Both Malwarebytes and Trend Micro provide good protection from malware, but there are some differences between them you need to know about.
For example, Malwarebytes is minimalistic and only contains essential malware protection, while Trend Micro features additional security protections. That said, some of those protections are quite underwhelming and don’t work too well.
Today, I’m going to take a closer look at both Malwarebytes and Trend Micro and help you choose the best antivirus for your needs in 2024.
Short on Time? Malwarebytes vs. Trend Micro — Final Verdict:
- 1st place:
- 2nd place:
Trend Micro has better features, identity theft protection, and customer support. Although some of Trend Micro’s additional features are underwhelming, it’s a decent and full-fledged security suite for 2024. If you want an antivirus with lots of features, go with Trend Micro.
Malwarebytes is easier to use. If you want the most basic protections that work out of the box, go with Malwarebytes.
Malware Protection
Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes uses a mix of heuristic analysis and a large malware database to find and remove trojans, rootkits, ransomware, and other malware that you might have accidentally installed on your computer.
The scanner is okay, but it’s a bit slow. I downloaded 1,000s of malware samples and hid them on my Windows 11 PC to test Malwarebytes’s scanning capabilities. I then ran Malwarebytes’s full system scan, which went through every file and folder. The scanner took 3 hours to complete and found 95% of the malware samples I’d hidden.
Malwarebytes’s real-time protection is better. I switched it on and tried to download the same archive with 1,000s of malware samples in it. Malwarebytes intercepted and stopped about 98% of the malware, which is impressive.
Trend Micro
Trend Micro uses signature-based analysis and machine learning to detect and remove known and emerging malware threats. This can include trojans, worms, rootkits, cryptojackers, and more.
I was quite impressed with the malware scanner — I hid the same 1,000s of malware samples in the same locations on my Windows 11 PC and ran Trend Micro’s full system scan. The scan completed in about 40 minutes and found 97% of malware samples. This is quicker and more thorough than Malwarebytes.
I then turned on Trend Micro’s real-time protection and tried downloading the same archive. Like Malwarebytes, Trend Micro was able to block about 98% of the malware samples, which is really good.
Web Security
Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes’s web security extension is compatible with Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. It can block phishing websites, annoying pop-ups, and web trackers.
The web protection isn’t perfect, but it isn’t bad either. I tested it by visiting 100 phishing website samples. Malwarebytes blocked about 90% of them — which is more than what the default protections on Chrome, Edge, and Firefox could block.
That said, Malwarebytes’s ad blocker isn’t that great. I turned on the ad blocker and visited a few sample websites filled with ads, but Malwarebytes could only block around 35% of them. I’ve used free ad blockers that have a 100% success rate, so this is pretty useless.
Trend Micro
Trend Micro’s web protection blocks access to dangerous websites and works with all major web browsers. With Trend Micro’s web protection enabled, I visited the same phishing websites I used to test Malwarebytes. I found Trend Micro had a slightly higher success rate and was able to block phishing websites that Malwarebytes failed to block. I also appreciated how Trend Micro blocked more websites than the default protections on Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.
Sometimes, I did find Trend Micro’s web protection a bit too vigilant, but it’s easy to whitelist websites. All you have to do is press a button on the blocked page to add a permanent exception. Some competitors require you to dig through their settings, which is pretty annoying.
Features
Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes can cover up to 5 devices and offers a few features:
- Malware scanner.
- Real-time protection.
- Anti-phishing protection.
- VPN (virtual private network).
All of these features worked well in my tests. I like how the real-time protection offers various customization options for advanced users but can also be left to run out of the box if you don’t want to make any changes to it.
Malwarebytes also features a good VPN, which offers 256-bit AES encryption, fast speeds, and access to over 300 servers. I didn’t notice any slowdown while the VPN was running, and I could still download torrents — which is pretty cool because many competitor VPNs don’t allow torrent downloads.
