Several years ago, Malwarebytes was only useful as a scanning and cleaning tool for getting rid of malware. Back then, it had to be used in conjunction with another antivirus to ensure complete protection. This is still true for the free version — it’s a useful tool, but it’s only really good when used together with an active scanning antivirus program. The free version does not offer enough protection on its own.
That said, nowadays, the premium version of Malwarebytes is 100% capable of being used as a standalone antivirus, with real-time protection against all malware threats.
But will it protect your PC or Mac better than other antiviruses, like Norton or Bitdefender?
I’ve tested over 50 different antiviruses, and compared to many of them, Malwarebytes has some of the best security features I’ve tested. But there are a few things you should know before using either the free or paid version of Malwarebytes. I did a deep dive into the antivirus scanner, the real-time protection engine, and all the additional features, while assessing Malwarebytes’s ease of use, performance, and overall value for the money.
Here’s what I found out.
Malwarebytes Antivirus Review (Don’t use before you watch!)
Malwarebytes Security Features
Malwarebytes has evolved from a dedicated malware scanner to a fully-functioning antivirus with a full range of powerful features.
My tests were pretty conclusive — Malwarebytes is one of the best antiviruses for fighting all malware and maintaining proper virus protection. It had near-perfect detection rates, catching almost all of the malware and ransomware samples on my PC. This is just as good as other leading antivirus brands like Bitdefender and Kaspersky.
While I was impressed with the malware detection rates, I was a bit disappointed by the lack of additional security features. Antiviruses like Norton offer a lot more value for the money by including added features like a password manager, VPN, parental controls, anti-theft tools, and more.
That said, there are many reasons why you should consider using Malwarebytes.
Real-Time Protection
Malwarebytes Premium offers a really strong “Real-Time Protection” feature — looking for zero-day attacks and ransomware as well as potential vulnerabilities in a program or code that can be exploited by cybercriminals.
The Real-Time Protection feature uses 4 layers of simultaneous protection:
- Malware protection
- Ransomware protection
- Web protection
- Exploit protection
These four layers of protection are always running at the same time and provide the foundation of the software.
Note: Real-Time Protection is not included in Malwarebytes Free, and as such, I can’t recommend using the free version as a standalone antivirus. If you’re really looking for a free antivirus, check out our top Windows recommendations here and Mac recommendations here.
Malwarebytes also uses updated virus signatures and advanced behavior (heuristic) analysis to detect potential threats.
Signature-based detection — which uses unique sets of data and bits of code to target viruses that have infected other devices — accounts for just around 5% of all of Malwarebytes’s detections.
Instead, in addition to the four layers of Real-Time Protection, Malwarebytes relies heavily on its heuristic analysis — looking at a program’s relevant factors like structure and behavior to identify and neutralize previously unknown malware and viruses.
This is a really great system that sets Malwarebytes apart from competitors. While most antiviruses have some kind of real-time protection and heuristic analysis, the fact that Malwarebytes prides itself so heavily on these features (and the fact that these features work really well) turns it from “just another security feature” into an amazing defense against intrusive malware.
Multiple Scanning Options
Malwarebytes offers 3 different scan types:
- Threat Scan
- Custom Scan
- Hyper Scan
Malwarebytes has 3 scan types:
- Threat Scan. Checks areas most likely to be infected, such as your device’s startup, memory, and registry.
- Custom Scan. Allows you to choose which areas of your system need to be checked.
- Hyper Scan. Quickly checks memory and startup objects for malware.
One thing I noticed when testing Malwarebytes was how fast the scanning engine was. The Threat Scan was so much faster than other big-name antiviruses like McAfee and Panda, taking just over 10 minutes to complete. And I really liked how the Hyper Scan only took around 10 seconds!
The Threat Scan flagged over 200 items on my device, even though most of them were legitimate pieces of software. Although this could be annoying at first, I would actually prefer if other antiviruses were as cautious as Malwarebytes to ensure that no threats are missed. This hypervigilance is the scanning engine’s way of learning what is and what isn’t a threat, which helps enhance the accuracy of future scans.
I used the Custom Scan to scan the folder of malware samples that I had downloaded, and it managed to detect all-but-one of the samples — similar results to Kaspersky and Avira.
