Malwarebytes is popular anti-malware software that offers to keep your device secure for free. It is a light weighted anti-malware software that offers many other features as well like removing unknown infections at a very fast rate. It is available as free software, but you can upgrade to a premium version as well that includes a host of other functions like anti-ransomware, malicious URL protection, real-time protection, etc.
Here I will discuss how you can solve the Malwarebytes web protection won’t turn on error using these easy steps.
Many users have reported that the web protection service in Malwarebytes keeps turning off. This is an annoying problem, as most people get malware from the internet itself. Users who suffered from this issue have reported that they cannot turn this service on, or even if they do, Malwarebytes web protection keeps turning off after some time.
How To Solve Malwarebytes Web Protection Won’t Turn On Error
If you too face this error on your system, here are the potential fixes that you can deploy to solve the issue.
Note: This is assuming you are on the latest version of the client software. If you missed an update due to notifications being turned off, update your client software to the latest version and check if the error is solved.
Solution 1: Restart The Program
This may look silly, but a simple restart can potentially solve many errors plaguing your system. This fix wasn’t successful for everyone, but it has helped a small group of people.
Simply quit the program by right-clicking on the notification tray icon to reveal the context menu, and select Quit Malwarebytes.
Now launch Malwarebytes again by locating it from the Start menu, or by double-clicking on the desktop icon if you have one.
Now check if the ‘Malwarebytes web protection won’t start’ problem persists. If it does, move on to the next solution.
Solution 2: Add Exceptions To Your Antivirus
If you are using another antivirus alongside Malwarebytes anti-malware, it is possible that a conflict between the apps is causing the web protection to be turned off.
Malwarebytes is said to run with other apps without any issues, but it may not always be the case. If this case, you need to add exceptions to the antivirus software in order to solve the ‘Malwarebytes real time protection won’t turn on’ error.
You will find the exceptions in the settings of the antivirus program. You need to add the following files to the exception list for both services to run properly:
Files:
- C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes\Anti-Malware\assistant.exe
- C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes\Anti-Malware\malwarebytes_assistant.exe
- C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes\Anti-Malware\mbam.exe
- C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes\Anti-Malware\MbamPt.exe
- C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes\Anti-Malware\MBAMService.exe
- C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes\Anti-Malware\mbamtray.exe
- C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes\Anti-Malware\MBAMWsc.exe
- C:\Windows\system32\Drivers\farflt.sys
- C:\Windows\System32\drivers\mbae64.sys
- C:\Windows\System32\drivers\mbam.sys
- C:\Windows\System32\drivers\MBAMChameleon.sys
- C:\Windows\System32\drivers\MBAMSwissArmy.sys
- C:\Windows\System32\drivers\mwac.sys
Folders:
- C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes\Anti-Malware
- C:\ProgramData\Malwarebytes\MBAMService
Once you have added the above extensions to your antivirus software, restart your PC. Now you should see the web service functioning perfectly as it should.
Solution 3: Reinstall Malwarebytes Driver
Reinstalling a broken driver can solve a lot of issues for your broken Malwarebytes software.
To perform this action, you actually need to delete the MBAM web protection driver. Deleting the driver can leave your other software broken. But in this case, when you launch the software, it will reinstall the driver from the web.
To reinstall the driver, follow these steps:
- Exit the Malwarebytes client. Right-click on the notification tray icon to reveal the context menu, and select Quit Malwarebytes.
- Next, open an elevated Command Prompt. To do this, open a Run dialog box by pressing Win + R, type cmd and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to launch Command Prompt with administrative privileges.
3. Type the following command and press Enter to delete the Malwarebytes web protection driver:
sc delete mbamwebprotection
4. Restart your system.
5. Open Malwarebytes antimalware.
6. Go to Settings.
7. Under the Protection tab, turn the slider towards Available under Web Protection.
Following this, Malwarebytes will reinstall the driver from the internet, and your error should now be solved.
Solution 4: Restart MBAM Service
The web protection won’t turn on error is also caused by a corrupt MBAMService.exe file. If the file becomes corrupt, the service won’t run properly and can cause all sorts of errors. You can also see an increase in the system resources used for your devices like CPU and RAM usage.
To solve this issue, you need to restart the MBAM service itself. To do so, you can follow these steps:
- Open the task manager. You can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Esc to launch it directly or use the WinX menu as menu (Press Win + X).
- Under the Processes, click on More details to launch the full list of running processes.
- In the list, locate the MBAMService.exe entry (you may see more than one).
4. Right-click on this entry and select End Task. Do this for all instances of the process you see.
5. Click on New. Select Task.
6. In the “Create new task” dialog box, type MBAMService.exe
7. Click on OK.
8. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
Now see if the program runs without any errors.
Solution 5: Clean Reinstall Of The Client Software
If all else fails, you need to perform a clean reinstall in order to run the web protection service. Since the web protection is a premium-only tool, you need to extract the key and ID before uninstalling.
To retrieve your ID and Key, you can find this information on the page you downloaded the premium key from, or it should also be sent to you via e-mail. However, you can also use the registry editor to locate the key:
- In a Run (Win + R) dialog, type regedit and press Enter to launch the registry editor.
- Visit the following addresses to extract the in the Value section of the registry key:
For Windows x86 32-Bit
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Malwarebytes’ Anti-MalwareFor Windows x64 64-Bit
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware
Now you need to remove the software.
3. Open Malwarebytes. Under My Account, click Deactivate.
4. Close the program and download the mbam-clean.exe tool from Malwarebytes’ site. Close all open programs and temporarily disable your antivirus.
5. Run the mbam-clean.exe tool and follow the instructions on the screen. Reboot your computer when prompted to do so.
6. Next, download the latest version of Malwarebytes antimalware from their site and install it by following the on-screen instructions.
7. Register your ID and key again with the one you extracted earlier.
Conclusion
Malwarebytes is one of the most popular antimalware software. If it misbehaved, now you know how to solve the “Malwarebytes web protection won’t turn on” error using the methods given above. Comment below and tell us if this helped you, and to discuss further the same.
