 PM, said:

either way this situation has turned me off to the idea of actually purchasing the software now. doesn't matter how many good reviews I see online for this product. it still won't equal to leaving my pc and it's private info open to the boys over at malwarebytes. I have a database of over 6000 clients with their personal information. I would hate to think that their information has been compromised by a trial version software.

If that's the case you better dump Windows, they collect all sorts of info, and you agreed to it when you clicked the 'I accept' button.

What we collect is minor, just some reg point where we store our key & ID info, which, if you've never had a registered copy, is null. If we find an illegal key, it gets blacklisted. But don't quote me on that.

[Richie629]

TeMerc, on Mar 28 2009, 06:26 AM, said:

If that's the case you better dump Windows, they collect all sorts of info, and you agreed to it when you clicked the 'I accept' button.

What we collect is minor, just some reg point where we store our key & ID info, which, if you've never had a registered copy, is null. If we find an illegal key, it gets blacklisted. But don't quote me on that.

I'm sure they do but if I had a choice between a Giant company like microsoft checking out my info and your tiny company checking out my info. I guess I'd rather have microsoft do it because they have much more to lose with a lawsuit for violating my privacy meaning they wouldn't blatantly do. Much less blatantly admit to it with a popup saying they detected a pirated copy on my pc of their software and thereby have the right to collect info about my pc?

honestly? I think that popup was more a scare tactic a default scare tactic to scare anyone using pirated copies of your product.

The explanation supposedly for this situation is that there was a GLITCH in your software? I was wondering what kind of glitch has default whereby information is collected about my pc?

usually a glitch would be something like some kind of error message or some wierd incoherent message. not something this specific.

I think Malwarebytes should leave the Scare tactics to the Sopranos. Anyway Regardless. Malwarebytes officially lost one potential customer. I know this won't make a difference with your profits. But I'm sure your customers would not appreciate any collection of and information off their computers even if it's hardware info only. This and all such data is considered PRIVILEGED INFORMATION. Meaning you have to ask permission first before you can have it.

I mean even a criminal has the right to plead the fifth especially if it means incriminating himself. but with a simple technical manuever you guys have circumvented that.

but not only that. Based on a glitch. now my pc plus a couple of others are going to be on some kind of blacklist held on your servers? and will this blacklist be shared with others? I suspect so.

all because I downloaded a faulty trial program that has a glitch? I doubt mcafee has such glitches or norton. I only used the trial to get rid of malware. which I have a theory on by the way.

I believe 90% of all virus and malwares are created by the same people selling the CURE to these things. Kinda like the Glass window repair man on the news who was caught on video breaking peoples glass windows to drum up new customers for his business.

It's not much different.

[exile360]

As far as I know (I'm not one of the developers) the only info it really collects is the license key for MBAM from the registry (which if you're using the free version, there is none). That's what Tom said above, and I agree with him as that's what everyone else who's "in the know" so to speak has been saying.

[Insomniac]

@Richie629:

Turns out even my estimates were over-the-top... as Tom has explained, it turns out all they collect is the lisence key... the key that Malwarebyte's would have sent you if you'd bought it. All they are collecting is somthing they have already issued.

I expect that means that if you were a paid customer, it would have blacklisted that particular lisence key, meaning it would no longer work. There would be no need for them to share the blacklist because it's specific to their product. Seeing as this is a glitch I'm betting they would reverse any blacklists done since the release of 1.35, so as to reverse any affect the blacklist would have had to legit customers.

[Richie629]

Insomniac, on Mar 28 2009, 07:13 AM, said:

@Richie629:

Turns out even my estimates were over-the-top... as Tom has explained, it turns out all they collect is the lisence key... the key that Malwarebyte's would have sent you if you'd bought it. All they are collecting is somthing they have already issued.

I expect that means that if you were a paid customer, it would have blacklisted that particular lisence key, meaning it would no longer work. There would be no need for them to share the blacklist because it's specific to their product. Seeing as this is a glitch I'm betting they would reverse any blacklists done since the release of 1.35, so as to reverse any affect the blacklist would have had to legit customers.

