# Is Malware Bytes still the best anti-virus around? Is the premium version worth it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 23, 2015, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-malware-bytes-still-the-best-anti-virus-around-is-the-premium-version-worth-it/720629 "2015-05-23T01:16:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-malware-bytes-still-the-best-anti-virus-around-is-the-premium-version-worth-it/720629/1 "2015-05-23T01:16:14Z")
Is there any anti-virus that beats Malware Bytes and if so, in what way? Does the premium version of MB really make a difference? I’ve used the free version of MB and am wondering if I should get the premium version or go elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![rsa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rsa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsa)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-malware-bytes-still-the-best-anti-virus-around-is-the-premium-version-worth-it/720629/2 "2015-05-23T02:04:18Z")
It’s not really an anti-virus program. It finds junk ware / crap ware / & well, _MAL_ ware. You should use it in concert with another anti-virus program such as Avast, AVG, Panda, etc. (I hear that Microsoft’s Security Essentials isn’t so great these days.) Malware-bytes is an often recommended program. I’m not aware what the paid version offers. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-malware-bytes-still-the-best-anti-virus-around-is-the-premium-version-worth-it/720629/3 "2015-05-23T04:06:58Z")
The premium version of Malwarebytes runs in the background and can detect threats in real time; the free version only does on-demand scans. MB has a good reputation, but I’ve gotten better results with [Hitman Pro](http://www.surfright.nl/en/hitmanpro/). ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-malware-bytes-still-the-best-anti-virus-around-is-the-premium-version-worth-it/720629/4 "2015-05-23T05:24:27Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > The premium version of Malwarebytes runs in the background and can detect threats in real time; the free version only does on-demand scans. > > MB has a good reputation, but I’ve gotten better results with [Hitman Pro](http://www.surfright.nl/en/hitmanpro/). ↑ ↑ ↑ This… I use Malware bytes, + hitmanpro, with AVG, + regular runs of CCleaner and the willpower to not click on every link in sight. So far, so good… 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-malware-bytes-still-the-best-anti-virus-around-is-the-premium-version-worth-it/720629/5 "2015-05-23T15:39:27Z")
I am a long term user of MB. Sort of happy with it. But I’ve come across some crap that it couldn’t properly remove. (Ended up using Kaspersky Rescue Disk.) If I’m worried about something that MB might not be catching I use Avast. So: Best? Not so much. One of the main advantages of the premium is the real-time protection. But I have never encountered an anti-malware program that did really good real-time protection and didn’t drive the computer performance into the ground on some machines. Variety is good. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-malware-bytes-still-the-best-anti-virus-around-is-the-premium-version-worth-it/720629/6 "2015-05-23T15:51:29Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > The premium version of Malwarebytes runs in the background and can detect threats in real time; the free version only does on-demand scans. > > MB has a good reputation, but I’ve gotten better results with [Hitman Pro](http://www.surfright.nl/en/hitmanpro/). I use Hitman Pro for scanning as well, but be advised the free version is only good for 30 days, and you can’t uninstall and reinstall, they know you had it before. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-malware-bytes-still-the-best-anti-virus-around-is-the-premium-version-worth-it/720629/7 "2015-05-23T17:01:44Z")
I’m currently running Webroot v8, Malware Bytes Pro 2.16 and MS antivirus all at once. I’ve used Kaspersy, Nortons etc. etc. Over the years I’ve found no one virus checker handles it all. Yes this three way scenario slows my system down considerably when disk scanning and a little when it’s not but the trade off is spending hours trying to extract some browser hijacker or root virus which are everywhere these days. The main advantage of MB and Webroot is they inform me when a sketchy link is trying to attach to my system. When running them alone I ran into issues they did not detect or were able to handle if infected. Run together they seem to backstop each other reasonably well re preventing and removing infection… so far.