Quote:Malwarebytes released an update today for its component package that fixes the problem with Windows 7 stations freezing. The problem was manifesting on systems with the Web Protection feature enabled in the security solution.

The troublesome installation caused the mouse, keyboard, and screen to become unresponsive from time to time on Windows 7 running on multi-core systems. The only way to get out of the lock was to reset the computer by holding down the power button.

Problem difficult to solve
The version of the trouble-fixing component update is 1.0.527 and it specifically addresses the problem Windows 7 users had been reporting since the middle of December 2018. The complaints started to come in after applying an update version 1.0.508 for the Malwarebytes component package.

Malwarebytes could not find a solution immediately as the bug was not reproducible on all machines. The company also asked users to help with the troubleshooting by providing logs and data from Windows information reports.

On January 11, the component received a new update, but it still did not eliminate the issue as it included improvements to functionality for some licensing operations.

Pre-beta release good to go
After some in-house testing that reproduced the freeze on multiple system, the developers tracked the behavior to "multi-processor synchronization issues with our Web Protection code on Windows 7."

On Friday, the company announced that it had prepared a test preview build for Malwarebytes 3 designed to eliminate the snag. As it had already shown promising results from testers, they released it for anyone who wanted to try out a pre-beta version.

It turns out that Malwarebytes hit the nail in the head with this build, as it contained the proper fix, so it was released all users.

"This new package addresses a reported freeze on Windows 7 computers that related to Web Protection on multiple core processor configurations," reads the release note for the component version 1.0.527.

Users experiencing inconveniences because of the Malwarebytes update in December are advised to install the latest release of the component. It is pushed automatically to users that have the auto-update auto-update mechanism turned on.

Manual installation is possible by downloading the update from this link on Box storage service, provided by the company. However, the link may not work for long and users can run a manual check for and install the component from Malwarebytes' interface by going into the Settings menu and then to Install Application Updates.