Multi-layered detection catches most malware
The earliest antivirus programs identified known malware by matching byte patterns called signatures. Modern malware techniques defeat signature-based detection, so modern antivirus apps like Malwarebytes Premium Security employ heuristic detection, behavioral analysis, and other advanced techniques. Unlike Malwarebytes Free, which only scans on demand, the premium edition is a full-scale antivirus with all expected features. Malwarebytes earned excellent scores in some of our tests, but Editors’ Choice winners Bitdefender Antivirus Plus and Norton AntiVirus Plus boast top scores from multiple independent labs and offer more advanced features.How Much Does Malwarebytes Premium Security Cost?
A single year’s antivirus subscription for Windows and macOS editions is commonly priced at just under $40 per year. ESET NOD32 Antivirus, Trend Micro Antivirus+ Security, and ZoneAlarm Pro Antivirus + Firewall are among the antivirus utilities that fit this profile. Bitdefender and Webroot Essentials are also under $50. Malwarebytes splits the difference, at $44.99 per year for one license.
Where most antivirus apps come in packs of one, three, five, and possibly 10 licenses, Malwarebytes is more flexible. You can choose from two to 20 licenses at a price of $29.99 plus $10 per license. So, for example, a two-pack costs $39.99, and a 20-pack runs $229.99.
The Malwarebytes Plus edition adds VPN protection. Its price is $47.99, plus $13 for each additional device for more than five devices. Pricing for five or fewer licenses doesn’t follow a simple pattern, but you can protect two devices for $72.99 per year and four for $92.99. I’ll discuss the VPN component when I evaluate the top-tier Malwarebytes Ultimate.
With Norton AntiVirus Plus, you pay $84.99 per year for five licenses, or $59.99 for one. That gets you an array of suite-level features, including online backup, firewall, a vulnerability scan, and more. McAfee AntiVirus Plus used to offer unlimited cross-platform licenses for $64.99 per year, but the current McAfee AntiVirus covers just one PC. You get it through third-party retailers, where it typically costs about $49.
No money in the budget for antivirus? No problem! You can install Avast Free Antivirus, AVG AntiVirus Free, or a dozen other free antivirus utilities at no charge.Simple Interface, Speedy Scan
After a quick installation, the Malwarebytes main window appears. The current edition has undergone some changes. Where the left-side menu used to just include Dashboard and Settings, it now adds Identity Protection and Tools. In addition, the menu now shows icons only, sliding out to display text labels when you point at it. The free edition also includes Identity Protection and Tools; I’ll describe those below.
At right, a large panel houses the Malwarebytes Trusted Advisor feature, which initially advises running a full scan. Much like the AutoPilot feature in Bitdefender, Trusted Advisor reports on the status of your protection and offers advice on how you can bring your score closer to 100. For a boost to your confidence, you can review the security successes that contribute to your ever-improving score.
In the middle, you’ll find three large panels titled Scanner, Detection History, and Real-Time Protection. The free edition looks almost identical, except that all three features are enabled. A larger panel below represents the VPN component, which is enabled only if you’ve paid extra to include it. This review focuses on the basic Malwarebytes Premium, not the Plus edition bundled with VPN protection.
Out of the box, Malwarebytes uses a light or dark theme matching your overall Windows theme, though you can override this to force one or the other.Scans and Schedules
When you call for an on-demand scan, you get a full Threat Scan by default, just as you do with Malwarebytes Free. In testing the free edition’s ability to clean up existing malware infestations, I found that the full scan averaged from four to nine minutes. The same was true when scanning with Malwarebytes Premium. By observation, if the initial scan finds a significant malware problem, it requests a Deep Scan. In testing, this scan averaged about one hour and 45 minutes, just slightly faster than the current average of two hours.
The scan scheduler lets you run a full, quick, or custom scan on a regular basis. You can choose an hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly scan, or you can set it to scan any time the system reboots. By default, scheduled scans wait to start until the machine is idle. Quick scan, custom scan, and scan scheduling are premium-only features and welcome ones.
Malwarebytes offers the free Browser Guard security plug-in for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox, whether you install the free or premium antivirus. In testing, it proved effective at steering the browser away from fraudulent (phishing) URLs and pages that host malware. If you use Chrome, Edge, or Firefox, be sure to install this useful extension.Lab Test Results
Independent antivirus testing labs strive to create tests that emulate real-world situations, but this emulation isn’t perfect. Some of them still include simple file recognition as one part of their testing. In the distant past, Malwarebytes rejected lab tests, stating that they couldn’t accurately evaluate the app’s advanced detection techniques. My notes show that a few years ago, Malwarebytes sporadically showed up in reports from AV-Test Institute, AV-Comparatives, MRG-Effitas, and SE Labs. But the latest reports from these labs don’t include Malwarebytes.
I recently added a fifth lab to my collection. AVLab Cybersecurity Foundation releases test reports every two months, and Malwarebytes has consistently earned top scores from this lab.
