Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware Review

Free Malware and Spyware Removal Tool

Nina Rotz
Computer technicians recommend running more than one anti-malware program on a computer. As someone with an IT background, I always recommend running an antivirus and an anti-spyware tool. I have tried every antivirus program on the market, including free versions such as AVG and Avast! I used to install Norton Antivirus and WebRoot's SpySweeper on every computer I owned. Now, I prefer Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware. I do not run only Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware on my computer, but I could. It is by far the most effective malicious file removal tool available.

The best feature of Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware is that it comes with an effective free version. The paid version comes with real-time and automatic suspicious site protection. It also comes with scheduled scans. I am disappointed to see lack of scheduled scans. However, the program is useful with other Windows tools such as Windows Defender or an antivirus such as AVG to create real-time computer protection.

The free version will scan and remove any suspicious or infected files. Two scans are available: quick and full scan. I have found the quick scan to work just as well as full scan. It catches any spyware or cookies but it takes far less time than a full scan.

Quarantined files display in a column and their full location shows. I often see malware in registry keys. As I understand the computer registry, I can navigate through the item location to examine problems further. I have yet to find a wrongfully quarantined file. According to a few reviews on CNET, computer users have experienced Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware flagging safe registry keys as potential spyware.

I have never seen a system file quarantined. However, a simple way to get around this problem is to add files and programs to the ignore list.

The quarantined list allows me to delete or restore any files. Therefore, potential malware suspends from running on the computer but is available for me to examine in full detail.

My favorite feature of Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware is that the application is so small. My computer is always busy, 10 Firefox windows stay opened at once, instant messenger, email and music player are running while Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware performs a full scan. Despite all the action, the malware removal tool does not show as the highest process on the list. Unlike Norton or AVG, two programs that completely overwhelm a computer, Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware does not eat up computer resources. In fact, it is normally third or fourth running process on my computer. Firefox uses more resources than the malware scan.

Should you install Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware on your computer? It should definitely be a part of your computer's protection. The program is small enough to run along another real-time antivirus. It is also effective in picking up spyware and cookies that an antivirus might miss. I recommend this spyware removal tool to friends, family and colleagues. My computer would not run a day without it.

Resources:Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware
CNET.com Reviews

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The Contributor has no connection to nor was paid by the brand or product described in this content.

Published by Nina Rotz

Nina Rotz is a freelance writer, a blogger and SEO extraodinaire. Nina's experience includes running a web hosting business, fourteen-year experience of website building, programming and blogging. Her educat...  View profile

7 Comments

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  • Mary Kirkland5/11/2010

    I've been using Malwarebytes for about a year now and love it. Just love it. It has caught several things on my computer when I ran the scan that Avast did not catch. I recommend Malwarebytes to everyone with a computer.

  • Tony Payne3/29/2010

    Good review. I had to use this once to get rid of a virus. I also have had on occasion to boot my pc using Ubuntu Live and delete files on the hard drive.

  • Major Jester3/10/2010

    Thank you very much for the information.

  • James Wasil3/8/2010

    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is great and always works well. You may want to check out Emsisoft.com's A-squared anti-hijack program, also. It's designed to do most of what MalwareBytes' program does, but also gets rid of rootkits, keyloggers, and other nasty things free of charge. Although having both on a system is a small/partial overlap, they're both small enough to where you can have them transparently, and both powerful enough to fix most of what would attack you normally. Nice article by the way, Nina. Well written.

  • Wiley Vaughn3/8/2010

    A computer virus can really mess up your day.

  • J.M. Leong3/4/2010

    Great review. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware recently was able to rid my laptop of a nasty trojan horse that crippled my spybot and my ad-aware. Seriously thought I was going to have to ante up for some pro techy help, but installing Malwarebytes and doing several scans saved my hide!

  • Kay Balbi3/3/2010

    i have recently gotten "adsense" links to photographs from some of my articles, and google chrome stops me from going there saying my files would be comprised, however, a pop up box that looks authentic MS Windows, and it then tells you you have a virus. Looking at the URL, it is red, crossed out and says "caputureurcomputer" - I came across this 3 times last week-

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