MBAM is really great on removing malware. I had the same good experience at a clients, and find their scans very fine.
So I think I will buy a one lifetime license, if still available, even if it is only for stuff like scheduling regular scans, and other goodies unknown, and not for the real-time mode. Sometimes real-time seems to be CPU intensive. Of course with a lifetime, if the real-time improves, you are already licensed. Gotta check the cost.
Just some thoughts, have your grain of salt ready:
On Wilders and elsewhere, one guy got upset on a trick he claimed MBAM played, a few years ago, (placing in a dummy text file, blank I think, as a .dll and then finding it as malwre) .. he gets everyone annoyed by playing that trumpet, since MBAM people are generally spot-on, helpful, etc. However, when I went back, I think it may have occurred. (If so, it needed an apology.) I got curious enough to think of trying to download a FileHippo type of old version and seeing if I can replicate the behaviour.
Kaspersky is supposed to be an A-1 company, they got involved in a finger-pointing game with Microsoft about some unusual low-level behaviour, hooks that were said to damage some systems over time, and I still don't rush to try their products even many years later. (And I hesitate to install any product that seems to involve too much hooking or low-level, including rootkit stuff, I would like reviewers to pay more attention on that element.) That is without going into Comodo's CEO stuff, when they were soo tricky with toolbars, and moving away from Avira when they played games for a little while partnering with Uniblue.
And BitDefender played a painful recurring billing scheme, a fairly common trick where they try to gotcha on the install, which may be part of some super-duper-special, and then a year later can bill you on a credit card that you might not notice. Bits du Jour just discussed that problem with Anvir Task Manager (which is partly a security program).
Even if the company is spot-on today, if they did not really come clean, you wonder whether you want to work with their products.
Right now my main companies are Avast on the anti-virus and Online Armor and Private Firewall on the firewall and Win Patrol on the start-up area control. Not that those companies are perfect in every way, I have been quite happy with each one. I use WinPatrol and Chameleon, WinPatrol for the security, Chameleon for the startup interface and control. Don't use a dedicated HIPS, or file integrity control program, partly because Avast is part-hips, partly because no one program stands out.
And I always look around and saw some more goodies today that I might test out, although overall I am pretty placid. Paltalk gives me jitters a bit, since it sets off Avast alarm bells about stopping Trojans. That is the most problematic spot I visit.
My fav three static scans are Malwarebytes, SuperAntiSpyware and Emsi Emergency Kit, all of which give you a lot on freeware. It is interesting to see their small differences. Occasionally I play with Hitman Pro, but it really is not a free scan if you want to do any cleaning and fixing.
Your thoughts?
Steven
