Can MBAM detect viruses?

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MBAM will detect virus installers and has limmited detection of malware that itself has been patched but does not unpatch files .

In the future MBAM will have system file backup/checking/restore but this will be done by file swap , not unpatching .

MBAM is designed to be very good at detecting malware that AV software as a whole is failing on and to repair registry damage that AV software often does not touch .

MBAM is not designed to compete with or replace AV software .

 

I was thinking of trying/buying MBAM. The description suggests protection against malware, which includes viruses.

Now, it has been years since I encountered a 'real' virus.
Is there a need to add antivirus software, assuming that one does not use an alternate (antivirus) setup like a HIPS or Sandboxie ?
Why would one need a 'real' antivirus, for the signatures ?
A took only a quick look, so I might have missed something, but does MBAM deal with malicious scripts too ?

 

Scripts and web exploits are not something that MBAM currently deals with as most good AVs deal with them quite well (again MBAM is not AV and will not be doubling up on what AVs have handled) . If we ever add support for these it will only be for new exploits that show poor detection with the AVs .

Virut and sality are both quite common still (both viruses) so dont think that they dont exist any more . Virut for more than 2 weeks had multiple attack vectors and this was only a few weeks ago .

MBAM has targetted defs and research aimed at defending against antivirus failures as a whole and can not be used to replace antivirus software . A look around the HijackThis help forums will confirm this statement . The vast majority of people asking for help in these forums have antivirus software installed but got infected anyway . MBAM is being suggested as the cure for these problems at a growing rate because it does its job as AV supplement very well .

I think of HIPS/image/roleback/VM/sandbox/whitelist tech as a step up from all antimalware/antivirus software but is not easy enough for the average Joe to use in most cases (personal experience doing home user IT for 7 years , most hated it) . Most people want to use their PC with all security on full auto , they do not want to be looking up heuristic events or turning software on and off based on whether they are installing software intentionally or just surfing the web .

While MBAM does have HIPS and a few other advanced tricks in the pipe it is be far designed more for the average Joe .

If you have had problems with malware on and off and want a light tool to fill in the gaps with your AV then MBAM will serve you well . If you are an advanced user that never gets infected because of a combination of good surfing habits and good tech then MBAM would not be much help to you .

 

Thank you for the clarification.