Malwarebytes: Free Anti-spyware for Personal Use

One of the largest threats to computers, at home or in the office, is spyware. The effects of spyware can range from plain annoying to performance crippling. In some cases, spyware can even lead to financial hardships or identity theft. But with so many anti-spyware programs on the market (and many of those actually being spyware themselves!) what should people use? Introducing the award winning Malwarebytes Anti-malware:

“Malwarebytes’ Anti-malware is a high performance, anti-malware application that thoroughly removes even the most advanced malware and spyware. With one of the fastest, most effective quick scans and malware removal capabilities on the market, this program is the perfect addition to your PC’s defenses. The full version of the product includes a number of key features, including the ability to schedule updates and scans and most importantly, a real-time malware protection module that blocks malicious processes before they even start.” CNET News

Pros: Free and Effective

In my years of support experience, I have never found an anti-spyware program that worked quite as well as Malwarebytes. Where other anti-spyware programs failed, Malwarebytes shined. Malwarebytes was the first program that I was able to successfully use to remove SmitFraud and Virtumonde; this was back when removing these two pieces of spyware was nearly impossible and typically resulted in rebuilding the computer. Malwarebytes is also free for home users.

Cons: Free Comes with a Catch…

While Malwarebytes is a great program, the only downside to the free version is the lack of real-time-protection. Meaning, if you want Malwarebytes to protect your computer, you have to run the free version yourself at scheduled intervals. While this will clean almost any infection your computer has, it will not prevent the infection in the first place. Thankfully though, the pay version of Malwarebytes offers real-time protection, scheduled scans, and scheduled updates for a very low cost.

Bottom Line: Malwarebytes Works

Malwarebytes might not scan on it’s own for free but it will clean your computer up better than any program on the market. And even if you decide to use a different program in the end, it is free to try. Find out more at Malwarebytes.Org

Posted by David Surbey on Jul 07, 2009