Malewarebytes Premium

[jyeh74]

My premium version of MWB is ending. Do you think its worth paying for the real-time protection of the premium over the free edition?

I read an article where someone said that Avast Antivirus free edition is good enough and some think MWB Premium isn't worth it. It's like preventing you from getting attacked real-time vs scanning your computer and trying to remove the maleware afterwards. Thoughts?

[netmask56]

It has saved me numerous times - I had the free version for a long time and then after having an infestation of malware and I'm very cautious what I do, after cleaning out the system I bought the paid version. That was 2 years ago and just renewed. It's cheap enough...

[jyeh74]

There are YouTube videos showing how to get the premium ver for free. Any of them are legit?

[Nelson37]

First, I find malwarebytes free version to be the best virus scanner available, bar none. Excellent.

However, I neither use, nor recommend, the premium product. Several customers have had issues with it, some of them severe. As in rendering the Pc unusable, also not removing the virus.

Avast has had similar issues.

Either of these certainly will work for some. My user base is in the hundreds. When a product meant to SOLVE problems actually causes one, on several occassions, it goes off my list.

What I use for a constant-on antivirus is the free version of AVG. It is installed on nearly all of my users PC's, and has been for many years. It is not perfect, but the number of machines rendered unusable is extremely small, comparable to a VERY MUCH smaller number of total users for Avast and Malwarebytes premium. Coupled with the free Malwarebytes, I find this an excellent and functional combination.

Norton has achieved the status of a program I remove almost automatically anytime there is an existing problem. McAfee is almost as bad, numerous times an update has re-enabled an overly restrictive firewall and cut off all network access, among some other problems.

A companion program for any antivirus which has proved very useful in general and essential in some gnarly cases is CCleaner, used to cleanup leftover files and registry entries and very useful in preventing re-infection for some of the more persistant viruses.

[amaipaipai]

I don't use any, in my experience, antivirus software are useless against new threats. You get infected first, some how they deal with it latter.

[netmask56]

Well I have never had any problems with either the free or paid version and it has protected me against some real nasties - I keep a number of computers going for a few old friends and most of their problems have gone away since using Malwarebytes. That and CCleaner is what I use. One of my friends visits less than respectful sites and was forever having problems. I installed both programs - haven't had a peep since. I don't recommend "trying to get it free" that's stealing. Suggestions like that are against the rules of most forums.

[TimA-C]

Are you the sort of person who will regularly, manually run the free version(s) even if you're not having any issues with the system? Do you make sure that you have copies of anything you really would miss if it/they were deleted/corrupted/encrypted? If the answer is 'Yes' to both then you'd possibly be OK.

If you do any kind of on-line banking or do a lot of internet shopping on that machine then you might be better off having one of the larger paid-for packages (even if it's just to show to the Ombudsman that you do take on-line security seriously should anything untoward happen to your money.) I can't help but feel that the 'big boys' may well pick up a new threat quicker and have more resources to find out how to block it, remove & repair it and get the updates out to you more quickly than a smaller/free package might?

Personally, I wouldn't touch McAfee. I've seen too many times when threats have gotten through, the whole PC is noticeably slowed for no apparent reason, really shoddy customer support or even acknowledgement of a widely reported issue (going back quite a few years now for this one, but it still rankles!) etc.

I've used and recommended Norton products for years. Not perfect, but when there is a problem, in my experience, there's usually a fix pretty darned quickly. Got fed up with their high-handed renewal process a few years ago and switched to Kaspersky, but would still recommend Norton for non-techies.

I switched to Kaspersky a couple of years ago and haven't regretted it. Slight general performance increase and *touches wood* no security issues so far. Turns out they're just as high-handed with their renewal process as Norton, but my local WH Smith had copies in the shop at about half the renewal price . . . ! (Not sure that's still the case.)

The Free AVG is a lot better than nothing (or just Defender if you're running Win10) but if you're running mechanical/hybrid drives then I'd probably go for Avast. Since they changed their policy about having to register, and have reduced the frequency of ads suggesting you might like to upgrade to the paid-for version, I'd go for Avast if you're looking for a free security package. You do need to tweak the scan settings (I think scanning for root kits was off by default(?) and one of the categories - optimise? - will ALWAYS tell you that you need to upgrade to fix the "issues" it's found. Just turn that section off.) but overall I've been pleasantly surprised with it on secondary machines.

I don't know what you do with your PC, so don't know what level of protection you might need or how much performance loss/intrusion you're prepared to live with. Most of the pay-for packages have trial versions, why not take some of them out for a spin and see how you get on with them? Try some of the free ones as well if you're so inclined. Just be aware that a year's subscription is probably considerably less than it would cost to get someone in to clean up your system or re-install it etc. It could end up being a costly false economy.

[lingyi]

I upgraded to Premium a few months ago and find its alerts and website blocking annoying, BUT I'm glad it's there to remind me that even the most innocent looking sites may contain potential ad or malware. To me it's like getting a flu shot. I'll never know if I would have gotten sick, but the ounce of prevention is better than getting sick and suffering while it runs its course.

