David Stansbury

Recently while performing routine maintenance, I attempted to update Malwarebytes (free) and scan my computer but encountered an error message: “PROGRAM_ERROR_UPDATING”

My troubleshooting included:

• I appear to have normal internet connectivity, all software and browsing work as expected
• AVG Antivirus thorough scan (including rootkit) comes up clean
• Spybot S&D updates normally and scan comes up clean
• Downloaded the latest Malwarebytes software, uninstall current version, install new – still unable to update
• Scan with not-yet-updated Malwarebytes comes up clean

So all my checks come up normal but I still cannot update Malwarebytes, it acts like it cannot connect to the internet.  Finally I checked my AVG Antivirus Firewall and found an entry where “mbam.exe” was set to “Allow for safe” (which is basically my local network only).  Change this to “Allow for all” and voila, the software can now download updates!

I hope you find this tip helpful during your own troubleshooting.  If you have additional suggestions or a different solution feel free to post a comment below.