MalwareBytes
VBS uses MalwareBytes 3.0 to help lots of clients with keeping their workstations in their offices as well as their personal computers clean of malware and virus infections. MalwareBytes is not the only product that can provide this protection, but we have found it to be very user-friendly, is very good at malware detection, provides real-time protection and works well on ‘auto-pilot”. These factors, along with it’s economical price makes it a leader in the industry and a anti-virus product we wholeheartedly recommend to our individual and business clients.
User-Friendly
MalwareBytes has a great user interface that is clean and organized. All function buttons are clearly labeled and easy to navigate. All the functions that you would need to access are located on the main dashboard. The option include Dashboard, Scan, Quarantine, Reports and Settings. The Dashboard also shows you the your Real-Time Protection status, your Scan Status, and your Protection History.
- Dashboard – the main screen for the software. Allows access to all functions from this screen
- Real-Time Protection – Shows the status of your real-time protection. Whether it is active or not.
- Scan Status – shows the date of the last scan, the date of the next scheduled scan and if your definitions are up to date.
- Protection History – shows number of scanned items, number of detections and the number of real-time detections
- Scan – the scanning page … will show the various scan stages and progress during a scan
- Quarantine – the area where the files that have been flagged as a problem are listed for your review or permanent removal
- Reports – show the logs of your scans and MalwareBytes actions
- Settings – the area to set up or configure your anti-malware software (The defaults are usually fine though). You can also schedule set up scan scheduling
MalwareBytes Dashboard
Malware Detection
We have found MalwareBytes to be excellent at detecting and removing all kinds of malware, trojans, viruses, rootkits and junkware. The consistently rank amount the top ‘anti-virus’ programs. The true power to protect your computer is in the software’s prevention power. MalwareBytes can replace your antivirus software because the protection mechanisms (such as Malicious Website Blocking, Anti-Exploit and Anti-Ransomware) are more proficient at blocking / preventing infection when using the web than a traditional antivirus which relies mostly on signatures to attempt to detect and stop threats.
Real-time Protection
For the average user, this is the most important part of MalwareBytes! The real-time protection is one of the keys to preventing malware, trojans, viruses, rootkits or junkware from infecting your computer in the first place. This function will block and prevent malicious processes from even getting started. This is uber good because many times we can visit a website that attempts to start or load something on to your computer and you may not even be aware. Honestly, the website owner may not even be aware that their site is affected. All malware is not made to steal your credit card number but it just may track your websites visited or some other function, but all can cause poor computer performance and may leave open a door for other more malicious things to come in. Malicious Website Blocking, Anti-Exploit and Anti-Ransomware mechanisms help you stay infection free in real-time.
‘Auto-Pilot’
To most end-users, this is the best feature. MalwareBytes is ‘auto-pilot’ ready from it’s install! It will check for updates and scan your computer as it is scheduled. That leaves you free to not worry about remembering to run your scans or update the definitions. Just address any alerts if and when you show in your task bar. Super simple.
Disclaimers
MalwareBytes or no other anit-virus or malware program can prevent 100% of all infections. This is true for several reason: 1. Users can still ‘allow’ malicious actions to happen if they invite them in by being a victim of phishing schemes, installing junk software that is bundled with other software, or in some other way giving permission for the infection to reside on the computer. 2. These malware changes often which is why any good malware program will update definitions often. Because of this, no malware software can boast that it will NEVER miss one.
The good thing about MalwareBytes is that it helps to prevent the aforementioned occurrences because it provides real-time protection and will alert you to a possible issue before it becomes a big problem in most instances.
MalwareBytes offers a free 14 day trial to try it out. For the trial the software is fully functional. After the trial ends, the software can still be used to scan your system, but the real-time protection ends. The real-time protection is one of the main reasons we like the software.
Summary
MalwareBytes has consistently performed well on my computers as well as my clients, both business and residential environments. The ease of use is wonderful and it simply does what it says it does. VBS Business-Tech Solutions recommends MalwareBytes
