Malwarebytes Antivirus Review

 

Malwarebytes was the talk of the town when it arrived on the antivirus scene back in 2016. The software became popular at the time because it was free. The antivirus program available today is not what it was in 2016. Has it improved for the better and does it still rank as highly? Read the review below to find out.

Malwarebytes At a Glance

Malwarebytes originally had a longer name—Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. The antivirus is made by a company based in California.

The software is no longer free. It offers a 14-day free trial period. When the trial period is up, you will lose all the important functionality of the program, though it technically still functions on the computer. Malwarebytes is available on a one or two-year subscription basis.

The software is now accessible to both personal and business users. The enterprise edition, which costs close to $700 a year, offers endpoint security to business devices, servers, and even the cloud. The personal version offers protection for one device for a yearly subscription of about $40. You can use Malwarebytes on Windows PCs, Macs, iOS, Chromebook, and Android devices.

Here are the main functionalities that the Malwarebytes personal version offers:

• Prevents malware infections
• Prevents ransomware attacks
• Detects possibly malicious apps (for Android and Chromebook versions only)
• Protects your computer against hackers (windows only)
• Allows you to browse the web safely (Windows and Android only)
• Schedules scans automatically and provides free updates

These features may seem rather standard. Read below for a roundup of the best and worst features.

The Pros

Though far from perfect, Malwarebytes offers these perks to users:

Multiple Scan Modes

There are three scan modes with Malwarebytes: Hyper, custom, and threat scanning. The threat scan is the Malwarebytes version of a quick scan. It runs super fast in under two minutes and checks the riskiest places on your computer.

Hyper scan is also a type of quick scan. It completes even faster than a quick scan, under 10 seconds and you won’t need to wait for updates. This is a very rough way to check your computer. It can detect major threats, but not deeply embedded ones. Still, it’s very useful thanks to its speed.

The custom scan allows you to choose which locations on your computer or which personal documents you want the software to scan. It’s useful and gives you more control over the process.

Intuitive Interface

The software comes with a user-friendly interface. There’s nothing really too fancy here other than the three scan modes. As a result, Malwarebytes is very easy to use. You will never feel lost with all the additional tools. Overall, Malwarebytes offers possibly one of the easiest to use interfaces.

System Impact is Minimal

Malwarebytes is a simple antivirus. That might be why it doesn’t cause your system to lag during a run. The hyper and threat scanning modes run very fast you will barely notice it.

The custom scan run time depends on what options you choose. Unless you are probing too deep, it probably wouldn’t have a major impact on your system either.

The Cons

On the other hand, Malwarebytes isn’t a perfect antivirus. Here are the downsides to using it:

Limited Independent Lab Results

Unlike most well-known software, Malwarebytes hasn’t been thoroughly tested independently. Whatever limited tests available only show scores on the lower end. So if you are looking for high-end protection, Malwarebytes may not be able to offer you much.

However, the software is still great at blocking potentially problematic software. The problem lies in detection and removal.

Expensive Compared to Competitors

You can use Malwarebytes on up to 10 devices that run the supported operating systems. However, the costs can get significantly higher depending on the number of devices. Even for a single device, $40 a month can be expensive given that there are competitors offering cheaper packages for more devices.

Limited Operating Systems

Malwarebytes isn’t widely available across operating systems at present. One major downside is that some features are only supported on certain systems. Sure, it makes sense that you get bad app protection on your smartphone and not your desktop. However, the protection isn’t extended to iOS as well as Android devices.

Hopefully, Malwarebytes would expand support to all systems in the near future. But right now, it’s pretty OS-specific and that can be problematic when you want an antivirus for your desktop and handheld devices.

No Extra Features

Malwarebytes only offers its antivirus scanning feature per package. You won’t have extra tools like a VPN or a password manager that most other bundles offer. Nothing else is included except the malware protection software.

Could Malwarebytes be the Antivirus Software for You?

Malwarebytes is quite popular, but performance-wise, it falls short compared to its main competition. However, if you want a straightforward, simple, malware-only antivirus scanning tool, then Malwarebytes might be for you.

Its performance on independent tests leaves much to be desired. However, Malwarebytes is good at blocking malicious content from websites. It even has a Chromebook version. For smartphones, Malwarebytes offers a special bad app blocking feature.

It’s super simple to install and use. The interface is as minimalistic as it comes. Everything is easy to understand. You won’t need to waste time figuring out confusing tech lingo. Scans run super-fast, especially the hyper scan mode, which can complete in seconds. Overall, the impact on your system is minimal.

You can also choose what you want to scan with custom scans. This is a very handy feature when you want to probe deep into your device. Also, with custom scan, you can avoid long and laggy scans that don’t let you exclude certain system files.

Malwarebytes can be expensive considering other options on the market. The default package is available for one device though, and you can add up to 10 more devices, which is a perk. However, the availability is limited on some systems. The upsides and downsides here are rather well balanced. That can make the choice rather difficult.

Regardless of a few problems, Malwarebytes is well worth checking out. The company is based in the U.S., so it can be useful for those who want to avoid foreign antivirus products.