[lingyi]

I don't use any, in my experience, antivirus software are useless against new threats. You get infected first, some how they deal with it latter.

Remember Typhoid Mary?

A PC without antivirus may be a portal for infection of other PCs. It may be propagating something minor as spam email or major as a worm. Even if it's not connected to the internet, viruses can be spread by removable media.

Yes, the race between the virus and antivirus developers is never ending, but why make it easier and potentially more profitable for the bad guys?

[redwudz]

Just my opinion, but the antivirus and firewall included in Windows has always been mostly useless and I've never seen either stop anything.
I use freeware versions of Avast and Comodo firewall in most of my PCs. No problems with either. And I occasionally use Malware Bytes free and
CCleaner and Glary Utilities.

It also helps to stay away from questionable sites and torrents and to be aware of any changes in your PC and always keep backups of
your data and restore points for your PC.

And if you're serious about going places you probably shouldn't, you might want to look into a VPN or a proxy.
https://www.howtogeek.com/247190/whats-the-difference-between-a-vpn-and-a-proxy/

[amaipaipai]

Remember Typhoid Mary?

A PC without antivirus may be a portal for infection of other PCs. It may be propagating something minor as spam email or major as a worm. Even if it's not connected to the internet, viruses can be spread by removable media.

Yes, the race between the virus and antivirus developers is never ending, but why make it easier and potentially more profitable for the bad guys?

That's no true, I'm a regular Debian user and never used a antivirus on it.
Again, a antivirus is not smart enough to identify new threats. How many people and companies were using antivirus when sobig, ILOVEYOU, SASSER and so many other lately got infected? How many companies have the last top notch, big brand, antivirus installed, updated and still, get hit by a virus or whatever?

Is IMPOSSIBLE to get you system infected by a virus without a installation and after that, you need to run it.
To install it, you need permission, without it, you can send me email, removable media, whatever. Without the proper permission the virus can't change my system registry, even if it manage to copy it self to my HDD some where, it cant set the parameters to autorun. If this digital threat manage a way to run while you are logged in, you kill it in the next logout.

I'm pretty sure that 98% of the computers running Windows 10 computers can deal with digital threats (virus, worms, etc, etc) without any need of antivirus protection, all you have to do is to use your computer as a normal user without administration rights. The other 3% are related with issues the user can't have control of, like a system or hardware flaw that depends on the manufacturer/developer to be fixed like Spectre and Meltdown for example.

I don't have a antivirus on my PC but I use a firewall on my router and desktop, anything else that tries to communicate outside the rules, it get blocked and logged. You would be amazed what can be blocked from inside your network, my Sony Smart TV was too "smart" it recorded ambient audio (without a microphone) while turned off, and sent it over a Amazon cloud.

For desktop I use COMODO Firewall with a white list rule, block all and allow only the exceptions like UDP 53, TCP 80, TCP 443, etc, etc. For my router I run OpenWRT with iptables. On my desktop if a program tries to do any modification or even run, COMODO stop it and ask me what action should be taken.

Back in 2003 I did a study about antivirus software and Microsoft stole my research, in 2004 I was able to prove at the Microsoft HQ that with a few tweaks in the Windows XP at the time and without any Service Pack, I was able to make Windows XP 99% virus proof, for real, I still have the screen recordings. They took my research and "created" LUA (Least-Privileged User Accounts) than it migrated to User Account Control, but the essence of it, they kill it.

Imagine what would happen with the antivirus marked if no one need it anymore.
Antivirus software is a useless protection against new threats, it consumes your computers resources for a "fake" protection it can't provide and folks, there's no free lunch!
Do you think they make money with subscriptions?
Do you think Google, Facebook and others make big bucks with ads?

What protection do you use to protect you against a antivirus software spying on you?
A Firewall.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_least_privilege
http://silverstr.ufies.org/blog/archives/000913.html

[amaipaipai]

Here, this were the videos the top heads of Microsoft saw, after that they invited me to Microsoft HQ.
It's in Portuguese but it's easy to understand, no audio.

If the player don't run, decompress it with 7zip, drag and drop the movie.cpp over the CCPplayerSE.exe.

[lingyi]

I applaud your knowledge and diligence in protecting yourself, but the majority don't have your knowledge and blindly click on links just because they're told to.

I just started a new job and have to use a PC with an unknown history and unfamiliar programs. The other day when opening the browser to run one of these programs, a page opened saying I had to update my Flash. Fortunately, I knew enough that it didn't look like the real Flash update request and didn't click on the link. However, it would be easy for someone else to be fooled.

There's a recent thread where a poster is asking how to extract a video embedded in an executable file. Not only is it possible (even probable) that the poster already has a virus from running the program, but despite several replies warning about the dangers of running an unknown .exe file, the poster will probably still continue to run it.

Despite the overhead and less than perfect protection, running an antivirus program will at least afford some level of security for the majority of users.

