So I just installed Malwarebytes after looking through antivirus suggestions, and found some posts on anti viruses said they suggested using it, so I installed it. One thing I should mention is that the posts were a little old (maybe 1, 2, or 3 years old,) so I just wanted some new opinions. (Also, are the buyable security and Vpn options worth it?)
Malwarebytes is full of false positives. I’d rather use Windows Defender+ Malwarebytes free. I use Kaspersky on my desktop and it’s working well. Using ESET on my laptop.
Fact: Malwarebytes has lower than average detection rates and higher than average false positives. Just look at any testing lab report. So why bother when you already have Defender for free or a selection of others that perform better?
Malwarebytes is trash these days. Malwarebytes offers weak protection and has loads of false positives so you actually do not need it. It will just cause you problems or try scare you to upgrade even if you just visited virustotal! Any real anti-virus even the built-in Defender is better than malwarebytes. If you want a third party app you could look at Bitdefender, AVG or Sophos but most people don’t even need those because the built in protection is fine. FYI the free version of malwarebytes does not even do real-time protection and the paid version does it badly.
They’re decent for second opinion scanner (ie, use Defender as your daily resident AV, then use MB to manually scan a specific file) but for daily resident (which require you to buy it since that feature is only trial on free), not really.
The thing about today’s malware is, if you keep your browser and OS updated, use adblockers, and don’t blindly give permissions or download shady files, then there’s little chance for a malware to get inside, and those that do can usually get nixed by your OS built-in malware protection.
FYI like Mozilla VPN, MB VPN use Mullvad, if you want a VPN might as well just buy it directly from Mullvad.
I’ve always used Malwarebytes as my ‘first-aid’ scanner and trust it’s engine. It routinely tops charts in tests and goes blow-for-blow with Bitdefender, Kaspersky (rip) and ESET. I don’t use it day to day–I prefer Bitdefender–but I’d trust it.
If you’re going to add a VPN, I would only use one with a proven record of not keeping logs or complying with government pressure. Proton VPN is from a country that protects their protection of your data, and a good NFP org. PIA has been proven in court and with independent audits, and you can get discounts anytime you want through a channel like LTT. I’ve also heard Surfshark is good but haven’t looked at their logging/privacy - they’re big on UK sponsors and the UK is no better than other western countries with logging and gov/police demands.
I’ve had a lifetime sub of MB for years now, and running it along side Windows built in AV is all you should need and has worked great for me. I dont know what some others on this thread are talking about saying MB is “trash”. I strongly disagree.
I used Kaspersky Total Security for years but I’m done and uninstalling it with another year on my premium. Keeps blocking updates and programs, even its own updates (not because of exceptions/firewall, but from random registry errors you manually have to delete). I don’t trust it’s doing anything more than Microsoft defender but skimming my data and bogging down my system. A 4tb scan done in 10 seconds? Mhmm… seems real. Hopefully it works better for you.
Do you have any sources for this? Not saying you’re wrong but I’ve always known Malwarebytes to be solid as hell and haven’t heard of any major changes or problems in it, and I’m hesitant to change that opinion without good reason.
I have seen it start to nag more and more about upgrading and keeping safe, but really, all AVs nag you these days and give you “you’re not as secure as you could be!” messages when not on a paid sub. That’s not specific to Malwarebytes.
Idk about it’s active protection, but as a second opinion scanner is is still considered one of the most useful scanners available and is widely used and respected. It is definitely is not trash and it is definitely not held in poor regard by anyone professional.
Why is this getting downvoted? Dude is entitled to the opinion that Malwarebytes is decent.
Malwarebytes is so bad av-comparatives no longer even tests it because FPs were outrageous and not even improving. You can use the search function for recent examples of redditors being scared into upgrading just because they visited virustotal!
Thanks for the downvote. I wasn’t able to find any obvious results on Malwarebytes being a poor performer, but did find this post from last year on a query raised on the Malwarebytes forums asking the same question. According to this verified staff member post, Malwarebytes themselves decided to stop working with AV-Comp, rather than AV-Comp dropping them “due to too many false positives.”
Their most recent test, 2022, won Standard, Advanced, and Advanced plus awards.
https://www.av-comparatives.org/awards/malwarebytes/
Typically, as in the case with Kaspersky, it’s usually pretty easy to find at least a reason for a product to be disreccomended, even if not for a good reason. I unfortunately can’t find anything to back up your claims that arises in the first few pages of search results using various different terms.