Malwarebytes Antivirus Review — Is It Good Enough 2022?

Malwarebytes is simple and easy to use antivirus program. It provides protection against malware, but nothing else.

Malwarebytes was able to detect 95% of the malware I downloaded to my computer during my testing. This is a very good result. Malwarebytes is a great real-time security tool that blocked 98% of malware files.

Malwarebytes offers a web security feature that is very good. It was nearly flawless in detecting phishing attacks and had a near perfect rate of detection. The Premium + Privacy plan can be upgraded to obtain a VPN. It is an excellent option for hiding online activity but lacks many of its features and functionalities that are available in standalone VPN providers.

Malwarebytes doesn’t have many protections that I’m used too in top antivirus software. Malwarebytes has parental controls, device optimization tools, password managers, and parental controls. I think Malwarebytes will be a good choice for those who just want an easy, install-and forget antivirus that can detect and block the majority of malware.

Malwarebytes may not have as many extra features as Bitdefender or Norton but it is affordable, has a 14-day free trial and offers a generous 60-day refund policy on all premium plans.

Malwarebytes Full Review

Malwarebytes provides all the essential security features I would expect from an anti-virus program, including ransomware and real-time malware protection.

Malwarebytes, unlike many other competitors, doesn’t offer additional features like a firewall or system tuneup tools.

Malwarebytes offers a top-of-the-line plan that includes a VPN. But, there are other brands, such as TotalAV or McAfee. Avira, Kaspersky, Kaspersky, Bitdefender, Bitdefender, Avira and McAfee. They also offer VPNs with a wider variety of additional features.

Malwarebytes is a great, affordable option if you are looking for an antivirus program that protects your computer from malware.

Malwarebytes Antivirus Security Features

Virus Scanner

Malwarebytes uses both signature-based methods and heuristics in order to detect malware.

Malwarebytes uses a Malwarebytes malware database to detect malicious software on your system. Malwarebytes also inspects files for suspicious behaviors in order find new malware.

Malwarebytes offers 4 different virus scans.

• Scan. Scans important areas in your device’s system and memory.
• Quick Scan. Scans your memory for active infections and startup programs
• Custom Scan. Scans any file, folder or entire disc.
• Scan single file/folder Scans an individual file.

Malwarebytes doesn’t offer a default full-system scan option. This means that if you want your entire system to be scanned for malware, Malwarebytes requires you to use the Custom Scan option. Select all options.

While this will work for more advanced users, it is not a problem for those who are less tech-savvy. However, Malwarebytes needs to make it clearer that custom scanning the entire disk is the only method to scan the device.

Norton, McAfee. Bitdefender. Avira. BullGuard. TotalAV.

In my tests, the Threat scan took only 1 minute and 26 second to scan 300,000. This is comparable to other quick scan options that can take between one and five minutes.

Before installing Malwarebytes onto my Windows device I downloaded my standard set malware samples. It contains around 1000 malicious files (viruses trojans spyware etc.). Malwarebytes found 76% files after it had completed the Threat Scans. Malwarebytes’s detection rates increased to 95% when I did a Custom Scan. It took 3 hours to scan my entire device. This score is great, but it doesn’t mean that the best antivirus software, such as Bitdefender and Norton, has a 100% malware detection rate.

Malwarebytes overall detection rate of 95% is quite high. Malwarebytes could also include a full system scan in its scan options. This would allow users to perform Custom Scans on their system to ensure that they are all safe. However, I love the speed of Malwarebytes’ Threat Scan. It takes just 2 minutes to scan system areas where malware is common.

Real-Time Protection

Malwarebytes offers real-time protection only for paid plans. It includes four layers of protection.

• Web Protection
• PUP Protection and Malware Protection
• Ransomware Protection.
• Exploit Protection.

Malwarebytes’s malware protection performed well in my tests. I was able to block 98% malware from being downloaded to my device.

