Author Topic: Malwarebytes FREE and PRO/Premium - Mini-Review. (Read 126,941 times)

IainB · « **on:** October 30, 2012, 12:20 PM »

Originally posted:

2012-10-30 - for the version series v1.x on XP, Vista Ultimate and Win7HP (64-bit)
2014-06-28 - for the version series v2.x on Vista Ultimate and Win8, 8.1 (64-bit) and PRO
2017-02-02 - for the version series v3.x on Win10-64 PRO

Last updated

2014-03-17 - this was my final/last update for the version series v1.x on XP, Vista Ultimate and Win7HP (64-bit)
2014-09-26 - this relates to updates regarding the later version series v2.x on Vista Ultimate, Win8, 8.1 (64-bit)
2015-03-27 - version 2.1.4 update.[/b]
2015-05-12 - note re McAfee Stinger.(Refer: How it compares to similar products)
2017-02-02 - version 3.0.6.1469 (with the "Awesome" screens...)

Basic Info

App Name

[attach]

tomos · « **Reply #1 on:** October 30, 2012, 12:28 PM »

Thanks Iain
I've had a license for the pro version for a couple of months now, but haven't installed it yet - this might be me moving.

Here's their 'compare' link for the two versions:
http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free/

IainB · « **Reply #2 on:** October 30, 2012, 02:02 PM »

Quote from: tomos on October 30, 2012, 12:28 PM

Thanks Iain
I've had a license for the pro version for a couple of months now, but haven't installed it yet - this might be me moving.
Here's their 'compare' link for the two versions:
http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free/

@tomos: Thanks for pointing that link out. I have added the comparison table to the OP.
If you have the PRO licene, then you really should install the thing. It's doing no good whilst it remains uninstalled, and who knows but that if it was installed, then it just might stop your PC from becoming infected with some nasty malware/adware hijack.

superboyac · « **Reply #3 on:** October 30, 2012, 02:07 PM »

Thanks IainB, nice review.

mouser · « **Reply #4 on:** October 30, 2012, 03:16 PM »

Thanks for posting this. Friend got hit with a nasty virus the other day and the guides on removing it suggested MalwareBytes, which performed well. One nice thing is that it is easy to use only on demand when you need it, rather than having it stay resident, which makes it a good secondary tool to have in addition to a resident antivirus.

cyberdiva · « **Reply #5 on:** October 30, 2012, 07:15 PM »

Quote from: mouser on October 30, 2012, 03:16 PM

One nice thing is that it is easy to use only on demand when you need it, rather than having it stay resident, which makes it a good secondary tool to have in addition to a resident antivirus.

That's true, but according to the Malwarebytes folks, the software is intended to supplement, not duplicate, the work done by an antivirus program. That is, Malwarebytes is designed to ignore many of the things a good AV is expected to catch and to find the malware that most AV programs often miss. That's why I feel that the Pro version's always-on protection is worth the modest amount it costs. You don't get this if you use MBAM only every now and then.

rgdot · « **Reply #6 on:** October 30, 2012, 08:01 PM »

Has happened to me more than a few times:
Using the pro version a site/IP gets blocked, another pc has the free one and visits that same site moments later. Scanning the pc with the free version finds nothing. I guess this is one form of false positive and as valuable as MBAM is I don't like this.

mwb1100 · « **Reply #7 on:** October 30, 2012, 08:19 PM »

Just to add this bit of info from an old thread (http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=19309.msg176095#msg176095):

20% coupon code for Malwarebytes valid as of 30 October 2012: BM6-3S7-665

I don't know how long the code will be good, but it's been valid since at least March 2012.

rjbull · « **Reply #8 on:** October 30, 2012, 09:40 PM »

I already run Online Armor firewall and F-Prot AV. I'm somewhat concerned at running another anti-malware program, simply because of slowing everything down. Any comments?

IainB · « **Reply #9 on:** October 30, 2012, 09:48 PM »

Quote from: cyberdiva on October 30, 2012, 07:15 PM

Quote from: mouser on October 30, 2012, 03:16 PM
One nice thing is that it is easy to use only on demand when you need it, rather than having it stay resident, which makes it a good secondary tool to have in addition to a resident antivirus.
That's true, but according to the Malwarebytes folks, the software is intended to supplement, not duplicate, the work done by an antivirus program. That is, Malwarebytes is designed to ignore many of the things a good AV is expected to catch and to find the malware that most AV programs often miss. That's why I feel that the Pro version's always-on protection is worth the modest amount it costs. You don't get this if you use MBAM only every now and then.