A diagram displayed the scan’s progress, so I could see exactly where the scan was each step of the way. This is a unique way to show the user how the scan is going — most other programs just show the number of scanned files. All scans end with a “heuristics analysis” of all running processes, which uses a special algorithm to determine if there are any hidden malware files running in the background.
Automatic Virus and Program Updates
Malwarebytes collects samples of suspicious software from its users’ systems, which is analyzed and used to create daily updates. You can opt-out of this data collection by toggling off “Usage and Threat Statistics” in Settings.
The Premium version of Malwarebytes updates every hour. You can change the frequency of updates to any interval between 15 minutes and 14 days, which is a great customization option that many other antiviruses like Avast don’t have.
Malwarebytes Free users have to check for updates manually — this, again, is why I don’t recommend the free version as a standalone antivirus.
Browser Guard
Malwarebytes offers additional ransomware protection and adware blocking support in the form of a browser extension. It blocks dangerous websites that have been identified as malicious and prevents you from visiting scam sites. It also claims to offer a browsing experience that is “4x faster” because of its adware blocking capabilities.
When I tested it out, it definitely felt like my browsing was faster, though, I’m not entirely convinced this was due to the extension. It didn’t feel “4x faster”, and it wasn’t particularly faster than my normal ad blocking extension.
Still, it’s a great extension to have, and it’s got a nice interface with a statistics page which tells you how many ads have been blocked.
The one annoying thing about this is that you have to download the extension separately. I would’ve preferred if it came included with the software, but it’s not a dealbreaker.
And it only works on Chrome and Firefox. Granted, these are the two most used browsers, so that isn’t going to cause too many problems. Still, supporting more browsers would be nice to see.
Malwarebytes Plans and Pricing
Malwarebytes has a good selection of plans. It doesn’t matter whether you’re an individual, a family, or a business, Malwarebytes has a package to suit just about every user.
There’s a 60-day money-back guarantee for all new users, which is really generous. That said, the refund policy doesn’t apply to business plans and renewal subscriptions. And Malwarebytes’s mobile products purchased through Google Play or the Apple App Store are subject to each store’s refund policies.
Free Plan: Malwarebytes Free
Malwarebytes doesn’t really offer a free version of its antivirus. The free download gives you a free 14-day trial of the Premium package which is a great way to see if you like using the software. It’s basically a marketing ploy to get you to recognize how good the paid version is vs. the free version.
Malwarebytes Free doesn’t come with any of the Real-Time Protection features, which as I mentioned, is the core of the software. Once the 14-day trial expires, you’re just left with the Threat Scan feature which can only detect and clean one device already infected with malware. The Threat Scan is fine if you’re using it in conjunction with another antivirus like Avira or Norton, but on its own, you’re simply not protected.
Paid Plan: Malwarebytes Premium
Malwarebytes Premium gives you Real-Time Protection — it stops viruses and malware from infecting your device using heuristic analysis and the four layers of simultaneous protection.
There are 2 different packages — Premium for You and Premium for Home. The only difference between the two is the price tag and the number of devices covered.
Premium for You is available on just 1 device and is cheaper.
Premium for Home covers up to 3 devices — but you can add up to 10 devices for an additional cost. The more devices you select, the bigger the discount you get.
With the Premium for Home plan, you can mix and match Windows, macOS, Chrome OS, iOS, and Android. This makes it a particularly good option for families using many devices across many different operating systems.
Enterprise Plans: Malwarebytes Business
Malwarebytes’s business plans have advanced features — including application hardening and exploit mitigation, both of which make it difficult to compromise apps.
There are 3 different business plans — Malwarebytes for Teams, Malwarebytes Endpoint Protection, and Malwarebytes Endpoint Protection and Response.
Malwarebytes for Teams — compatible with Windows, Mac, Chrome OS, and Android — is the cheapest. It covers between 1 and 20 devices and is therefore ideal for small businesses. The only difference between this version and the personal plans is priority support and additional Android protection.
Malwarebytes Endpoint Protection — only for Windows devices and Macs — covers from 10 devices up to an unlimited amount of devices. This plan gets you everything in Malwarebytes for Teams as well as centralized cloud management, security policies, and a dedicated technical account manager.
Malwarebytes Endpoint Protection and Response — on Windows only — adds on endpoint detection and response (EDR) capabilities.
