Trend Micro vs. Malwarebytes again

[Brint Hannay]

After probably a couple of years of running both TM Maximum Protection and MBAM Premium without issue, I now find when I try to open the TM console I just get a message "Incompatible Software Found", with MBAM being the software in question, as I have in the past.

Wiz, if I recall correctly you fairly recently said you were relying on Windows Defender and Malwarebytes. Should I simplify my situation by just ditching TM?

[Wiz Feinberg]

I eventually grew tired of having to uninstall and reinstall MBAM when TM was updated to a new version. Trend Micro considers their software able to do the same job as Malwarebytes. Malwarebytes now considers itself anti-virus as well as anti-malware. Thus the conflict.

The way I worked around this was to uninstall MB, upgrade TM, reboot, then reinstall MB. Whew!

Choose one and uninstall the other. Or, if your subscription is still valid for TM, make MB manually operated for the time being.

I am now using MB + Windows Defender on Windows 10, with no conflicts.

[Brint Hannay]

The way I worked around this was to uninstall MB, upgrade TM, reboot, then reinstall MB. Whew!

I did this, and ever since my computer was as slow as molasses in January. I concluded that having TM and MBAM fighting each other must be the problem, and finally today I uninstalled TM--I think I found and removed all components--and so far the slowness has disappeared.
(My TM subscription was due to renew on the 14th anyway. I'll have to cancel if this solution to my speed issue was appropriate.)

Now I can't seem to find a way to turn on Windows Defender. (I'm in Windows 8.1) All I can get is a notification that WD has been turned off, and something about going to "Security and Maintenance" to check program status, but I can't find "Security and Maintenance".

It's as if MBAM is disabling Defender, but you say you're running both!

[Wiz Feinberg]

I am and have been running Malwarebytes and Windows Defender, since my Windows 7 days. Before that it was MBAM and Trend Micro.

In the past, Malwarebytes didn't bill itself as an anti-virus program. So, Defender allowed it to play in the same romper room. However, about two years ago, when the name changed from MBAM to just MB, it does register itself as a full anti-virus program. So, Defender disables itself.

I will have to get back to you on how I got Defender to stay active under this situation. Gotta go to work.

[Brint Hannay]

I found the way online: Open MB, click on Settings, then Security, scroll down to "Windows Security Center" and turn off "Always register Malwarebytes in the Windows Security Center".