

Starting with Malwarebytes 4, the Premium version of Malwarebytes now registers itself as the system's security program by default. Since it doesn't interfere with traditional antivirus programs, we recommend you run both programs for the best protection. It uses completely different strategies for protecting you: antivirus will block or quarantine harmful programs that find their way to your computer, while Malwarebytes attempts to stop harmful software from ever reaching your computer in the first place.

Malwarebytes claims to be able to replace your traditional antivirus entirely, but we disagree with this.

It also contains anti-ransomware, to block extortion attacks like CryptoLocker. The latest version of Malwarebytes combines these three tools into one easy-to-use package for a low yearly fee. As of version 3.0, it also contains an anti-exploit feature, which aims to block common exploits in programs, even if they are zero-day attacks that have never seen before - like those nasty Flash zero-day attacks. Unlike traditional antivirus programs, Malwarebytes is good at finding "potentially unwanted programs" (PUPs) and other junkware. Malwarebytes is the program we recommend here. There's no bloatware and it won't slow you down.Īntivirus is important, but these days, it's more important that you use a good anti-exploit program to protect your web browser, which is commonly targeted by attackers.

Use Malwarebytes for Anti-Malware and Anti-Exploit - Many of the huge malware outbreaks these days are using zero-day flaws in your browser to install ransomware to take over your PC, and only Malwarebytes provides really excellent protection against this with its unique anti-exploit system.Microsoft Defender is built right in, blazing fast, doesn't annoy you, and does its job cleaning old-school viruses. Use the Built-in Microsoft Defender for traditional antivirus - The criminals have moved on from regular viruses to focus on Ransomware, zero-day attacks, and even worse malware that traditional antivirus just can't handle.Historically, we've recommended a combination of Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes. Since we know that tons of people will just scroll down and skim, here is our TL DR recommendation for how to keep your system secure: So What's the Best Antivirus? Please Don't Make Me Read All This Microsoft Defender (formerly Windows Defender) was originally known as Microsoft Security Essentials back in the Windows 7 days when it was offered as a separate download, but now it's built right into Windows and enabled by default. Many people have been trained to believe that you should always install a third-party antivirus, but that isn't the best solution for today's security problems, like ransomware.