[jyeh74]

I upgraded to Premium a few months ago and find its alerts and website blocking annoying, BUT I'm glad it's there to remind me that even the most innocent looking sites may contain potential ad or malware. To me it's like getting a flu shot. I'll never know if I would have gotten sick, but the ounce of prevention is better than getting sick and suffering while it runs its course.

Do any of the free maleware protection programs offer real time protection? So if I go to a website that has maleware that installs on your computer, the program will automatically catch it before it is downloaded onto the computer? It’s a new Windows 10 laptop so didn’t want any malicious maleware getting onto it. The previous Windows 7 with the free MWB and free Avast always got infected.

[lingyi]

Here, this were the videos the top heads of Microsoft saw, after that they invited me to Microsoft HQ.
It's in Portuguese but it's easy to understand, no audio.

If the player don't run, decompress it with 7zip, drag and drop the movie.cpp over the CCPplayerSE.exe.

You've given a perfect example of how viruses are spread. While I know you wouldn't upload a virus, the majority would blindly follow links and instructions like yours that may not be clean.

[amaipaipai]

I applaud your knowledge and diligence in protecting yourself, but the majority don't have your knowledge and blindly click on links just because they're told to.

I just started a new job and have to use a PC with an unknown history and unfamiliar programs. The other day when opening the browser to run one of these programs, a page opened saying I had to update my Flash. Fortunately, I knew enough that it didn't look like the real Flash update request and didn't click on the link. However, it would be easy for someone else to be fooled.

There's a recent thread where a poster is asking how to extract a video embedded in an executable file. Not only is it possible (even probable) that the poster already has a virus from running the program, but despite several replies warning about the dangers of running an unknown .exe file, the poster will probably still continue to run it.

Despite the overhead and less than perfect protection, running an antivirus program will at least afford some level of security for the majority of users.

Yes, I know how it goes.
I use my mother as an example, she opens every single mail attachment she receives, clicks on everything, my nephew used to install cracked games on her computer so I had to format that computer every two weeks.
The solution is quite simple, local user account + local policy restriction.

It has been 14 years that my mother is still using that computer with Windows XP, thanks to Opera she still can browse the internet. This days she uses her phone for internet, I also have control of it with a firewall and a secundary user account, I'm the admin, she is the user. No damage so far.

Antivirus gives you a false security, and what I'm saying it's like Andy Leap of Faith, I'm telling you that is possible but throughout your eyes and logic seems impossible. Yes, there's life without antivirus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-JIfjNnnMA

I've setup a internet cafe like inside some friends companies and at some schools, at this places they are off the proxy and can access whatever they please, no antivirus. This computers take a beat every single time and believe or not, they are clean. I know because I and some friends do the maintenance of them.
All I did is to setup normal user accounts and set heavy local policy restrictions, the only access this people have is the browser icon on the desktop, nothing else.

Nothing that they do on this computers are saved.

You can try this yourself with a virtual machine if you want and do everything the antivirus software companies tell you not to do and see what happens.
I can tell you right away, nothing will happen.

Play with gpedit.msc and secpol.msc, run this as administrator, there are tons of tutorials over the internet.

You've given a perfect example of how viruses are spread. While I know you wouldn't upload a virus, the majority would blindly follow links and instructions like yours.

If you are running a antivirus, you shouldn't be scare to run it, you should be protected... right?
That's the point!

I don't live scared like that anymore, can't click this, can't open that. Antivirus software and fake security specialists tell you to be scare all the time, to be worry with everything. Once you set up your environment, you are done, don't need to be scare anymore, if a unknown program tries to run or do anything on my system, the Firewall protection (Comodo HIPS) will pop up and ask me what to do.

With COMODO all I had to do with everything I need to run or open from a unknown source, is to run it inside a "COMODO container", maybe antivirus this days has some kind of "sand box" to run this files at.

The files are clean, checked with a live antivirus that I use to scan my files from time to time, don't worry.

[lingyi]

I'm getting off-topic, so I'll just post this one more thought.

Yes, PCs can be configured so an antivirus program may not be necessary (as you've done), but I'm constantly surprised at how many PCs I've used (both company and private) that are setup as Admin or User with full permissions.

For myself, I'll continue to live with my overly protective software and make an assessment of the potential risk in continuing based on my knowledge, experience and necessity of moving forward. If something occurs where I'm not able to repair the damage, that's what I have full backups for!

[jyeh74]

Are there any free programs that do what MWB Premium does real time?

I read that Bitdefender free is good but I am not sure if it has real time protection when you browse websites. It looks like it is anti virus program not anti malware program. When trying to install bitdefender, it says I must first uninstall Malwarebytes free edition. Should I do that?



https://www.techradar.com/reviews/bitdefender-antivirus-free-edition



AVG free is also recommended.

[redwudz]

You generally don't want two similar types of anti-malware running at the same time as they may cause conflicts.
But that probably depends on the actual anti-malware programs used. Most likely they would just slow down your PC.

And I would be cautious of third party reviews. Some are just paid advertising.