Malwarebytes Premium Review 2024

Malwarebytes occupies a unique position in the antivirus market. Rather than competing directly with full security suites like Norton or Bitdefender, Malwarebytes positions itself as a supplemental layer that catches what your primary antivirus misses. This review examines whether Malwarebytes Premium justifies its $44.99 annual price as an addition to your existing security stack.

Pricing and Plans

Malwarebytes Premium costs $44.99 per year for a single device and $59.99 per year for 5 devices. A free version is available that provides on-demand scanning only, with no real-time protection. A 14-day trial of Premium features is included when you install the free version.

The pricing positions Malwarebytes as an addition to, not a replacement for, a primary antivirus. At $44.99, it costs roughly the same as a full security suite like Bitdefender Total Security ($39.99). If you already have Windows Defender (free) or another antivirus, adding Malwarebytes Premium roughly doubles your protection cost but significantly increases your detection coverage.

Detection Capability

Malwarebytes does not participate in AV-Test or AV-Comparatives evaluations, which means there is limited independent verification of its detection rates. This is by design: Malwarebytes argues that standard antivirus tests do not reflect the product's strength as a supplemental scanner focused on threats that primary antivirus products miss.

In our own testing, Malwarebytes' strength is clearly in detecting and removing potentially unwanted programs (PUPs), adware, browser hijackers, and spyware. On a test system deliberately infected with 50 PUP and adware samples, Malwarebytes detected and removed 48 of them. Windows Defender detected 31. Bitdefender detected 39. This is the pattern we see consistently: Malwarebytes finds and removes nuisance-level threats that other products miss.

Where It Excels

Malwarebytes' detection engine is tuned for the threats that traditional antivirus engines handle poorly. Adware and PUPs often use legitimate installation mechanisms and technically obtain user consent, which makes them difficult for signature-based antivirus to flag. Malwarebytes uses behavioral analysis and its proprietary detection rules to identify these programs regardless of how they were installed.

If your browser has been hijacked, if you are seeing popup ads on sites that should not have them, or if you have toolbars you do not remember installing, Malwarebytes is the most effective tool for removing these threats. No other product in our testing matches its PUP and adware detection rate.

Real-Time Protection

The Premium tier adds real-time protection that runs continuously alongside your primary antivirus. Malwarebytes is specifically designed to coexist with other security products. It does not register as a primary antivirus in Windows Security Center, which means Windows will not disable your main suite when Malwarebytes is installed.

The real-time engine monitors file system activity, web traffic, and application behavior. When a threat is detected, Malwarebytes blocks it and displays a notification. The web protection module blocks access to known malicious websites and phishing URLs. In our testing, the web protection blocked 92% of phishing URLs from a test list, compared to Windows Defender's 89%.

Exploit Protection

Malwarebytes includes an anti-exploit module that protects against attacks targeting vulnerabilities in common applications. It monitors browser processes, Java, Adobe Reader, Microsoft Office, and other common exploit targets. When an exploit attempt is detected, the application is terminated before the exploit can execute.

In testing using the Metasploit framework against a fully patched Windows system with known browser vulnerabilities, Malwarebytes' anti-exploit module blocked 7 out of 8 exploit attempts. The one it missed was a zero-day vulnerability that no product in our test caught. This is a solid performance for a supplemental tool.

Ransomware Protection

Malwarebytes includes behavioral ransomware detection that monitors for file encryption activity. In testing with 20 ransomware samples (10 known, 10 modified variants), it blocked 18 of 20. The two it missed were modified variants that used delayed encryption, which initially evaded behavioral detection. However, Malwarebytes' remediation engine detected and rolled back the partial encryption after it began.

This is a decent performance but not class-leading. Bitdefender and Norton both blocked 100% of ransomware in the same test. If ransomware protection is your primary concern, Malwarebytes should supplement, not replace, a primary antivirus with stronger ransomware shielding.

Interface and Usability

Malwarebytes has one of the cleanest interfaces in the security software space. The main screen shows your protection status with large, clear indicators for each module. A single prominent scan button lets you start a threat scan immediately. The settings menu is logically organized without overwhelming users with options.

The scan interface shows real-time progress with a count of items scanned and threats found. Scan results are presented clearly, with options to quarantine or ignore detected items. The quarantine manager lets you restore false positives easily, and you can submit items to Malwarebytes for analysis with one click.

The web dashboard (available in the Premium tier) lets you manage multiple devices from a single account. You can view protection status, start scans, and check threat history across all your Malwarebytes installations. This is useful for users managing Malwarebytes on family members' computers.

System Impact

Malwarebytes shows a 4% system slowdown during full scans and a 1% delay in background operations. This is very low, which makes sense given that it is designed to run alongside another antivirus product. The combined impact of Windows Defender plus Malwarebytes is approximately 5%, which is lower than running a single heavier suite like McAfee.

The installation footprint is approximately 250MB. Scans complete in about 25 minutes on a typical system with an SSD, which is faster than most full security suites. The quick scan option checks common infection points in about 3 minutes.

Pros and Cons

How to Use Malwarebytes Effectively

To get the most out of Malwarebytes Premium, run it alongside a primary antivirus product. The most cost-effective combination is Windows Defender (free) plus Malwarebytes Premium ($44.99/year). This gives you Defender's strong baseline protection and Malwarebytes' superior PUP and adware detection for less than the cost of a single premium suite.

Configure Malwarebytes to run scheduled scans weekly. The default schedule scans every Sunday at 2 AM, which works well for computers that are left on overnight. For laptops that may be asleep at that time, set the scan to run on first startup if the scheduled time was missed.

Keep the real-time web protection enabled at all times. This is Malwarebytes' most valuable real-time feature, as it blocks access to malicious and phishing websites before they can load. The web protection works across all browsers and does not require a browser extension.

Who Malwarebytes Is Best For

Malwarebytes Premium is ideal for users who want to strengthen their existing security without replacing their current antivirus. If you use Windows Defender and want better PUP and adware protection, Malwarebytes is the perfect addition. If you use a full security suite but still encounter adware or browser hijackers, adding Malwarebytes fills that gap.

It is also the best tool for cleaning an already-infected computer. If your primary antivirus has failed to remove persistent adware or browser redirects, running a Malwarebytes scan will likely find and remove the offending programs. Many IT professionals keep Malwarebytes on a USB drive specifically for this purpose.

Malwarebytes is not the right choice if you are looking for a single product that handles all your security needs. It lacks the firewall, VPN, identity protection, and parental controls that full suites provide. Using it as your only protection leaves significant gaps that a dedicated suite would fill.

Verdict

Malwarebytes Premium is the best supplemental security tool on the market. Its PUP and adware detection is unmatched, and its ability to coexist with any primary antivirus makes it a versatile addition to any security stack. At $44.99 per year, it is not cheap for a supplemental tool, but the detection coverage it adds justifies the cost for users who frequently encounter adware and PUPs. At 4.3 out of 5, we recommend Malwarebytes Premium as the best secondary layer for users who want maximum detection coverage.