Malwarebytes

Malwarebytes

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Overall Rating3.5 out of 5
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About Malwarebytes

Malwarebytes Reviews

ConsumerAffairs has collected 92 reviews and 396 ratings.

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Page 1 Reviews 0 - 10

Reviewed Feb. 23, 2023

Don't waste your money. I bought Malwarebyte's Premium service mostly because of their VPN service. I thought I was getting a good deal, but it just goes to show that you get what you pay for. First off, everyday after a scan I realized that I was only getting the same two potential problems and quarantining them everyday, only to show up again the following day. So I just ignored the scan after a couple of weeks. Besides I read an article explaining how Windows Defender does the same thing, at no cost. Now if their VPN did what it was supposed to do instead of being full of bugs, I would have kept your service. However, I had problems right from the start.

Sometimes it would turn itself off without me even knowing. Sometimes it would kick me off the internet while I was in the middle of something. The final straw was when I got kicked off the internet and the VPN shut itself off and no matter what I did I couldn't get back on the internet. So I spent an hour and a half on a couple of phone calls with my cable company and we couldn't figure out the problem, so an appointment was made for a tech to come to my house. I had checked 3 or 4 times to be certain the VPN wasn't on, and that's what it said each time. Yet, after my phone calls I decided just for laughs to uninstall the VPN. And guess what? Voila, I was on the internet again.

So on 1/13 I asked for a refund. I was told it would take 2 - 7 days and today is 2/23/23, 41 days later, and after many emails and jumping through hoops I still haven't received it. By the way, this company has no phone number to call and actually speak to a real person. I'm pretty sure I know why. Date of experience: January 13, 2023.

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Reviewed Oct. 24, 2022

Customer service doesn't respond at all in my case. I had a pretty simple problem with having multiple accounts and billings, so submitted two work tickets for the same simple problem five days apart. Tried calling the number for customer service provided on my account screen and got a recording that this service is "no longer available." Got two auto-replies assigning ticket numbers, but absolutely no follow up on either ticket. This would have been so easy to solve and keep a good customer happy, but total lack of response from customer service speaks volumes.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Sept. 26, 2022

    First I thought I was buying a one time product- so of course they don't tell you about auto renewal- well they charged me for something I don't use- you cannot understand anything they say- so even if I needed help, they can't help because they don't speak clear English- also they don't chat with you- you can't call them- they hang up on you- I just want a charge taken off my account - run from these people- you'll never get support if you need it and if you do it won't be clear. RUN RUN RUN.

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    Online & App

    Reviewed June 1, 2022

    I found after changing my credit card that they had been billing us for years. I tried to cancel on their website without results. It did show that I had already cancelled my way of paying by PayPal, but somehow they got hold of the credit card associated with PayPal and kept billing. I thought I had taken care of this. You can't figure out who they are because they bill through a business called CBI*CLEVERBRIDGE INC. I had to go on that website and request a billing review to figure out what was being billed from 7 years ago. They have bilked us out of several hundred dollars.

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed May 17, 2022

    This company is no longer what it used to be. We had to cancel our service because we couldn't reactivate our license. Don't even try to CHAT with them, you'll just get their FAKE robot asking you the same questions over and over. You can never talk to someone live. Forget about opening a ticket, they never respond. Even after we cancelled service and DELETED our account, they continue to SPAM us with their e-mails. Look elsewhere for a functional company.

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    PriceStaffEase of Use

    Reviewed Jan. 19, 2022

    I spend a lot of time on my computers for professional work, personal work, and recreation so I put a great deal of stock in having a good antivirus and security system for them. I have had many different programs in the past including major ones like McAfee (I despise McAfee) and Norton, but I always fell out of love with them for various reasons including price, annoying or less-than-great features, and/or they were just straight-up junk. I finally discovered Malwarebytes a couple months ago during a time when I was briefly without any additional antivirus software and decided I needed something because I was highly suspicious I had some malware on my computer dropping its performance significantly so I downloaded the free Malwarebytes to give it a shot. It wasn't long before I went ahead and bought the premium version for all of my devices and I could not be happier with this program!

    Malwarebytes is easy to use and appears to be very well-designed all-around with many impressive features even when compared to top well-known brands. If you are not the most computer-savvy person and looking for something that appears simple to use and largely manages itself then Malwarebytes is great. Additionally, if you are more like me and practically lives on computers it is still great because you also have options to be more involved in its advanced operating settings as well if you choose (if you don't want to do that then you can just leave all the options on default which are all immediately set to the generally recommended settings).

    As for the quality of the protection and antivirus capabilities, it is highly effective based on my experience so far. The main selling point for me was the original purpose I got it for which was to scan my computer and remove the malware which was found surprisingly a lot (I'm sort of embarrassed to say...). Not only did it manage to find a shocking amount of malware and successfully remove it all, it also did it quickly and without sapping all of my system's processing power which impressed me. Typically, full system antivirus scanning will plummet your computer's performance for the duration of the scan, but, somehow, Malwarebytes manages to do it without hogging the CPU while still being thorough which I think is incredible. It also easily takes a fraction of the time to do a complete scan compared to many other similar programs.

    To top it all off, Malwarebytes also comes with complete real-time protection including web protection, malware protection, ransomware protection, exploit protection, and a general firewall. The real-time protection has worked very well for me and has received excellent marks on testing according to expert reviews I have also read about it. Finally, it also has the nice capability to be integrated seamlessly with Windows Security Center so it can work bilaterally with your OS's built-in security.

