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Malwarebytes antivirus review: simple protection
Last Updated by Moh'd on
February 16, 2021
Founded in 2008, Malwarebytes is headquartered in California, with offices in Europe and Asia. Malwarebytes founder and CEO Marcin Kleczynski started the company to create the best protection solutions against the world's most harmful Internet threats.
Malwarebytes specializes in protecting people and businesses against dangerous threats such as malware, ransomware, and exploits that escape detection by traditional antivirus solutions. Malwarebytes completely replaces antivirus with artificial intelligence-powered technology that stops cyberattacks before they can compromise home computers and business endpoints. More than 60,000 businesses and millions of people worldwide trust and recommend Malwarebytes solutions.
Quick Stats
Malwarebytes Security and protection
In regards to antivirus security, how should an Antivirus protection assessment be measured? Do we simply take the words of the AV creators for their own devices?
The best way to assess an Antivirus on its functionality is by using a third-party antivirus testing lab.
Third-party testing Labs are experts with well-constructed criteria and testing methods on testing AV-products, providing an unbiased opinion on product security.
AV-lab-test scores
Malwarebytes scores high on protection according to two different third-party testing labs. It gets a 4.5/6 score on its ability to detect malicious ware.
Malwarebytes Antivirus scores 6/6 in the impact on device performance department is negligible, which means it won't take up your device's resources.
Malwarebytes Antivirus has a low false-positive rate with a 5.5/6 usability score. This means it's unlikely to mistake regular files for harmful ones.
This adds up to provide a total score of 16/18.
Unfortunately, Malwarebytes lacks multiple third-party testing lab reviews with only AV-labs being available.
Firewall protection
Malwarebytes lacks Firewall protection. It utilizes Windows Firewall instead in tandem with its antimalware protection service.
Ease of use
Malwarebytes user-interface is simple and relatively easy to use, making it very user-friendly. With a button on the center of the interface for scanning and real-time protection options on the side.
Plans and Features
Malwarebytes has two main paid plans: the premium plan and the premium plus privacy bundle, with the difference in VPN service availability. a free version is also available.
Free Malwarebyte product
The free product functions only as an antimalware. However, it provides a 14-day trial of the full product on download so that you can experience the full effect of Malwarebytes premium.
Premium Plan
The premium plan adds to the Antimalware protection a number of features to improve user experience.
Real-time protection allows for Automatic malware detection 24/7, stopping malware in real-time before it can be a danger to your device.
Stops exploit attacks by Shielding vulnerable systems and softwares
Blocks ransomware attacks and stops ransomware attacks before your data is held hostage.
Shields against malicious websites Prevents access to and from known malicious websites.
The premium product is available for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
premium plus privacy plan
This provides the same features as in the premium malware plan with the addition of a VPN service
VPN
The VPN provided by Malwarebytes has 256-bit encryption. While it offers a strict no-logs policy, it is still based in the US, which is a member of the 5/9/14 Eyes alliance. Public Wi-Fi and hotspot protection are also available. Malwarebytes VPN lacks a kill switch feature, which is very important when considering safety and anonymity. It offers users more than 300 servers spread across 30 countries.
In terms of protocols, Privacy VPN utilizes WireGuard, which is one of the advanced protocols in terms of speed and security.
Prices
In terms of prices, the plans provided by Malwarebytes allows for customization and choices in terms of the number of devices but is a bit more restrictive when it comes to the number of years.
| Premium Plan | Premium plus Privacy plan | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 device | $39.99/ 1 year $49.64/ 2 years |
N/a |
| 2 devices | $49.99/ 1 year $87.48/ 2 years |
N/a |
| 3 devices | $59.99/ 1 year $104.98/ 2 years |
N/a |
| 4 devices | $69.99/ 1 year $122.48/ 2 years |
N/a |
| 5 devices | $79.99/ 1 year $139.98/ 2 years |
$99.99/ 1 year $199.98/ 2 years |
| 6 devices | $89.99/ 1 year $157.48/ 2 years |
N/a |
| 7 devices | $99.99/ 1 year $174.98/ 2 years |
N/a |
| 8 devices | $109.99/ 1 year $192.48/ 2 years |
N/a |
| 9 devices | $119.99/ 1 year $209.98/ 2 years |
N/a |
| 10 devices | $129.99/ 1 year $227.48/ 2 years |
N/a |
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Money-back guarantee
Malwarebytes provides a 60-day money-back guarantee for users to try their product out so you can decide if it's worth it or not.
Last words
Is Malwarebytes worth it?
Malwarebytes premium feels a lot like many of the basic bundles of other antivirus competitors. It lacks many of the features provided by the top competitors. And even when it comes to security, according to third-party testing labs, there isn't a lot of diversity, while other competitors have better results.
In terms of VPN, while the VPN isn't bad, however, there are better premium VPN services with less price, such as NordVPN and ExpressVPN.
You can do better!
For a price lower than the one device premium plan, you can get the standard Norton AV, with better protection and extra features, and even a one device VPN protection.