Malwarebytes Ease of Use and Setup
Installing Malwarebytes is incredibly easy. Just open the downloaded file, follow the prompts, and that’s it. Installation took under 3 minutes from download to first opening the dashboard. There are no unnecessary files, sneaky offers, or anything suspicious — I didn’t need to give my email or install any additional components to use all of the features.
The software package is under 250 MB. It’s a surprisingly light program given most other antivirus packages on the market can go up to and above 1 GB.
At first glance, the dashboard looks complex, but it’s actually very intuitive and easy to navigate.
When you first open the program, you’re immediately asked to scan your device.
On the left-hand side of the central console, there’s a column with 5 categories:
- Dashboard
- Scan
- Quarantine
- Reports
- Settings
“Dashboard” is pretty self-explanatory — it brings you to the main page of the app. “Scan” is where you run and schedule scans.
If Malwarebytes identifies potential threats during a scan, it sends them to “Quarantine”. From there, you can either delete or restore them.
“Reports” shows you a list of all the scans you’ve run to date. Clicking on a particular scan brings up a quick summary.
If you click on Advanced within “Reports”, you’ll see more details — such as the number of items scanned, whether the scan was manual or scheduled, the time elapsed, and threats detected.
Press the Export button to copy the report to the clipboard or a text file for future reference.
If you want to customize the program, you can do so via the Settings sidebar, which Malwarebytes divides into 6 tabs:
- Application
- Protection
- Scan Schedule
- Exclusions
- Account Details
- About
Under “Application” you can pick your language, select a proxy server, and toggle application updates and notifications On or Off. You can also choose the impact that scans have on your system — high priority scans finish more quickly, but low priority scans improve multitasking.
You can click on the Protection tab to customize scan settings. Users may wish to enable rootkit scanning (which is disabled by default), as well as malware scanning, ransomware scanning, and exploit protection.
You can also turn off scanning for Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs) and Potentially Unwanted Modifications (PUMs) if you want to conserve CPU resources.
There’s an option to restore default settings under both “Application” and “Protection”. Most antivirus programs hide this function, so I really like that Malwarebytes makes it easy to find.
“Scan Schedule” allows you to manage scheduled scans. You can also access this tab via the Scan sidebar.
“Exclusions” is where you can exclude specific files or folders, websites, applications that connect to the internet, and previously detected threats from scans.
“Account Details” shows you the plan you’re currently running, and “About” gives version information and has links to useful resources, such as Malwarebytes’s website and blog, customer support, and user guides.
On the right-hand side of the central console, you’ll see the 4 Premium features:
- Web protection
- Exploit protection
- Malware protection
- Ransomware protection
On the bottom right-hand side of the dashboard, there’s a panel that shows scanning activity. You can see the date and time of the last completed scan, scheduled scans, and the status of your system updates.
Overall, setting up and using Malwarebytes is super simple. The installation process is a breeze, and navigating the software is easy. I had no trouble finding key features or figuring out how they worked.
Malwarebytes Mobile App
Downloading the Malwarebytes mobile app from Google Play or the Apple App Store is simple and takes just a few minutes. There’s an app for both Android and iOS devices, but they offer different features.
The Android app scans your phone for potentially unwanted programs and advanced malware threats like ransomware. If the scan finds a malicious app, you have 3 options:
- Ignore
- Delete
- Whitelist
Also, the Android app runs a privacy audit for all your apps, showing you a list of apps that can read your personal info, control your hardware, cost you money, etc. This feature lets you decide whether a specific app is worth the potential risk or not.
Both the Android app and the iOS app scan for phishing URLs and other online threats when you browse the internet. The iOS app also blocks ads and ad trackers, which is one reason why Malwarebytes offers great spyware protection.
Unlike the Android app, the iOS app has a “Call Protection” feature that blocks calls from known and suspected scammers and a “Text Message Filtering” that sends suspicious texts to a junk tab in your messages.
Neither the Android app nor the iOS app includes anti-theft tools, which is disappointing. Most experts agree that the biggest threat to mobile devices is device loss or theft. Other companies, like Norton, do more to protect your mobile devices against theft.