Yes, I tried out MBAM PRO rather tentatively at first, to see if its always-on realtime protection was an overhead or intrusive. It seemed fine on both counts, and I always check out any site that it blocks - they have all been dodgy so far; every time a coconut.
I also installed MBAM PRO on my other laptop that my daughter uses. Even if MBAM PRO potentially sometimes could be a bit conservative (e.g., "false positives" as suggested by @rgdot), I have not yet experienced that and anyway I could put up with that. Big plus is that it's an ideal safeguard for my daughter's trouble-fee browsing and Internet use. That is, she's unlikely to inadvertently or easily download any malware/adware from her casual click-happy antics.

IainB · « **Reply #10 on:** October 30, 2012, 09:57 PM »

Quote from: mwb1100 on October 30, 2012, 08:19 PM

Just to add this bit of info from an old thread (http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=19309.msg176095#msg176095):
20% coupon code for Malwarebytes valid as of 30 October 2012: BM6-3S7-665
I don't know how long the code will be good, but it's been valid since at least March 2012.

@mwb1100: Thanks for that. I have added it as a note to the OP.

erikts · « **Reply #11 on:** October 31, 2012, 01:45 AM »

Quote from: mwb1100 on October 30, 2012, 08:19 PM

Just to add this bit of info from an old thread (http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=19309.msg176095#msg176095):

20% coupon code for Malwarebytes valid as of 30 October 2012: BM6-3S7-665

I don't know how long the code will be good, but it's been valid since at least March 2012.

It is still valid today (31 October 2012 01:45 GMT)

rgdot · « **Reply #12 on:** October 31, 2012, 01:54 AM »

Quote from: IainB on October 30, 2012, 09:48 PM

I also installed MBAM PRO on my other laptop that my daughter uses. Even if MBAM PRO potentially sometimes could be a bit conservative (e.g., "false positives" as suggested by @rgdot), I have not yet experienced that and anyway I could put up with that. B

I gladly put up with it too, MBAM has saved me more than all others (AVs, etc.) combined. Just said "don't like" because people I have helped complain about what seems legitimate to them and I didn't see any adverse effects when using the free version.

cyberdiva · « **Reply #13 on:** October 31, 2012, 03:05 PM »

Quote from: rgdot on October 30, 2012, 08:01 PM

Has happened to me more than a few times:
Using the pro version a site/IP gets blocked, another pc has the free one and visits that same site moments later. Scanning the pc with the free version finds nothing. I guess this is one form of false positive and as valuable as MBAM is I don't like this.

I could be mistaken, but I think the IP protection works only in the Pro version. Thus, a PC with just the free version will not get warnings or IP blocking. Also, Malwarebytes blocks IP addresses and ranges of IP addresses that are known to be used by malicious websites. It's perfectly possible that the site you went to on the PC with MBAM's free version shares its IP address with malicious domains, and thus going to that IP address could result in malware being transferred to your computer, but it also could result in nothing bad happening. The blocking is not really a false positive if the IP address is also used by malicious sites. However, you can always instruct your copy of MBAM not to block a specific IP number, if you're confident that nothing bad will happen, even if the site shares its IP address with bad guys. And if you're convinced that the IP address is not being shared with bad guys, you can also report the blockage as a false positive on the MBAM forum website. They will investigate and either change their listing so the IP address is no longer blocked or explain to you why they feel it IS a malicious IP address. Either way, they're good about explaining what they're doing, and you can override their judgment if you wish.

rgdot · « **Reply #14 on:** October 31, 2012, 03:17 PM »

Quote from: cyberdiva on October 31, 2012, 03:05 PM

Quote from: rgdot on October 30, 2012, 08:01 PM
Has happened to me more than a few times:
Using the pro version a site/IP gets blocked, another pc has the free one and visits that same site moments later. Scanning the pc with the free version finds nothing. I guess this is one form of false positive and as valuable as MBAM is I don't like this.

I could be mistaken, but I think the IP protection works only in the Pro version. Thus, a PC with just the free version will not get warnings or IP blocking. Also, Malwarebytes blocks IP addresses and ranges of IP addresses that are known to be used by malicious websites. It's perfectly possible that the site you went to on the PC with MBAM's free version shares its IP address with malicious domains, and thus going to that IP address could result in malware being transferred to your computer, but it also could result in nothing bad happening. The blocking is not really a false positive if the IP address is also used by malicious sites. However, you can always instruct your copy of MBAM not to block a specific IP number, if you're confident that nothing bad will happen, even if the site shares its IP address with bad guys. And if you're convinced that the IP address is not being shared with bad guys, you can also report the blockage as a false positive on the MBAM forum website. They will investigate and either change their listing so the IP address is no longer blocked or explain to you why they feel it IS a malicious IP address. Either way, they're good about explaining what they're doing, and you can override their judgment if you wish.