It’s important to mention that Malwarebytes offers extensive Identity Theft Protection, but this comes as an independent product and is not part of the standard antivirus plans.
Trend Micro
Trend Micro Premium Security Suite includes a lot more features than Malwarebytes. You also get coverage on up to 10 devices. Trend Micro has:
- Malware scanner.
- Real-time protection.
- Privacy scanner.
- Secure web browser.
- PC optimization tools.
- Parental controls.
- VPN.
- Password manager.
- Dark web protection.
- Identity theft protection.
I really like Trend Micro’s privacy scanner. It’s a unique feature I’ve not seen in many other antiviruses, which lets you scan social network sites and make various adjustments to them. For example, you can connect your Facebook account and see who’s allowed to see your personal information and whether or not strangers can track you.
I also like Trend Micro’s identity theft protection. It constantly scans the dark web and alerts you to compromised passwords, email addresses, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, or passport information. If Trend Micro detects a leak, it will alert you via email or phone and let you know what you need to do to fix the breach. That said, Trend Micro doesn’t employ live agents for identity theft protection like top antiviruses such as Norton do.
Some of Trend Micro’s other features are pretty disappointing. I found the VPN frustrating to use, and my connection kept dropping. My experience with Malwarebytes’s VPN was much better. And the password manager is fine, but it’s very basic compared to what the top antiviruses offer.
Ease of Use
Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes only includes essential protections, so it’s quite easy to use. It also only took about 5 minutes to download and install on my device, which is cool.
Malwarebytes’s user interface is really easy to navigate, and you can access most features in just one click. Honestly, beginner users won’t have a hard time using Malwarebytes.
I also quite like Malwarebytes’s mobile apps. The iOS app is more limited than the Android app due to restrictions on the Apple store, but it’s easy to navigate. The Android app adds spyware protection and a privacy audit tool that’s not available on the computer version of Malwarebytes — which is neat. Again, I didn’t struggle to navigate Malwarebytes’s Android app, and beginner users will get on nicely with it.
Trend Micro
Trend Micro only took about 5 minutes to download and install on my computer. The interface is uncluttered and separated into four sections: Device, Privacy, Data, and Family.
Each feature is clearly explained and straightforward to use. You can easily scan your computer by pressing a large button in the center of the screen, and if you need to do anything else, you can follow the on-screen prompts above the relevant feature. For example, in the data theft protection menu, if you want to add a new credit card to monitor, you just enter “Credit card” in the category field and put your credit card number into the data field next to it.
The mobile app is also easy to navigate. By tapping a scan button at the upper part of the screen you can scan your phone, and all of Trend Micro’s additional features are located below the scan button. Locating them never posed a challenge, and I was able to access everything with just a few taps.
Customer Support
Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes doesn’t have the best customer support — it doesn’t offer phone support, and the live chat wasn’t too helpful, which is disappointing. That said, Malwarebytes’s email support, online knowledge base, and a 24/7 chatbot (essentially a search feature for the knowledge base) are decent.
I emailed the Malwarebytes email support team, and they replied in about 24 hours. It’s not the fastest response I’ve ever received, but they were pretty helpful, and the team was friendly, so I was quite pleased with it.
The knowledge base is really good, too. I never struggled to find any information on there, and the inclusion of a chatbot to quickly search it is a nice touch. However, I wish the live chat option was better.
Trend Micro
Trend Micro offers more customer support options than Malwarebytes. There’s live chat, email, phone, and forum support.
Unfortunately, Trend Micro doesn’t offer 24/7 phone support (unless you pay extra). However, I never struggled to get in touch with an agent during operating hours, and they were always helpful.
I found the community forums pretty useful. Despite minimal community engagement, Trend Micro’s staff are pretty active here — they keep an eye on the forum, answer questions, and provide helpful resources.
The only support I don’t really like is Trend Micro’s live chat. The agents were helpful, but they constantly needed lots of information before answering basic questions — even if that information wasn’t relevant to my question.
