Pros & Cons
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- Fast download, fast install, fast scan.
- Good malware cleanup, especially against scareware.
- Paid edition offers real-time protection, malicious web site blocking.
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- Poor cleanup of rootkits and commercial keyloggers.
- Must pay for real-time protection.
- Real-time protection also weak against rootkits and commercial keyloggers.
MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware 1.46 Specs
| Free: | Yes |
| OS Compatibility: | Windows 7 |
| OS Compatibility: | Windows Vista |
| OS Compatibility: | Windows XP |
| Tech Support: | FAQ and forum. Email support for paid customers |
| Type: | Business |
| Type: | Personal |
| Type: | Professional |
Installing security software on malware-infested test systems can be tough. Sometimes the product won't install, or won't run, or won't scan. When I ask the vendor's tech support what to do, some of them offer a
Why do they point users at this particular tool? For starters, it's a small download, less than 6 megabytes. It takes just minutes to install and update the product. That's a refreshing change from products like 
), which requires a very lengthy initial update followed by yet another update after registration.
There's nothing fancy about Malwarebytes. It doesn't even display the usual main status screen. Instead, it opens at the scanner page, ready to do its job. The scanner itself is speedy, too. The company recommends using Quick Scan, but even the Full Scan took just 12 minutes on my new clean test system. That's about half the average time for a full scan on my previous clean test system. ) scanned the new test system in a half hour (though a re-scan took under 3 minutes).
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.46: Easy Installation
This is my first review using my a newly updated collection of malware samples, which means I can't compare results directly with those from older reviews. To ease the transition I ran both Spyware Doctor and Norton Antivirus (the current and previous Editors' Choices, respectively) through the new testing regimen. As usual, some of the samples fought back. Norton's installer dealt with most of them and a full scan using the Norton Bootable Recovery Tool solved the one troublemaker.
Malware on three of the 13 test systems interfered with Spyware Doctor. One was cured by scanning with the PC Tools Alternate Operating System Scanner (a rescue CD product) and another by reinstalling after running a batch file supplied by PC Tools. The tech support gurus still haven't solved the third, so for now I've omitted the threats on that system from Spyware Doctor's scores.
As for Malwarebytes, it installed without trouble on all 13 systems. One system wouldn't update; I got around that problem by manually downloading the update files. That's certainly a good start!
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.46: Good Malware Removal
I like to peruse the test results from multiple independent test labs when evaluating an antivirus product, but Malwarebytes hasn't gone through testing by the labs I normally rely on. That fits with its low-key style, I suppose.
In my own testing, Malwarebytes detected 80 percent of the malware samples, Norton detected 86 percent and Spyware Doctor saw 88 percent. Even though it detected fewer than the others, Malwarebytes scored 7.3 of 10 possible points for malware removal while Norton and Spyware Doctor scored 7.1. Clearly, Malwarebytes did a good job of cleaning up the threats it did manage to detect.
Malwarebytes does attempt to remove keyloggers, but it's clearly not a priority for the app. In a separate test using commercial keyloggers, Malwarebytes detected just 29 percent of the samples compared to 86 percent for Norton and 92 percent for Spyware Doctor. Score-wise, Malwarebytes got 2.9 points, Norton 6.6, and Spyware Doctor 7.0.
As noted, technicians often ring in Malwarebytes when pernicious malware prevents other products from functioning properly. The nastiest threats often use rootkit technology, so I expected to see some serious rootkit-bashing; I didn't. Malwarebytes totally missed almost half the rootkit samples and left some of those it did detect still running. It scored 4.0 on this test, pretty pale next to Spyware Doctor's 9.0 points or Norton's 7.7.
Scareware is another type of modern annoyance that can be hard to get rid of. These rogue security programs pretend they'll fix all your problems if you pay up, and they won't take no for an answer. Malwarebytes beat the others at scareware removal with 8.1 points, a full point above Norton's 7.1. For once Spyware Doctor took third place, with 6.9 points.
Malwarebytes is free, and if you're having trouble with another product you can quickly install and run it to help clean up. It's quite effective overall, but specifically weak against keyloggers and rootkits. For more information about my testing read
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.46: Real-time Protection for a Price
The free Malwarebytes product offers on-demand scanning, period. If you click the tab for real-time protection settings it points out that you can register the product for $24.95. That one-time payment gets you on-access scanning, blocking of websites known to host malware, and priority tech support. I tested the registered product's ability to keep malware out of a clean system and, for comparison, ran the same test using Spyware Doctor and Norton.
When I tried to download my current sample set Malwarebytes blocked access to about 40 percent of the URLs. That's pretty good; Spyware Doctor only blocked a quarter of them. The Norton Safe Web tool that blocks dangerous URLs isn't included in Norton AntiVirus at present, so Norton didn't block any URLs. However, Norton's Download Insight feature eliminated almost 70 percent of the threats before they finished downloading.
Next I tested Malwarebytes by opening a folder of already-downloaded samples and clicking on each. One click was enough to trigger the real-time protection; Malwarebytes wiped out about two thirds of the threats immediately. That's good, but both Spyware Doctor and Norton killed off three quarters of the threats on sight.
To further challenge the product's signature-based detection, I presented it with hand-modified copies of each threat that it eliminated on sight. My tweaks are pretty minor; I just rename the file, change some non-executable bytes, and append nulls to change the file size. Spyware Doctor whacked every single one of the tweaked files and Norton missed just one. By contrast, Malwarebytes missed over a third of the hand-modified files. This result suggests that an actively polymorphic virus or worm, one that's trying to hide by modifying itself, would be more likely to slip past Malwarebytes.
To derive final scores I launched every sample that didn't get eliminated on sight and measured how well the products stopped them. Malwarebytes scored 7.7 points for malware blocking while Spyware Doctor and Norton both got 8.4 points. As in the cleanup test, Malwarebytes was much less effective against keyloggers. It scored 2.4 points, way lower than Norton's 7.9 or Spyware Doctor's 8.9.
I calculate a rootkit score based on each product's handling of all samples (both malware and keyloggers) that use rootkit technology to hide. Malwarebytes also stumbled here. At 3.9 points its score is barely over half that of Norton's 6.7. Spyware Doctor ruled in this test. It detected every rootkit sample that tried to launch and scored 9.3 of 10 possible points.
On the other hand, Malwarebytes took the prize for scareware blocking. With 8.9 points it handily beat the other two; Spyware Doctor and Norton both scored 7.8 points.
As noted, real-time protection is not a feature of the free Malwarebytes scanner. Looking at these results I don't think I'd pay $24.95 to add it. For more information about my testing read
Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.46: The Verdict
I can see why tech support agents from other vendors like to bring in Malwarebytes when they need a quick fix. It's a small download, it installs quickly, its scanner is fast, and it seems to slip past malware that prevents installation of security software. It doesn't do equally well against all malware categories, though, and the extra-cost real-time protection isn't as effective as the on-demand scanner. Even so, the free edition should definitely be in your toolbox.
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Final Thoughts
MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware 1.46
When support agents from other vendors run into malware that foils their own product they frequently direct users to run Malwarebytes. I can see why—it's small, fast, and simple. This free product should definitely be in your toolbox. Just don't pay extra for real-time protection.