Malwarebytes Antivirus Review 2017

Company Overview

Ten years ago, then 14-year-old programmer Marcin Kleczynski determined that manually removing malware from his system was too tiresome. He established Malwarebytes and delivered the first Malwarebytes antivirus utility six years ago. In 2008, Malwarebytes was released as an application for computers running Windows to find and remove malware. It further developed into Malwarebytes Corporation, an Internet security company with a focus on developing products to protect home computers, smartphones and organizations. The company advocates layered protection, meaning that it runs alongside existing anti-virus applications to catch the threats that slip past. Headquarters are in San Jose, California. The company indicated that its home product has repaired more than 250 million computers and removed over five billion pieces of malware. In addition to Windows antivirus applications, platforms now include Mac antivirus protection. Technical support agents around the world use this free product when other antivirus products are unable to clean up resistant malware.

Software Features

Cyber criminals create programs that are purposefully devised to slip past and hide undetected from antivirus programs. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware defeats the threats with innovative technologies meant to protect you while simultaneously keeping your online experience secure and hassle-free. It is lightweight, durable and excellent at removing the latest infections. It is updated numerous times daily, allowing you to stay protected from threats as they come out. It scans your computer for free and removes malware at not cost to you. It has the capability to detect and remove malware that even the most well-known anti-virus and anti-malware applications fail to identify. It monitors every process and stops them before they infect your computer.

Home product features include: detection of Zero-hour malware in real-time, removes deeply embedded malware, compatible with most major antiviruses, blocks hacking and phishing attempts, schedules automatic scanning, offers flexible scan modes, guards identity and personal data on mobile devices, stops unauthorized access to your personal data, protects browsers and browser components, defends against drive-by download attacks, blocks unknown and known exploit kits, backs up your files to a secure cloud server, scans files automatically with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, shares only malware-free files with your friends, manages backups from the Web and mobile devices, and back up is available in 50, 100 and 200GB plans.

Usability

Its attractive user interface and dashboard window make the application simple to navigate. The large ‘Scan Now’ button feature makes it easy to detect manually if viruses are present. A full overview of your security status is viewable in a panel that also lets you know the date of the last product update. Another one displays the date and time of the last scan. It runs automatically in the background to discover and stop threats. It is fast and does not slow PC performance. Gamers will particular enjoy the easy on and off capability. The app creates whitelists, shows you a scan log at the end of the process and will quarantine anything that it believes to be suspicious for your approval.

Customer Support

Malwarebytes provides an interactive customer support help page. Simply type in a question or search for a term, and a list of related FAQs populates. Alternately, you can choose an icon to browse product-specific FAQs and user guides. Customer support agents respond to emails for questions not answered through the knowledge base results.

Pricing

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware has two pricing levels. The free version includes advanced malware detection and removal of viruses, industry proven clean up technologies and rapid response malware database and heuristics updates. For an upgrade fee, you have access to the premium version. It includes everything that the free version does, plus real-time malware prevention, protection against new Zero-day malware infections and malicious website protection.

Malwarebytes will accept returns of their downloadable software products and subscription auto-renewals up until 30 days from the date of purchase.

Our Verdict

Malwarebytes is an essential security program for any home user to install on their computer. You can perform routine scans with it weekly to ensure that your computer is secure from any new infections. To increase your protection, you will want the premium version that enables real-time protection against threats. It is our recommended tool for protecting yourself from all kinds of malware.