Is Malwarebytes still useful

Discussion in 'other anti-malware software' started by ako, Jan 25, 2015.

  1. ako

    ako Registered Member

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    I have purchased a lifetime MBAM licence in the past, but haven't used it for a while, as our employer provided us with a free F-secure. Now that deal has stopped and I decided to install free Avira which is very light on resources indeed.

    Now the simple question is: is MBAM still worth installing as an extra layer for REAL TIME protection, or is it just not-so-useful-extra-workload for the PC?

    Are there any recent studies on its effectiveness?
     
  2. Blues7

    Blues7 Registered Member

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    I personally haven't run my paid version in quite some time (though I do keep the definitions updated in the background).

    In fact, I have never updated from 1.75 to the current version and don't even know if all of the reported bugs have been worked out since the updates from that version.
     
  3. ProTruckDriver

    ProTruckDriver Registered Member

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    I also have 3 lifetime licenses. I use MBAM Pro v.2 on both of my computers for an extra layer of real time protection with no problem.
     
  4. People lucky enough to have a MBAM life time lisence running Windows 8.1 should definitely consider the combo Windows Defender (not MSE) with MBAM Pro V2. WD uses less resources as MSE at Win8 and higher.

    The in the wild protection of MBAM of last two months and recent is on par (or better) with top tier AV's. The in the wild protection of WD/MSE of malware of five weeks and older is on par (or better) as top tier AV's.

    The "designed" weakness of MSE (always dramatically low on < 5 weeks protection, because MS malware analysis cycle is designed to feed the monthly malicious software removal tool) is compensated by the strenght of MBAM (focus on recent, last three months malware and younger, as a companion protection).

    The designed "weakness" of MBAM (only contains recent malware, no old ZOO virus fingerprints in the database), is compensated the strength of WD/MSE (largest user data base in the world). That is why I said MBAM should enter AV-test when they function as companion malware protection of Windows Defender.

    Regards Kees
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 25, 2015
  5. ako

    ako Registered Member

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    Interesting idea. Anyone tried this?
     
  6. Tony

    Tony Registered Member

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    Interesting, how does Windows Defender on a Windows 7 computer compare to Defender on Windows 8.1?
     
  7. Mayahana

    Mayahana Banned

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    MSE and WD are bad when used alone, but I agree when stacked with MBAM, it actually isn't bad.. I wouldn't recommend it, but it's not disastrous. Adding Trend 2015+MBAM will provide 100% protection from all known and unknown threats, so why use something that won't reach this level? I disable, and use Defender Uninstaller on all of my machines.

    Some of my worst malware cleanups are on MSE/WD exclusively protected machines. It's a hideous idea alone - no question about that.
     
  8. FOXP2

    FOXP2 Guest

    I re-image a test desktop with Win7 SP1 x64 which, of course, has Defender running by default. Out of curiosity, I installed MSE and was surprised to find it had shut down Defender startup while re-setting the service as Manual.

    I know on Win8, Defender was abandoned and MSE does “both” but for Win7 where it has been held, in my recollection, that it needs MSE (anti-virus) and WD (anti-spyware).

    Online sources point to advice that Win7 does need both. Or just MSE. Pick one. Further compounding the research issue is the clouding of “Windows Security Essentials,” Microsoft Security Essentials” and "Microsoft Windows Security Essentials.”

    So, I’m left wondering if Security Essentials now the only MS product for Win7.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 25, 2015
  9. FOXP2

    FOXP2 Guest

    I’ve run MBAM paid for several years on a few systems. But for reasons well documented here and in their forum, I returned to 1.75.0.1300. Certainly, I’ll try 2.1 when it’s released with the hope I won't be another final/patch tester. I do grant that the grandfathered lifetime licenses did turn out to be a Really Good Deal. To answer your question: Yes.

    Cheers.
     
  10. Cabville

    Cabville Registered Member

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    I can't speak to the real time scanner, but the on-demand scanner does a great job with adware and other unwanted programs. And I have the honor of cleaning infected client systems from time to time. So I would expect that it would provide that additional protection in real time. Not sure if it would be worth the overhead though.
     
  11. wolfrun

    wolfrun Registered Member

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    I did the same thing, went back to 1.75. Might give 2.1 a go when becomes available also. But for the time being 1.75 is running O.K..
     
  12. 8
    On Win7, WD is only (companion) anti-malware, you need MSE for that. On Win 8 WD used the same data base as MSE. The advantage of WD on Win8 is that it is seems to impact CPU and harddisk I/O less. As explained, MSE and WD (on win8 ) seem to be sub-par on malware protection of 4-5 weeks and younger, so that is where MBAM comes in.
     
  13. FOXP2

    FOXP2 Guest

    Yes. That's pretty much what I said and there are some sources in direct contradiction with each other to the MSE&WD/onlyMSE discussion. But that's teh webbernetz.

    Anyhow, I decided to try and start WD on the system I just imaged and installed MSE and... ya can't start it. :eek: So, not companion, or anything else no more.

    WinDefenderOHsnap.jpg

    AND!
    Microsoft Security Essentials has its own built-in version of Defender and should automatically disable...Windows Defender.
    Mick Murphy - Microsoft Partner

    http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_vista-security/does-microsoft-security-essentials-disable-windows/3efd94e2-b5b4-4df2-971a-6f7169d7a807

    Exit off-topic mode. Cheers.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 25, 2015
  14. Cutting_Edgetech

    Cutting_Edgetech Registered Member

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    I have a lifetime license, but I don't use the Pro version. I use the free version to do regular scans on my PC. I think they are still one of the best for malware removal.
     
  15. KaptainBug

    KaptainBug Registered Member

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    Been using the realtime protection for long and have no problems. Not seeing much of an impact and compliments my AV well. Promptly quarantines any adware or PUP's bundled with softwares which I sometimes miss to uncheck. This alone is enough for me to keep the realtime protection up and running.
     
  16. Krusty

    Krusty Registered Member

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    All it has detected on my machine is a false positive. :rolleyes:
     
  17. ProTruckDriver

    ProTruckDriver Registered Member

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  18. Azure Phoenix

    Azure Phoenix Registered Member

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    At least you can decide quarantine it or not. But that kind of errors can happen.

    Like
    http://www.liveside.net/2011/09/30/...ntials-detects-chrome-as-trojan-releases-fix/
    http://krebsonsecurity.com/2010/04/mcafee-false-detection-locks-up-windows-xp/

    At least MBAM is secondary protection. When your primary protection has these errors or worse that might be a bigger problem.
     
  19. Adric

    Adric Registered Member

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    The free version has Advanced Settings disabled, so it doesn't seem useful to me.
     
  20. StillBorn

    StillBorn Registered Member

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    Is ice cream still worth it as a dessert? Are there any recent studies to show its effectiveness in a root beer float?.. :rolleyes:
     
    Last edited: Jan 26, 2015
  21. ako

    ako Registered Member

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    Heh :)
     
  22. Azure Phoenix

    Azure Phoenix Registered Member

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  23. Nebulus

    Nebulus Registered Member

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    IMO, MalwareBytes was never useful because they have a very twisted definition about what qualifies as a threat.
     
  24. gerardwil

    gerardwil Registered Member

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    Could you explain that a little more?
     
  25. anon

    anon Registered Member

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