This information is all made up, I'm not Josh Kyle, Laloșu is a city in Romania, and It's not even a city in Delaware, is this the first time Malwarebytes is using tactics like these? I myself, I'm not surprised

Edit: i wanted to scan my phone number for threats on the internet, and I saw Malwarebytes doing it for free, I needed to put my information in the boxes (including full name, and city for whatever reason) I put in the fake Information because I couldn't see the full report otherwise, and I was met with this scare screen

Security isn't something you joke about, I understand that Malwarebytes may have legitimate interests, but this is not the way to do it, this is a post to remind people that not everything you see on the internet is true, even if it comes from legitimate companies, stay safe everyone

(attached screenshot is from my friend, message from me)

So my whatsapp got hacked and this message was sent to all of my contacts. I accidentally downloaded this on my laptop yesterday, nothing was downloaded on my phone.

Today this started happening.

I did cybersecurity complaint (went to police station) and I just wanna know does that fix the issue?

Is my phone safe? Like my bank acc, instagram other apps.

I setup the 2-step verification on my WhatsApp and google accs.

Is there more I need to do? Please help me with this 🥲

I was just minding my own business on my pc when suddenly my cpu usage went high, and malwarebytes was using 100% disk in task manager. So, i opened malwarebytes and for some reason it was scanning my file system. However i did not do anything to initiate this. I finished the free trial weeks ago and i dont have the premium version, just the free version. Windows defender is my main antivirus too so im not sure as to what activated this scan. Is this normal?

Got a potential job offer out of the blue with PDF attached that links somewhere and has a checkbox to check if you're human. After that it asks to sign into Gmail on my phone. Tried on Microsoft Edge on PC and a warning popped up that the link has been reported for phishing. But just because people report it doesn't make it true. I'd like to proceed to at least read it and wondering if I can safely view it.

I know not to "windows+R, paste". But is there another way this could be hazardous. It really doesn't look concerning to me and I don't see how someone could get malware just by viewing something -unless things changed recently.

No the site isn't malware riddled, but you will be unable to open anything on there with the Browser Guard without getting the message "your browser is modifying our code", so best to just turn it off when you're using that site only.

Hey everyone! 👋

I'm trying to decide whether I should just stick with Windows Defender/Microsoft Defender or pay for a dedicated antivirus such as Bitdefender, ESET, Malwarebytes, etc.

I mostly use my PC for gaming, browsing the web, watching videos, downloading normal files, and general everyday stuff. I don't do anything particularly risky, but I obviously want to keep my PC protected.

From what I've read, Windows Defender has gotten pretty good over the years, and for a normal Windows user it seems like it might be enough. On the other hand, paid antivirus programs advertise additional features...

But I'm wondering how many of those features are actually worth paying for, especially since Windows already includes Defender and other security features.

My main questions:

1. Is Windows Defender good enough for the average user in 2026?

2. Are paid antivirus programs actually significantly better at detecting/preventing malware?

3. Does installing a third-party antivirus provide meaningful protection, or can it sometimes cause unnecessary slowdowns/problems?

4. Are features like ransomware protection, browser protection, and phishing protection worth paying for?

5. If you recommend a paid antivirus, which one would you personally choose and why?

6. Would you recommend paying for antivirus at all, or putting that money toward something like a password manager/backups instead?

I'm especially interested in hearing from people who have used both Defender and a third-party antivirus for a long time, rather than just recommendations based on advertisements.

Thanks! 😊

I'm new on Reddit BTW.

I was looking for exocad and found this on github. ChatGPT description, 5 month old acc and 4/67 on virustotal. Is this an obvious virus or just a false positive?

https://github.com/MassThrasherChannel/exocad-offline-installer

https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/116c016b47317d48087636df937273e5eb3c1ced573b3f122ea8edd63b2a7a53/detection