    I honestly have a hard time coming up with any negatives which is rather surprising for me. While most reviews I have read praises the program's interface highly as being very user-friendly, which I would generally agree, I have gotten mildly frustrated with it a few times when trying to find specific features (then again, I personally like to tinker with programs so that may just be me).

    Also with the interface, it at times seems somewhat limited in advanced settings for those who like to customize the security settings in detail but I quickly learned to live with it and I can't complain about its results, regardless. I sometimes wish the interface was a bit more expansive and provided more detailed menus but I can understand it is probably hard for the developers to strike that perfect balance of user-friendly simplicity with advanced custom settings that more advanced users like myself enjoy. It has enough for me to consider reasonable and to be content with what I can customize including more important features like the automatic scanning schedule, permissions, and what it's supposed to do with PUPs when discovered.

    Ultimately, I am very satisfied with this product and would recommend it to anyone whether you be an advanced computer user or a much more basic user it will work well for you. That is remarkable in my opinion because I have found most antivirus security programs tend to lean more one way or the other but Malwarebytes seems to be the most accommodating to both sides I have ever seen so far in its design.

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    Customer ServicePrice

    Reviewed Nov. 24, 2021

    I signed up for the 14 day free trial. I neglected to cancel within the 14 days, so I was stuck paying for a year's worth of service. However I did inform them that I was not using the program because it slow down my computer too much. They kept my debit card number and they did an automatic withdrawal every year after I canceled until my debit card expired. After that I get harassed by email demanding that I give them another card number. I’ve written countless times to explain to them I never use the program. I paid for the first year because I was too late Canceling it. And they did not have my permission to continue to charge me every year.

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    Staff

    Reviewed Oct. 18, 2021

    I wanted to use the Malwarebytes Free to perform a scan since I have trusted them in the past for portions of my computer security and often recommended their services to friends and clients (when I was on a Virus Removal team years ago). When I downloaded it this time it defaults to a 14 day trial of the Premium version, which I did not request or want. Their Premium services have previously conflicted with my other security on this computer which is why I downloaded the Free version and not their Premium option.

    With a background in marketing and statistics, I am almost certain this is based on market projections that the more people who try the Premium the more will stick with it, which is, of course, how Malwarebytes makes their money allowing them to even provide a Free version. I get that, I respect that. That data has been clear for many years. But making it so that I am forced to have Premium activate at least once when I downloaded the Free version is a deceptive practice. What is worse is that the software has an option to Deactivate Premium, but when I did so the Premium remained active.

    Any time a company defaults/forces things I didn't ask for, didn't want, even went out of my way to avoid, I lose some trust. But failing to deactivate when requested, showing that it had been deactivated even though it wasn't, that loses a lot of trust from me. I will be removing the software and can no longer recommend Malwarebytes as I once did. I am very disappointed in the direction they have gone of putting short-term profits above their reputation. This sort of feels like seeing your childhood hero piss on a dog. Is it out right evil, no, but they sure have lost my respect.

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    Customer ServiceStaff

    Reviewed Oct. 4, 2021

    Had decent experience with them for two years. Did not want to renew this year because my employer took over all responsibility for security. On day I get my "automatic renewal" notice I notify them of this and indicate I wish to cancel. Oh I can cancel all right, but I am stuck with paying for a year of service I don't need or want. I write customer service and say that these tactics are beneath a reputable company; a reputable company would say, "Thank you for your business," and, "We hope to win it back in the future". Not these slippery people! I hear nothing from them. Serious question: how can you trust a company that uses such tactics with your computer security? Answer: you CAN'T!

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    Customer Service

    Reviewed Sept. 16, 2021

    I've email the company on my subscription and no response and by the way - I sent the request twice. You would think they read the messages if this is the option they provide. Awful customer service - don't buy it.

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    Malwarebytes author review by Shelley Elmblad

    Malwarebytes.org - Malwarebytes started in 2004, and since then it has detected and removed over 5 billion pieces of malware while running alongside antivirus software. Today, more than 200 team members across the globe contribute to keeping Malwarebytes effective and up to date.

    • Multiple platforms: Malwarebytes runs on PC, Mac, Android and iOS devices to find worms, spyware, rootkits and more. You will need to install antivirus software separately; Malwarebytes detects and removes deep malicious code that is often not found by antivirus solutions.

    • Free: The free version of Malwarebytes is very capable at finding and removing malware, but does not run constantly in the background for real time protection. Upgrade to the paid PC premium version for $24.95 for more scanning options and always-on screening. Malwarebytes only offers a free version for Mac right now.

    • Business versions: Malwarebytes offers four business options with annual subscriptions for $29.95 per seat up to $49.95 per seat. Businesses with over 100 seats can contact sales to discuss pricing.

    • Chameleon technology: If your computer is infected, you won’t need a separate bootable disk to repair it. Malwarebytes’ Chameleon driver stops malware from terminating or modifying processes so you can remove malware immediately without restarting your computer.

    • Antivirus compatibility: Malwarebytes will run without a conflict on computers that have installed any of the antivirus software listed in this guide and many others.

    by Shelley Elmblad Financial Software Advisor

    Shelley Elmblad is a writer with years of experience covering small business, mobile apps, personal finance and tax software. Shelley’s goal is to help others choose the best software to run a small business, track personal finances and save money.

    Malwarebytes Company Information

    Company Name:
    Malwarebytes
    Website:
    www.malwarebytes.com