How to Fix ‘malwarebytes unable to connect the service’

Staying safe while using your computer should definitely be your number one priority because plenty of people use their computers to store valuable information such as credit card numbers, PayPal login credentials, business files, etc. Losing your data to a virus attack is not something you want to happen but these occurrences are real and they can happen to anyone.

Make sure you install a good antivirus program and keep it safe by running security scans all the time. However, your best friends is common sense and no antivirus in the world is able to recognize all viruses and deal with all possible threats. Users rely on free online scanners but even they can sometimes bail on us…

“Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Unable to Connect the Service” Error

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) is a tool you can download from the Internet and use to deal with infections caused by malicious applications. The full version of the tool is not free but you can always download the free trial version which should be just enough to help you deal with the threat.

However, several users have reported that the tool started malfunctioning. When users click on its icon the circle starts rotating and an error message appears after a while saying “Unable to Start. Unable to connect the service.” This can be quite a big issue, especially if you need this tool available immediately. Find out how to fix this issue below!

Solution 1: Check to See If There Is Something Wrong With Malwarebytes Service

Malwarebytes operates via the service it installs to your computer and this particular message implies that the software is having problems communicating with those particular services. If the service is having issues or if it has been turned off, you can turn it on easily by following the instructions below.

1. In order to access the full list of services running on your Windows PC, click on the Start menu located at the bottom left part of the page and click on the Search bar. Type “services.msc” and open the first result by running it as an administrator.
2. Click on the Name column if you want to order the services in alphabetical order and locate the Malwarebytes service.
3. Right-click on it and click on Properties.
4. Locate the Startup type option and change it to Automatic if any other setting has been enabled.
5. If the service is not running, make sure you start it by clicking on Start until its status changes to “Running”.

Note: You may receive the following error message when you click on Start:

“Windows could not start the Security Center service on Local Computer. Error 1079: The account specified for this service differs from the account specified for other services running in the same process.”

If this occurs, follow the instructions below to fix it.

1. Follow steps 1-4 from the instructions below in order to open Malwarebytes properties.
2. Navigate to the Log On tab and click on the Browser… button.
3. Under the “Enter the object name to select” box, type in your computer’s name and click on Check Names and wait for the name to become authenticated.
4. Click OK when you are done and type in the administrator password in the Password box when you are prompted with it.
5. Click OK and close this window.
6. Navigate back to Malwarebytes’ properties and click Start.

This should be enough to fix your problem if it was related to the service being stopped. Reboot your computer and enjoy!

Solution 2: Reinstall Malwarebytes From Scratch

Plenty of users have reported that reinstalling Malwarebytes fixed their issue permanently and that is something you should try as soon as possible. However, if you purchased the Premium version of the tool, you will need to find a way to retrieve your Activation ID and Key. You should be able to locate this information easily by checking with the page you downloaded the tool from but there are other ways.

1. Type “regedit” in the search bar which you should be able to locate after clicking on the Start menu.
2. Use one of the locations below to retrieve your ID and Key, depending on your PC’s architecture:

Location for Windows x86 32-Bit:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Location for Windows x64 64-Bit

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

After you have retrieved your ID and Key, you can proceed with the removal process. Follow the instructions carefully if you want to continue with your Premium version after the uninstallation.

1. Open MBAM >> My Account and click on Deactivate.
2. Open Settings >> Advanced Settings and uncheck the box next to the “Enable self-protection module”.
3. Close the program and download mbam-clean.exe from Malwarebytes’ site (the download will start immediately).
4. Close all open programs and temporarily disable your antivirus.
5. Run the mbam-clean.exe tool and follow the instruction on screen. Reboot your computer when prompted
6. Download the latest version of MBAM from their site and install it by following the instructions on the screen.
7. Uncheck the box next to the Trial option.
8. After the program launches, click on the button which says Activation.
9. Copy and paste the ID and Key you retrieved from your registry in the dialog box which should automatically activate your license.
10. Enjoy using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Premium!

If you are not using the Premium or Pro version of MBAM, simply follow steps 3-7 and enjoy your updated version of MBAM.

Solution 3: Antivirus Issues

Malwarebytes was always advertised as software that should get along just fine with other tools and programs on your computer. However, judging from other people’s feedback, it seems that the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware “Unable to Connect the Service” may be caused by your antivirus software.

1. Firstly, users have reported that they have never had similar issues in the past while they were using the same antivirus along with MBAM and the issue is most likely caused by a single version of Malwarebytes.
2. You can simply wait for a new patch or hotfix to be released which should take care of these issues.

However, if you really need to use Malwarebytes immediately, there are several options you can try.

1. The best thing you can try is to set an exception for MBAM in your antivirus program. This setting differs from program to program but it’s generally easy to locate it.
2. Most users who have complained about this issue, in particular, are F-Secure users, which is an antivirus tool for Windows.
3. Try setting the entire Malwarebytes folder in F-Secure’s (or any other antivirus you might be using) exception list and try running MBAM again.

Solution 4: Uninstall MBAM in Safe Mode

If you were somehow unable to uninstall MBAM properly during normal startup, try restarting your computer in Safe Mode and uninstalling it.

1. Type “MSConfig” in the search bar and navigate to the Boot tab.
2. In the Boot tab, check the box next to the Safe boot option and click on the radio button next to the Minimal option.
3. Click on OK and confirm that you are about to restart your computer.
4. The computer should restart in Safe Mode.
5. Open Settings by clicking on the gear icon in the Start menu and navigate to Apps.
6. Locate MBAM on the list of installed apps and click on Uninstall.
7. Open MSConfig again and disable the Safe boot option.
8. Reinstall MBAM by downloading the latest version from their site.

Solution 5: Reinstall using Malwarebytes Support Tool

You can use Malwarebyte’s support tool to uninstall and remove all the remaining files of Malwarebytes from your computer and then reinstall it properly. Follow the steps below:-

1. Download and run the Malwarebytes Support Tool
2. Once the tool is downloaded head over to the “Advanced” tab.
3. Now press “Clean”. Wait for the process to finish then reboot your computer.

   

4. After restarting your computer, now download the Latest Malwarebytes setup from this (link)
5. Once the setup file is downloaded. You will have to boot into safe mode. You can learn more about it (here)
6. Once you are in safe mode Install the Malwarebytes and simply restart your computer to boot into normal mode.