Malwarebytes is moving away from lifetime licenses

[mwb1100]

At some point (soon?) after Malwarebytes v2.0  is launched, they will stop offering lifetime licenses.  The new license model will be a yearly subscription, with each subscription valid for 3 PCs.

Current lifetime licenses are grandfathered, of course.

With the launch of 2.0, we'll also be moving to a subscription licensing model, $24.95 per year. As more and more people have come to rely on us for malware protection and cleanup, our costs in bandwidth, hosting fees, infrastructure, salaries of our researchers, QA department, and more have grown immensely. Though our company is about more than just making money, we are a company and we do have to make money to pay our staff to continue doing what they love, which is fighting malware. The subscription model will help us to be sustainable for the future while staying true to our roots that we will always make malware cleanup free for everyone.

We will continue to honor existing lifetime licenses, meaning any users that already have a lifetime license for 1.x will continue to have a lifetime license for 2.x. We'll be offering a few thousand more lifetime licenses during launch as well. On top of all of that, new subscription licenses will be valid for 3 PCs, not just 1.

If you're considering pulling the trigger on Malwarebytes Pro and would like a lifetime license, don't wait too long.

$10 off by ordering through this link: https://store.malwarebytes.org/342/purl-arrrlp

[crabby3]

At some point (soon?) after Malwarebytes v2.0  is launched, they will stop offering lifetime licenses.  The new license model will be a yearly subscription, with each subscription valid for 3 PCs.

Current lifetime licenses are grandfathered, of course.

With the launch of 2.0, we'll also be moving to a subscription licensing model, $24.95 per year. As more and more people have come to rely on us for malware protection and cleanup, our costs in bandwidth, hosting fees, infrastructure, salaries of our researchers, QA department, and more have grown immensely. Though our company is about more than just making money, we are a company and we do have to make money to pay our staff to continue doing what they love, which is fighting malware. The subscription model will help us to be sustainable for the future while staying true to our roots that we will always make malware cleanup free for everyone.

We will continue to honor existing lifetime licenses, meaning any users that already have a lifetime license for 1.x will continue to have a lifetime license for 2.x. We'll be offering a few thousand more lifetime licenses during launch as well. On top of all of that, new subscription licenses will be valid for 3 PCs, not just 1.

If you're considering pulling the trigger on Malwarebytes Pro and would like a lifetime license, don't wait too long.

$10 off by ordering through this link: https://www.techoffer.in/go/malwarebytes-antimalware-discount-40

Really appreciate this info bwm1100.  I Mistakenly thought I had the Lifetime License... when it was only the Home License.

[wraith808]

definitely.  I'd been hesitating over purchasing because of the fact that it's something that I rarely use.  But this gave me impetus to do so.

[40hz]

I love how they handled this announcement: honestly, fairly and logically. I'd guess you'd call that acting with honor and integrity.

It's rather refreshing to see a company behave like that for a change.

[wraith808]

I just realized... I purchased too many licenses LOL   Didn't realize each was useful on 3 pcs.  Eh, its worth it, and I might give the other away after I get things installed/registered to see how many I actually need.

[mwb1100]

Didn't realize each was useful on 3 pcs.

My understanding is that today's lifetime licenses are only good for one PC.  After they switch to a yearly subscription, one license will be good for 3 PCs.

Am I wrong about that?  Is today's lifetime license good for 3 PCs?

[4wd]

Am I wrong about that?  Is today's lifetime license good for 3 PCs?

Current Lifetime license is only good for 1 PC - as shown when purchasing.

[Jibz]

Thank you for the heads up indeed .

And I agree, this is a nice way to handle it (unlike some we've seen recently).

[crabby3]

Maybe uninstall/reinstall is needed?

To activate your product please do the following:
1.  If you do not yet have Malwarebytes installed, you can download it from above.

Already had Home License version but download/installed anyway.  Can't find the words Home License or Lifetime License anywhere in the GUI window.

2.  Open Malwarebytes. Click Activate.

3.  Copy and Paste your ID and Key listed above and click Activate.

There was no Activate to click. Under the About tab is my old Home License ID and Key.  The email w/ new Lifetime License ID and Key cannot be used. 

Thought I'd get a quicker answer here... rather than going to them.

[Jibz]

Maybe uninstall/reinstall is needed?

Looks like it, plus some rebooting, if you read for instance this forum post:

https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showtopic=63720

[Carol Haynes]

Confused - purchased a number of licenses in the past.

All are the Pro version but some say Consumer License whilst others say Home License.

Given these were all bought during the lifetime license period am I covered? The website is not terribly clear of Consumer / home differences?

[40hz]

^Probably be easiest to just email them with license numbers for clarification.

[crabby3]

Maybe uninstall/reinstall is needed?

Looks like it, plus some rebooting, if you read for instance this forum post:

https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showtopic=63720

Many, many thanks Jibz.  Your link provided the cleanup tool I needed, and didn't know was needed, to completely ininstall MBAM.

Was able to download/install a fresh MBAM Pro and insert the ID/Key. 

I tend to shy away from Product Forums because most (I have used) are P2P not A2P.  This Admin's solution is very easy to follow and use. 

IMO  P2P=maybe useful, maybe harmful; reputation means zilch.  A2P=useful, informative and often step-by-step (my speed). 

[crabby3]

Maybe uninstall/reinstall is needed?

Looks like it, plus some rebooting, if you read for instance this forum post:

https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showtopic=63720

Many, many thanks Jibz.  Your link provided the cleanup tool I needed, and didn't know was needed, to completely ininstall MBAM.

Was able to download/install a fresh MBAM Pro and insert the ID/Key.  

I tend to shy away from Product Forums because most (I have used) are P2P not A2P.  This Admin's solution is very easy to follow and use.  

