Cleans your PC in just a few minutes. Our free scanner is what put us on the map. It doesn't just find threats like malware and viruses, it also finds potentially unwanted programs that can slow you down.
Free Malwarebytes Antimalware
For real-time protection that actively prevents infections and protects against malware, viruses, adware, spyware, Trojans and other threats, including blocking unwanted programs, Malwarebytes offers a 14-day free trial of its Malwarebytes Premium software. Basic free version of the software offers manual scanning and removes infections after an attack.
\tIt's stable in Windows 10: With version 3.0, some users (us included) experienced seemingly random blue-screen errors in Windows 10 unless we disabled most or all of Malwarebytes' active scanning functions. As a result, there wasn't a lot to distinguish the paid version from the free one. However, we can report that we didn't see any BSODs in Windows 10 during our testing of 3.2. This was the only truly major issue we saw in version 3.0, so addressing it brings Malwarebytes back up to \"recommended\" status.
\tDetailed, plain-English explanations: While other security vendors often slather on fancy-sounding terminology, Malwarebytes is good at telling you exactly what a given feature is doing. Take the \"Usage and Threat Statistics\" toggle, for example. This covers the anonymous usage data that it collects. In the description on its website, Malwarebytes itemizes basic things like, how many people are running the free version, trial version, and subscription versions? Where is Malwarebytes being used globally? What malware is being detected the most, and how often?
\tLimited testing by independent labs: The company asserts that the average \"zero day\" malware (the kind that's too new for there to be reliable detection/removal) has only a 55 percent detection rate, which can make a given antimalware app look worse than it is when subjected to a barrage of zero-day infections during testing. Therefore, Malwarebytes does not submit its apps to the full gauntlets provided by AV-Test and AV-Comparatives, whose testing takes special notice of zero-day security. However, if Malwarebytes wants to be recognized among its competition, we'd argue that it needs to submit its apps to the same rigorous standards as the competition, even if those standards can create perception issues.
It's stable in Windows 10: With version 3.0, some users (us included) experienced seemingly random blue-screen errors in Windows 10 unless we disabled most or all of Malwarebytes' active scanning functions. As a result, there wasn't a lot to distinguish the paid version from the free one. However, we can report that we didn't see any BSODs in Windows 10 during our testing of 3.2. This was the only truly major issue we saw in version 3.0, so addressing it brings Malwarebytes back up to "recommended" status.
Detailed, plain-English explanations: While other security vendors often slather on fancy-sounding terminology, Malwarebytes is good at telling you exactly what a given feature is doing. Take the "Usage and Threat Statistics" toggle, for example. This covers the anonymous usage data that it collects. In the description on its website, Malwarebytes itemizes basic things like, how many people are running the free version, trial version, and subscription versions? Where is Malwarebytes being used globally? What malware is being detected the most, and how often?
Limited testing by independent labs: The company asserts that the average "zero day" malware (the kind that's too new for there to be reliable detection/removal) has only a 55 percent detection rate, which can make a given antimalware app look worse than it is when subjected to a barrage of zero-day infections during testing. Therefore, Malwarebytes does not submit its apps to the full gauntlets provided by AV-Test and AV-Comparatives, whose testing takes special notice of zero-day security. However, if Malwarebytes wants to be recognized among its competition, we'd argue that it needs to submit its apps to the same rigorous standards as the competition, even if those standards can create perception issues.
Free antivirus can be a good starting point to protect your devices. Malwarebytes offers free versions to scan and clean viruses and malware from your devices. Paid antivirus software like Malwarebytes Premium gives you on-going protection against viruses and malware, rather than just scanning and cleaning when you think your device might be infected.
Malwarebytes free version will clean malware from your Windows PC or Mac computer. Malwarebytes Premium gives you real-time protection against malware, ransomware, and other online threats. Compare the free version with Malwarebytes for Windows and Malwarebytes for Mac, and check out our mobile protection with Malwarebytes for Android and Malwarebytes for iOS too. We also offer Malwarebytes for Chromebook.
Malwarebytes is an important security program to protect any user's computer. It is light-weight, fast, and best of all, excellent at removing the latest infections that may be in the wild. Malwarebytes is updated numerous times throughout the day, which allows you to stay protected from threats as they come out. One of the best parts of the program is that not only will it scan your computer free, but it will also remove any malware it finds at no cost to you either.
While scanning and cleaning a computer using Malwarebytes is always free, upgrading to the Premium version offers many benefits. This includes real-time protection, anti-ransomware, anti-exploit, and malicious website protection features.
Real-time protection monitors your computer in real-time and if you attempt open a malicious program or file, Malwarebytes will block it and automatically quarantine the file. This protects your from running infections that are disguised as free downloads or malicious attachments.
When a user installs Malwarebytes for the first time, they get all the features of the Premium version for free for 14 days. After that they can choose to upgrade to the Premium version or continue with the scan and clean features of the Free version. Regardless of whether or not you pay to activate Malwarebytes, we suggest that you install this program on your computer and perform a routine scan with it at least once a week. This will assure you that your computer is being secured from some the newest infections out there.
When you install the free edition, you can choose a 14-day trial of Malwarebytes Premium. If you let the trial expire without upgrading, you'll find that you lose quite a few features. In particular, the free edition, reviewed here, doesn't include any real-time protection. It does just one thing; it cleans up existing malware problems. The free version is full of subtle and not-so-subtle suggestions to spring for the upgrade to Premium.
I found that the product installed very quickly. A banner across the top of the pastel-toned main window features silhouettes of mountains, clouds, and a city skyline, adorned with a big message suggesting that you upgrade to premium. The rest of the window consists of three rectangular panels. One displays detection history, and one displays real-time protection options, all of which are disabled in the free edition. The middle panel, the important one, lets you launch a scan for malware. It's an attractive presentation.
When you install Malwarebytes, it prompts you to add the free Browser Guard extension for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. Even if you skip this step at installation, you can download the extension later. Browser guard aims to protect against phishing and malware-hosting URLs, ads and trackers, tech support scams, sites with bad reputations, and more. I put those aims to the test.
The most important difference is that Malwarebytes Premium adds real-time protection, which is the most effective way of preventing infection. Malwarebytes Free is a good companion (to the free Windows Defender) to scan and eliminate threats found, but this has to be done manually. Malwarebytes Premium also comes with a browser guard not found in the free version. As of writing, Premium costs $39.99 for an annual subscription. 2ff7e9595c
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