This is an excellent result that is comparable to the best premium antiviruses. Malwarebytes also had a great web protection, blocking around 90% of the known Phishing websites I tried visiting.

Malwarebytes does not have ransomware protection. Malwarebytes detected and blocked approximately two-thirds all ransomware files on the device. All ransomware simulaion were immediately blocked when I used the same simulator for Bitdefender, McAfee or Norton.

Malwarebytes ransomware protection still needs work but real-time protection and web protections rank up with the best antiviruses.

Browser Guard

Malwarebytes’s Firefox Guard is a free extension for Google Chrome, Edge and Firefox.

The extension is designed to protect against malware and ads and trackers, as well as from scams and PUPs.

Browser Guard is simple to use. By default, all protections have been turned on. There’s nothing you need to do. You can however toggle protections on or off to protect certain websites.

I visited 40 known sites that were phishing and Browser Guard blocked 36. That’s a 90% success rate, which is very impressive.

Malwarebytes claims Browser Guard makes your browser run four times faster because it blocks unwanted content. So I tested the extension against ads-filled sites. Browser Guard didn’t block all of these ads. It blocked only a third of those ads on the websites I visited. Avira blocks almost all of them.

Browser Guard doesn’t do a lot to block ads, but it is effective in detecting phishing pages.

VPN (Virtual Private Network)

Malwarebytes’s Premium+ Privacy plan comes with VPN — it has:

• More then 300 servers are available across 30 countries. TotalAV or Norton offer 30 locations each, while VIPRE offers more than 80.
• WireGuard protocols — These are the fastest and best-known protocols that standalone VPNs like CyberGhost VPN or ExpressVPN offer.
• Strict no-logs policy. Malwarebytes won’t store or log user data.

Malwarebytes VPN lacks a kill switch.

A kill switch is a device that shuts down your internet connection in the event that your VPN connection goes down. This is a very important VPN feature. Other antivirus companies like Bitdefender or Kaspersky have a kill switch. Malwarebytes would love to include this feature in their VPN.

Malwarebytes VPN offers good speeds. I first ran a speed test without it, then I ran another one when I was connected with a US server (I’m located in Canada). I also tested VPN’s performance while connecting to distant servers.

As you can see, my speed increased but my download speeds were much faster with VPN than when I was connected directly to my local server. I was able then to seamlessly view HD video and surf the internet.

When I tried to use Malwarebytes VPN, I was unable access streaming sites like Netflix. TotalAV is a great streaming VPN.

Malwarebytes VPN doesn’t support torrenting. Malwarebytes is located in the US and is therefore subject to The Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Users who download pirated torrents risk having their accounts terminated or disabled.

Malwarebytes’s virtual private network (VPN) doesn’t work well in restricted countries. ExpressVPN can help you bypass internet censorship in countries like China.

Malwarebytes’s basic VPN is not recommended. It is also not able to access streaming or torrent services and it isn’t allowed to bypass restrictions in high-risk areas. Malwarebytes’s VPN can be used to hide your online activities and keep you anonymous online.

Malwarebytes Plans & Pricing

Malwarebytes offers a risk-free 60 days money-back guarantee on all paid plans (the same deal as Norton). This is much more generous than the 30-day guarantee offered by most other companies.

Malwarebytes also offers a lock in rate. If you decide to auto renew your subscription, the price for your next renewal will match the initial price (even if it has increased). Malwarebytes has this exclusive feature that not many antivirus brands offer, making it a very nice option.

Malwarebytes Ease of Use & Setup

Setting up Malwarebytes and installing it is simple

It took me only minutes to download and setup the software. And I had no trouble using the various features.

Malwarebytes won’t ask for personal information to activate the free trial. Malwarebytes does not require you to provide your credit card number or email address, which is something that most competitors do.

Malwarebytes is easy to use, has a clean interface, and is easy to navigate. It is simple to set up Custom Scans, choose which scan you wish to run and schedule scans.

All of the real time protections are turned on by default. Most users won’t have to modify anything to be fully secure.