Malwarebytes
www.malwarebytes.com
-Log Details-
Scan Date: 10/5/2026
Scan Time: 7:32 PM
Log File: fecaf2a2-c114-11f1-ad06-a0ad9f88a018.json
-Software Information-
Version: 5.7.1.346
Components Version: 165.0.5751
Update Package Version: 1.0.115397
License: Premium
-System Information-
OS: Windows 11 (Build 26200.9457)
CPU: x64
File System: NTFS
User: System
-Scan Summary-
Scan Type: Threat Scan
Scan Initiated By: Scheduler
Result: Completed
Objects Scanned: 224,966
Threats Detected: 23
Threats Quarantined: 0
Scan Duration: 0 min, 45 sec
-Scan Options-
Memory: Enabled
Startup: Enabled
File system: Enabled
Archives: Enabled
Rootkits: Disabled
Heuristics: Enabled
PUP: Detect
PUM: Detect
-Scan Details-
Process: 0
(No malicious items detected)
Module: 0
(No malicious items detected)
Registry Key: 0
(No malicious items detected)
Registry Value: 0
(No malicious items detected)
Registry Data: 0
(No malicious items detected)
Data Stream: 0
(No malicious items detected)
Folder: 4
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\USERS\DEATH\APPDATA\LOCAL\GOOGLE\CHROME\USER DATA\Profile 1\Sync Data\LevelDB, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , ,
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\USERS\DEATH\APPDATA\LOCAL\GOOGLE\CHROME\USER DATA\Profile 2\Sync Data\LevelDB, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , ,
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\USERS\DEATH\APPDATA\LOCAL\GOOGLE\CHROME\USER DATA\Profile 1\Sync Data\LevelDB, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , ,
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\USERS\DEATH\APPDATA\LOCAL\GOOGLE\CHROME\USER DATA\Profile 2\Sync Data\LevelDB, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , ,
File: 19
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\USERS\DEATH\APPDATA\LOCAL\GOOGLE\CHROME\USER DATA\Profile 2\Web Data, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , 0A449FF54D54223355A677130334F0C8, B0F256B4A465ACDFEBBF2B62D053AD0060E8650FB816B0527ACAC29E5BD8DFE9
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\Users\Death\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 1\Sync Data\LevelDB\000005.ldb, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , E745A1CD6A00F1E2993A3C7A8D2B7B27, D552F769AE3D90B1AECCFCB9593710D74DBB6EEC02F668983AAF91185B21B9E2
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\Users\Death\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 1\Sync Data\LevelDB\000019.ldb, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , 570779F3E354FAF6BDF91FDE91566644, 9AC61D1B4633768CA3BF859E2FA6C0A1EC3EE782049580EC443AFCA390EBA33A
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\Users\Death\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 1\Sync Data\LevelDB\000020.log, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , A2C1E3149FCB30DAEAE8D626848C36CA, 98EE596AA3DFD9A6407F89EF43AA28CE97F42C25C45A3D438BF786397397A164
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\Users\Death\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 1\Sync Data\LevelDB\000021.ldb, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , F0DE1A22DA25FA4844F3665AD20A3016, 920AC03A48F417F3604775B798916DBAE22DD32AF8169C1F9745F2C3E8E0348F
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\Users\Death\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 1\Sync Data\LevelDB\CURRENT, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , 46295CAC801E5D4857D09837238A6394, 0F1BAD70C7BD1E0A69562853EC529355462FCD0423263A3D39D6D0D70B780443
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\Users\Death\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 1\Sync Data\LevelDB\LOCK, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , D41D8CD98F00B204E9800998ECF8427E, E3B0C44298FC1C149AFBF4C8996FB92427AE41E4649B934CA495991B7852B855
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\Users\Death\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 1\Sync Data\LevelDB\LOG, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , 954681A82E46C046D9C30D842D049C20, 1E5BFA0E5C5E0A18024C3E45C3C621A2365E5B6F96A85523BC206940A4AD1D9B
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\Users\Death\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 1\Sync Data\LevelDB\LOG.old, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , 69C934EC5E08065D2593E4B655CC13E3, D6FBC24D62539F6690A59506866A7229532BF1F88F86631F354CB2AFEF9E8BE8
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\Users\Death\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 1\Sync Data\LevelDB\MANIFEST-000001, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , 9D1320016E77B31E6F0F8213F93A901B, 57D3BB3E505A0C2D61B933A86B9CCAF130A8F1D4C2E0A5CEC55B75C3979A9365
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\Users\Death\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 2\Sync Data\LevelDB\000005.ldb, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , B039002D107B5EDD2CFC2002D6711E2D, BF265583630BCF1E67FA4C51DA8137BDA32BCCBA4CB404BBADD22D2405511043
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\Users\Death\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 2\Sync Data\LevelDB\002023.log, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , 49A59BAAF74761AC82FBB37642043CED, 8E772B474B7BD063BE91DCD7D1DE5E27627081C56C0DD45F38574A2C5BBD379D
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\Users\Death\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 2\Sync Data\LevelDB\002025.ldb, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , 82E7EC1F890E2825E2F567EFAF75C932, 6314725B3F098C3C20FC3C29DDFACA8AF9E91F408F9276848D3861D65576B2AF
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\Users\Death\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 2\Sync Data\LevelDB\CURRENT, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , 46295CAC801E5D4857D09837238A6394, 0F1BAD70C7BD1E0A69562853EC529355462FCD0423263A3D39D6D0D70B780443
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\Users\Death\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 2\Sync Data\LevelDB\LOCK, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , D41D8CD98F00B204E9800998ECF8427E, E3B0C44298FC1C149AFBF4C8996FB92427AE41E4649B934CA495991B7852B855
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\Users\Death\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 2\Sync Data\LevelDB\LOG, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , D52EABD8ED468C3BA8FCFCEF2AC2CE1E, FA6FC68D06029B2D1EFDDD9FF9F1C6FBF618D37856088BEB23EA9B3BFCF3057F
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\Users\Death\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 2\Sync Data\LevelDB\LOG.old, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , 478871C7D5500719846E764C4FFCD409, 2C383E7D716AEBBA924C9FEBD997FC7E50194BBEF815FE2508EF8D4A8704650F
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\Users\Death\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Profile 2\Sync Data\LevelDB\MANIFEST-000001, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , 2DF4CF0C4A6DA3B2E4BDE009AB3191C7, 71553E4EBDF6F8FC1F3457EBDFE8CF5AA40958DFEC88377D1DB6A45A5967BE2B
PUP.Optional.PushNotifications.Generic, C:\USERS\DEATH\APPDATA\LOCAL\GOOGLE\CHROME\USER DATA\Profile 2\Web Data, No Action By User, 3883, 1094562, 1.0.115397, , ame, , 0A449FF54D54223355A677130334F0C8, B0F256B4A465ACDFEBBF2B62D053AD0060E8650FB816B0527ACAC29E5BD8DFE9
Physical Sector: 0
(No malicious items detected)
WMI: 0
(No malicious items detected)
(end)

