Malwarebytes blocking Powerspec.com downloads

speccs52

Hi, I wasn't sure how to communicate this directly to technical support, but the Micro Center owned Powerspec (pc manufacturer) made an elementary mistake on their website

that caused them to be blocked by my reputable browser guard, Malwarebytes. I wanted to download drivers specifically for my Powerspec PC, and Micro Center told me to go there, so I knew

it was trustworthy and not malware. But then when I tried to download my drivers from Powerspec.com, the browser guard (on Chrome) blocked me, saying it was suspicious.

Well apparently there's a simple reason for this. Powerspec.com is written without the "S" in HTTPS. The S is short for Secure, making this a big mistake to leave out.

If I hadn't known better, that may have been enough to dissuade me from updating my drivers that way.

See:

Ian

Greetings! Thank you for posting this here to bring it to our attention. I will get this over to the proper teams so they can investigate it. Were you able to get the drivers?

speccs52

Yes, I downloaded them, I haven’t installed yet however. Anyway, I will post the link to the Malwarebytes thread I made as well-
https://forums.malwarebytes.com/topic/277994-powerspeccom-downloads-blocked/?tab=comments#comment-1476767

As you can see, they whitelisted the site, so the issue is resolved for them. But not for Powerspec, since they still have that issue that led to the block in the first place.

JS_MC

Thanks for the update @speccs52

I've shared this info with those responsible in our corporate office. Glad to hear that they were able to whitelist the site for the time being.

speccs52

Excellent, I’m glad to help. I happened to go to the Micro Center closest to me earlier this week, because I needed a new webcam, and I spoke to someone at the knowledge bar about it- it was the end of the day and he wasn’t busy, and he didn’t mind. He seemed interested, but declined to pass the info to corporate - I guess posting here was a better choice, for sure.

 Anyway, he sort of downplayed the significance of the issue, and his theory was that there were two additional factors that led to the initial block: 1) he said Powerspec was not really a super big brand, so it might escape an initial whitelist by browser guards 2) The download file was a zip file, which often raises flags for these browser guards/antivirus agents by default. Anyway, I see this issue has been passed along, just thought I’d share some food for thought. (I’m trying to start a career in IT myself, just need the certs.)

Ian

Thank you for the information. Please let us know if you have any other questions!

speccs52

Ok, am I supposed to mark this as answered? Not sure how, I'm new here.

JS_MC

No worries! Glad to have a new face around here.

If you feel that your question has been answered adequately, then please make the comment that you feel best answers the question.

If you have other questions about this topic were happy to help here, and if you have questions about other topics you're more than welcome to create new discussions or questions in the appropriate categories! 😊

speccs52

Wait, I see now that I marked this thread as a discussion and not a question. So that's why I can't select an answer and leave this thread marked "answered".

I also found out I can change the type of thread this is, but not from this page. Rather, it seems like I have to do it from the "my discussions" page, where I see the thread(s) I created.

Pretty confusing, since I had to figure it out by myself. Is there a FAQ on forum rules/actions somewhere on this site? If so I haven't found it yet.

Thanks.

JS_MC

We don't have anything quite so specific or detailed as the things that you've mentioned.

Vanilla Forums, the group that hosts our forums, just updated their platform and are continuing to make new improvements.

We do have a Code of Conduct but no guide or FAQ on the ins and outs of the forum just yet.

We're always looking for new ways to improve! So, if you have some more amazing ideas, you're welcome to add any feedback, suggestions, or content requests in our Community Feedback category. 😁