Yes the pro version does that. I understand your explanation about 'shared IP so maybe not that particular site'. My post wasn't so much about not liking MBAM itself but about how to manage its usage for the non techy. Non techy sees pro version blocking a site but when shown the site on a pc with free version no ill effects...

IainB · « **Reply #15 on:** November 06, 2012, 04:23 AM »

If you are interested in how hijack trojans and botnets can be built, there's a really interesting blog post at the Malwarebytes blog: Citadel: a cyber-criminal’s ultimate weapon?
It describes how to set up and operate CITADEL - a "crimekit" (a tool to develop and implement a cybercriminal botnet) - to do things such as, for example infect other PCs and gather data or launch hijack trojans.
It then covers how MBAM blocks a lot of these nasties, but makes the point that user caution is still advisable, as the technology is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Apparently things like Webinject phishing popups cannot always be detected/blocked, though I think your browser might be able to do something to block spurious third party popups.

worstje · « **Reply #16 on:** November 13, 2012, 06:12 PM »

Personally, I'm not a fan of the Pro version. I once troubleshooted a friend who had it, and it ended up that the Protection module did some really derpy stuff, blocking websites it deemed bad loong after I had turned it off. The symptoms were of sites timing out, which usually point towards a network cabling or routing issue, but the problem was obviously more complicated given the specificify of things that were accessible and others that weren't. (The kicker: I'm talking Google and similarly big sites.)

It took me a long time to figure out MBAM was causing it too, but eventually the troubleshooters super advanced diagnostics log thankfully pointed me towards some MBAM drivers that were running in a net-filtering context. (This after it repeatedly told me nothing was wrong, all seemed fine, etc.) Eventually, the trick that did it was rebooting the enire machine after disabling the protection module. Never ever did the interface ever give me a list of things that it was actively blocking, either.

After you deal with a 'bug' like that once, you simply don't care to get burned again. So I go with the free On-Demand-Scan for all my needs, and that's good enough, both for my PC and for keeping my stress down. xD

IainB · « **Reply #17 on:** January 04, 2013, 12:05 AM »

There has been a significant update to MBAM. Not sure whether this or previous updates will have fixed the sort of problems that @worstje mentioned above.
I have updated the version number in the review (in the opening post).

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 1.70.0.1100

New Features:
• New program logo and icons
• Heuristics for 0-day exploit detection now implemented in protection module for PRO version
• Threats detected by the protection module are now quarantined automatically by default
• Malwarebytes Anti-Malware now shows Windows 8 START screen notifications
• More Tools tab enhanced with tons of new content and more to come in the future
• Option to allow a threat to run temporarily (Allow Temporarily) added to filesystem protection prompts
• Option to add a detected item to the Ignore List (Allow Always) added to filesystem protection prompts

Improvements:
• Heuristics for detecting new and unknown threats improved
• Scanner efficiency improved
• Microsoft Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10 now identified correctly in scan logs
• Help file updated to include information on new features
• Better compatibility with many other security products in realtime

Issues Fixed:
• Minor issue with password creation from CLI fixed.

IainB · « **Reply #18 on:** April 18, 2013, 08:17 AM »

MBAM is now up to v1.75.0.1300 (I have just updated the opening post about this).
[attach]

IainB · « **Reply #19 on:** June 17, 2013, 01:55 PM »

Update 2013-06-18 re MBAM Chameleon app. (in addendum in the Mini-Review).

Curt · « **Reply #20 on:** July 19, 2013, 10:29 PM »

Quote from: IainB on October 30, 2012, 12:20 PM

Pricing Scheme PRO version US$26.00 (approx.).
There is an extended licence costing approx. $6 for 2 years

?

The fixed, lower price on BdJ is for a so-called lifetime license:
http://www.bitsdujour.com/software/malwarebytes-anti-malware

[attachimg=#]

-and it is not something new:

Quote

Dear Curt
Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Pro Consumer Lifetime License
Your Malwarebytes license key(s) is below.
ID: 8-B......
Key: E-2.......

/Bits du Jour, $15, 26 september 2011.

Jibz · « **Reply #21 on:** July 20, 2013, 08:40 AM »

From their FAQ, the business licenses are for a year at a time, but the consumer licenses are currently with lifetime upgrades.

longrun · « **Reply #22 on:** December 10, 2013, 01:51 AM »

MBAM lifetime licenses often go on sale at Newegg for around $14.

IainB · « **Reply #23 on:** December 12, 2013, 09:47 AM »

Update 2013-12-12: licensing scheme re the free and PRO version are only available for non-commercial use - licence is indefinite/lifetime.

IainB · « **Reply #24 on:** December 19, 2013, 06:08 AM »

A couple of cautionary tales on the MWB blog Malwarebytes Unpacked:
Another Day, Another PUP
Amazon Invoice Malware Spamrun Continues