Malware.dat is considered a type of Dynamic Link Library (DLL) file. Dynamic Link Library files, like Malware.dat, are essentially a "guide book" that stores information and instructions for executable (EXE) files - like CrashReport.exe - to follow. These files were created so that multiple programs (eg. Malware Hunter) could share the same Malware.dat file, saving valuable memory allocation, therefore making your computer run more efficiently.
Unfortunately, what makes DLL files so convenient and efficient, also makes them extremely vulnerable to problems. If something happens to a shared DAT file, either it goes missing or gets corrupted in some way, it can generate a "runtime" error message. Runtime is pretty self-explanatory; it means that these errors are triggered when Malware.dat is attempted to be loaded either when Malware Hunter is starting up, or in some cases already running. Some of the most common Malware.dat errors include:
- Access Violation at address - Malware.dat.
- Malware.dat could not be found.
- Cannot find C:\Program Files (x86)\Glarysoft\Malware Hunter\data\Malware.dat.
- Cannot register Malware.dat.
- Cannot start Malware Hunter. A required component is missing: Malware.dat. Please install Malware Hunter again.
- Failed to load Malware.dat.
- The application has failed to start because Malware.dat was not found.
- The file Malware.dat is missing or corrupt.
- This application failed to start because Malware.dat was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem.
Your Malware.dat file could be missing due to accidental deletion, uninstalled as a shared file of another program (shared with Malware Hunter), or deleted by a malware infection. Furthermore, Malware.dat file corruption could be caused from a power outage when loading Malware Hunter, system crash while loading Malware.dat, bad sectors on your storage media (usually your primary hard drive), or quite commonly, a malware infection. Thus, it's critical to make sure your anti-virus is kept up-to-date and scanning regularly.