Malwarebytes Customer Support
Malwarebytes’s customer support is a bit disappointing. While the company offers live chat support (Monday to Friday 8am to 11pm UTC), the live chat function isn’t consistent. Most times I tried it, I received the message that Malwarebytes representatives aren’t currently available.
I was able to get through once, however I had to wait an hour before an agent was free and available to help me. But he was quick and professional, and he answered all of my questions.
The only other option for contacting a customer representative is through an email support system, but the response times aren’t great. I submitted a query on a Thursday evening and did not get a reply from a customer service agent until the following Wednesday.
There’s also a community forum for posting questions and a user’s guide page with several videos and how-to articles, and both of those things are actually pretty helpful.
That said, it would be nice if Malwarebytes were more responsive to their customers’ needs.
Is Malwarebytes a Good Enough Antivirus?
At first I was really skeptical that Malwarebytes would be a good program, especially after reading some of the outdated reviews online. But Malwarebytes has a lot going for it. I’ve tested a lot of different antiviruses, and Malwarebytes offers strong protection inside an interface that is easy to use and navigate. The pricing structure is straightforward, and it has a lot of different plans to meet a lot of different needs. Yes, they need to work on their customer service, but the most important thing is the product, and I’m very satisfied with their strong defense against cyber threats.
However, Malwarebytes Free isn’t enough to protect your device — the core of the Malwarebytes software is Real-Time Protection, and that’s only available on the Premium plan. If you’re in the market for a decent free antivirus, check out Avira or Panda, but Malwarebytes Premium will keep you much more protected than any free antivirus ever could.
If you need a solid antivirus with powerful anti-malware capabilities and a proven track record, Malwarebytes Premium is a really good choice.
What I Like:
- Solid antivirus with powerful anti-malware capabilities.
- Simple to install.
- Intuitive user interface.
- Fast scan times.
- 60-day money-back guarantee.
What I Don’t Like:
- Customer support needs improvement.
- Doesn’t include extra features such as parental controls and file shredder.
- Malwarebytes Free is pretty useless on its own.
Malwarebytes Antivirus — Frequently Asked Questions
🛡️ Will the free version of Malwarebytes protect my device?
In a word, no. The free version of Malwarebytes is okay for a freeware antivirus — you’ll be able to scan your device for malware like most other antivirus software. However, the free version of the software won’t protect you in real-time as the Premium package will.
Malwarebytes Free is OK when used in conjunction with another antivirus software. Still, for full protection against malicious cybersecurity threats, I’d highly recommend that you upgrade to one of the paid plans. You can try Malwarebytes Premium free for 14 days to see if it’s the right program for you.
If you need a free antivirus, check out this article.
💾 How do I activate the premium version of Malwarebytes?
Once you’ve purchased Malwarebytes Premium, launch Malwarebytes and click on Activate license (located on the top-right of the dashboard).
You’ll be prompted to enter your license key. If you’re a Windows user, you may have been provided with a License ID. If so, click the toggle next to “My license came with a License ID” and input your License ID. If you haven’t been given a License ID, don’t click the toggle.
Proceed to enter your license key into the box located below “License Key”. Once entered, you can click on either Activate (Windows users) or Activate License (Mac users).
Mac users may be asked to allow Malwarebytes to enable real-time protection. In this instance, simply click the Turn Protection On button.
Once your Malwarebytes Premium license has been activated, you should see the word “Premium” next to the Malwarebytes logo.
🤔 Will Malwarebytes scan my device automatically?
Malwarebytes will scan your device for cybersecurity threats automatically. If you navigate to the settings and click the Scheduled Scans tab, you can choose when and how often Malwarebytes scans your device — including every hour, daily, monthly, and more.
You’ll also have the option to schedule multiple scans, choose whether the scans quarantine malware automatically, and if the scans ignore potentially unwanted programs (PUPs).
💻 What are the system requirements for Malwarebytes?
To install the latest version of Malwarebytes (version 4), you’ll need to have installed:
- OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) or higher.
- Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 or higher.
- Chrome OS with Google Play access.
Mobile users will need:
- Android 4.4 (KitKat) or higher.
- iOS 11 or higher.
For the older version of Malwarebytes (version 3.9.32), you’ll need to have:
- OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) or higher.
- Windows XP (32-bit) with Service Pack 3 or higher.