Alright alright well it's getting late and I have read everybody's replies and thanks but bottomline? If any of my clients end up having their identities compromised and it gets traced back to me? Bank on this. I will recall this incident and when I'm asked if my pc was ever compromised I'll make sure to mention this incident. Ok? either way thanks for the trial. It did actually get rid of some nasty malware that knocked down my Mcafee.

[exile360]

That's right Insomniac, as far as I can tell they're just trying to blacklist any bad\pirated license keys to prevent their software from being stolen. This is standard practice these days by most software vendors including MS and has been for years. Perhaps the message is a bit intimidating, but as you yourself commented Richie, it's a "scare tactic". Hopefully it'll work and prevent the software from being pirated in the future because the team behind it put in a lot of work and help users free of charge, including users that don't even own the paid version of the product.

[Richie629]

exile360, on Mar 28 2009, 08:20 AM, said:

That's right Insomniac, as far as I can tell they're just trying to blacklist any bad\pirated license keys to prevent their software from being stolen. This is standard practice these days by most software vendors including MS and has been for years. Perhaps the message is a bit intimidating, but as you yourself commented Richie, it's a "scare tactic". Hopefully it'll work and prevent the software from being pirated in the future because the team behind it put in a lot of work and help users free of charge, including users that don't even own the paid version of the product.

so in the future if my pc is screwed again and I need Malwarebytes which I'm sure eventually will happen. What does this mean for me since I suspect Malwarebytes has my pc blacklisted. So I should look for another option to solve my malware problems?

[exile360]

No, it doesn't blacklist PC's, that's what I was trying to say, it blacklists product keys from MBAM itself. If you're using the free version this will have no effect whatsoever on future use of the product, if you're using the paid version then you simply need to contact support here and if it was an error they'll help you get it fixed.

[Insomniac]

Exile is exactly right. In my second post I was just pointing out the sort of things it may have looked at... but as TeMerc has clarified, it is ONLY looking for the MBAM product key and ID. Seeing as you have the free version, there was NO information (ie no key) for it to find and blacklist.


If you were a paid customer and this happened, it may have refused to accept your key if you tried to re-register. In that case, you would have needed to contact support to get them to sort it out on their end.

[CharlesT]

@Richie629

.... in other words gets rid of the hijacked/stolen /keys I think alot of companies do it now (its not just MBAM) and alot of people who are using pirated programs .also there is a dead give that shows up in their computer information that is fairly accurate on what they have been up to. myself I would be more worried about micosoft then MBAM ..

.... and if you believe

Quote

Richie629.. I believe 90% of all virus and malwares are created by the same people selling the CURE to these things. Kinda like the Glass window repair man on the news who was caught on video breaking peoples glass windows to drum up new customers for his business

then what would stop micosoft from sending out bad updates and crashing computers , do you still get your micosoft updates? so really looking at it that way where does it end .... , not to mention that Micosoft is like forcing people to upgrade OS all the time they are dropping support for older OS . just some thought popped in my head reading your post on this thread . ,Have a happy day all!

[exile360]

Quote

I believe 90% of all virus and malwares are created by the same people selling the CURE to these things

In the case of rogues, you are correct, but then if that were the intent behind Malwarebytes', then the FREE version wouldn't be able to detect AND REMOVE the threats without you ever having to spend a dime. No time limit, free updates, no limit to how many nasties it will remove or how many times you can execute the program. All they ask in return? Nothing, not a penny, no advertisements, no third party toolbars to still generate income off the free version, nada. And if you do decide you want the protection module active to block threats, it's a whopping $25 FOR LIFE, no renewal fees, no yearly license fees, no upgrade fees, you own it forever and will continue to reap the benefits of what the paid version offers. But they don't even nag you about that, there's no pop-ups in the free version telling you "by a license" or any of that crap. So I seriously doubt that the developers' intent is malicious in any way.

edit: forgot to mention, if you do get infected with something MBAM can't remove, they help you FREE OF CHARGE on this very forum. Definetely malicious.