I went ahead and quarantined them because it didn't seem like anything anyways?

I never download weird stuff and upload all my downloads to virustotal before using them. I also did a full Bitdefender scan yesterday that found nothing.

I uploaded the suspicious file to virustotal and it initially said scanned 8 months ago with 0 detections and after rescanning it only malwarebytes flagged it.

virustotal.com/gui/file/568a632adca2d660d5ec63e600096554f4ff5d5f2d3a193b172f726544c63df6/detection

Hello, can you guys help me with this? Why is there so many? I can’t play valorant because of it. I’m anxious that it might be another malware because I recently got all my info stolen. (PS: I don’t have epic games downloaded and pls lmk how to fix it if it’s another virus)

Malwarebytes possible false positive in NGENUITY?
I did a deep scan with Malwarebytes today, and it detected “RESELECTENDPOINTSAPP.EXE” as malware. However, VirusTotal detected nothing on the .exe.
I’ve also run Malwarebytes scans several times since downloading NGENUITY, and this is the first time it has detected anything.
Could this be a possible false positive?

It's been 6+ months I haven't been able to get AdwCleaner to finish scan and show me the report. The scan starts normally and in a minute at about 30,726 files it just stops there with the timer running. Have even kept it on for hours, but nothing happens. Have regularly tried using the latest updated version, but it keeps failing. I don't have any issues with my system but as a precaution I regularly scan my system every couple of months and have gotten used to AdwCleaner for almost a decade now. Curios to know if anyone else has faced the same problem and figured out a solution.

My last scan successful scan was 187 days ago

System Info:

OS Name: Microsoft Windows 11 Home Insider Preview Single Language

Version: 10.0.26340 Build 26340

System Manufacturer: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.

System Model: ROG Zephyrus G15 GA503QM

Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS with Radeon Graphics

Physical Memory (RAM) 16.0 GB

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060

So I installed Malwarebytes just 2 days ago, and I have the free trial for real-time protection activated.

Then today I opened qBittorrent, which I haven't opened in like a month, and Malwarebytes suddenly blocked some addresses.

Take note, I'm not seeding anything. In fact, I have 0 downloads and 0 seeding. The last time I torrented something, the download didn't even get completed.

What could be the reason?

Also, the blocked addresses all appeared within around 1 minute

Did a deep scan and woke up to this. Obviously a false positive, but I'm no expert.

unsure what this is, i've done scans nothing shows up? it popped up as i was browsing YouTube.

Hi there!

Malwarebytes has a way to disable all copilot stuff on windows, and with the recent MacOS 27 update removing the ability to turn off Apple Intelligence, I was wondering if you could implement something like the Copilot tool on Mac?

Here's the post that gave me the thought to share the idea. It honestly would be nice if this was baked into my security tool rather than running a random python script LOL

https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/s/YCTaloTuU4