IMO  P2P=maybe useful, maybe harmful; reputation means zilch.  A2P=useful, informative and often step-by-step (my speed).  

Forgot to include this in my MBAM unin/rein Victory Dance above.

Thought I'd get a quicker answer here... rather than going to them.

Still waiting for MBAM to *return-email me soon* (not exact words but similar).  Contacted them around 5 min. after posting here.
Don't need it now but that's beside the point.  More than one confusing place there.  Not even sure I contacted the right people.

[rgdot]

There is more to MBAM than free and pro (which has always been 1 pc lifetime)? (for non-business users)

Never seen anything beside the 2...

[crabby3]

Confused - purchased a number of licenses in the past.

All are the Pro version but some say Consumer License whilst others say Home License.

Given these were all bought during the lifetime license period am I covered? The website is not terribly clear of Consumer / home differences?

I received this explaination yesterday...    

Feb 09 11:13 AM:


The difference between the terminology of HOME, CONSUMER and LIFETIME - They are all the same, they are all for home use only and they are all lifetime license, we have tried to change the name of the license to make it less confusing to the average home user.

Now when 2.0 comes out of beta all licenses that fall under the home use lifetime license will still be honored for life but any NEW license purchased after the release of 2.0 will use the new subscription based system

They will still be a free version just like it is now that you can use to scan the computer for malware.

The improved pro features also make the pro version a very good product.

Now let me know if you understand things about the terminology of the HOME, CONSUMER and LIFETIME

Then I will put in for the refund of the new purchase

Regards,

Consumer Support Specialist
Malwarebytes

They do offer refunds.  

[Carol Haynes]

Yes I got a similar explanation - sorry meant to post is and forgot.

Have to say it isn't clear how the new licensing system will work with old licenses - I hope they don't have to go through the hassle with lifetime licenses of contacting them for new licenses when new versions are released.

[crabby3]

Have to say it isn't clear how the new licensing system will work with old licenses - I hope they don't have to go through the hassle with lifetime licenses of contacting them for new licenses when new versions are released.

Not sure what you mean.   

This was my last Informative-Reply, not my only reply, so I may have one that will clear this up for you. 

[mwb1100]

Just a bump in case there are any procrastinators. It looks like there are about 2 weeks left to purchase lifetime licenses:

We are nearing the completion of our beta test for Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 2.0. Below please find the change log for the release candidate. If all goes well, this build will be going live in about 2 weeks.

(see first post of this thread for a link to a 40% discount)

[Curt]

Have to say it isn't clear how the new licensing system will work with old licenses - I hope they don't have to go through the hassle with lifetime licenses of contacting them for new licenses when new versions are released.

Not sure what you mean.

I am not Carol, but.... It is my impression that Carol most likely was talking about the form of the new license...: "Will the next form be the same as the old: ID: 1RK12-A12RK Key: 1ABC-A1A1-1ABC-ABCD , or will I have to contact support to (freely) get my license renewed because the new form is different, say, Key: 1CRK-R1K1-1CRK-R1K1-1CRK-R1K1-1CRK-R1K1-1CRK-R1K1-1CRK-R1K1" ?

------

I actually came to remind what 4wd said: It is important to remember that the current license merely is good for a single pc. I have tested a licensed MBytes on this machine, so I had to purchase a new license, just to be able to test it again for a fair price on my next machine.

Am I wrong about that?  Is today's lifetime license good for 3 PCs?

Current Lifetime license is only good for 1 PC - as shown when purchasing.

------------

The Malwarebytes installer has not been updated for a year (9 April 2013)!!?

[Jibz]

I actually came to remind what 4wd said: It is important to remember that the current license merely is good for a single pc. I have tested a licensed MBytes on this machine, so I had to purchase a new license, just to be able to test it again for a fair price on my next machine.

Am I wrong about that?  Is today's lifetime license good for 3 PCs?

Current Lifetime license is only good for 1 PC - as shown when purchasing.

From the FAQ it looks like you can transfer a license from an old machine to a new:

How do I transfer a licensed Malwarebytes Anti-Malware PRO to my new computer?

The license (ID and Key) may be transferred from one PC to another by doing the following:
...

[Steven Avery]

Thanks for the info.

While I frequently use the MBAM scan, if you have a system with say Avast and Online Armor and WinPatrol, do you find the extra Paid version stuff of MBAM to be very useful?

My understanding is that you are paying for the real-time protection aspect.  However, too many real-time programs gets cumbersome.

Your thoughts?

If it is positive enough I will likely spring for the $14.95 times 1, test it and then go for maybe 2 or 3.  (Yes, I know I could read Wilder's, you guys are usually clearer.)  In fact, I will download the trial.

Ok, I just activated it, and I see it can be my missing HIPS, and can probably fit in, with a couple of other goodies.  MBAM has been quite a fine company.

Neil Rubenking at PC World a year ago thought their realtime stuff was a little blahh... while lauding the malware cleanup. So it should should be close.  With a lifetime license you can look at at least one license as a sort of future investment and thank you .

Steven

[mwb1100]

All I can say concretely is that MBAM significantly helped to remove some malware - Conduit Search Protect - that got onto my wife's machine.  Technically, Search Protect is a "potentially unwanted program", but it's malware in my eyes since it actively attempts to prevent being uninstalled.

It's possible that the real-time aspect provided by MBAM Pro wasn't necessary for this - note that Search Protect got on the machine while MBAM Pro was running.

As an aside, a recent evaluation of Webroot SecureAnywhere that I did showed that product was effective in blocking Search Protect from getting on the machine in the first place.  I hope to write up some of my findings of that evaluation sometime soon.

[TaoPhoenix]

I haven't used one of these in a long time. (    )  So I am running a scan now just to see what pops up. I used HijackThis a couple of times years ago.

[Steven Avery]

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