Is AntiMalwareBytes an Anti Virus program?

[jpe]

Hello All.

I think I've made a mistake. I've always thought that "Malware" was a general term for all intentionally offense computer programs. That is, I thought, that the term "malware" inculded: Trojans, Viruses, Spyware, Worms, Backdoors, and Rootkits (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malware).

I have been using F-Prot as an anti virus program for a number of years however after some nasty infections that F-Prot neither detected nor was able to remove I tried AntiMalwareBytes. It not only removed the infection it also found a number of other spyware files.

This fall when our F-Prot licenses ran out I decided to change to MalwareBytes thinking that it would do the job of F-Prot but better. I have removed F-Prot from 25 computers and installed MB.

I have since read in these forums that, despite the implecation of the name, MalwareBytes is not an anti virus program. I am confused because many people talk about how MB removed various viruses for them. There is nothing in the sales litterature (that I can find) that says it is an anti-virus program nor anything that says it is not.

What is AntiMalwareBytes? Do I need to run AV software as well? Are there any products that are not performance hogs that are both Av and anti spyware products?

Jonathan.

[exile360]

You are correct that malware is a very general term, however Malwarebytes' is not an antivirus, it is basically a program designed to detect and remove infections that most antivirus programs tend to miss or are unable to remove. You should absolutely have an antivirus software along with a good firewall and of course a good antispyware/antimalware app like Malwarebytes'. If you want programs that are low on resource usage some good AV's would be Kaspersky and Avira Antivir (just use one of course), and for antispyware/antimalware: Malwarebytes' (of course) and SUPERAntiSpyware. If you really wanted a "suite" or all-in-one solution, I can't say that I can recommend any of them, because if you think about it you're relying on one company, one group of investigators to positively identify every single piece of malware on the internet at any given time, and that just isn't going to happen, that's why I believe the layered approach is always better. I'm sure you've heard the old saying "jack of all trades, master of none", that's how I see all-in-one security suites, they just can't detect everything on any given day.

[jpe]

Thank you for your reply.

Are you saying that it detects and removes only specific stubborn viruses but not all malware (is MB a collection of one-off programs like the ones that Norton releases for specific wide spread viruses from time to time)? When I say "specific" I mean, for example, it removes virus X, Y, and Z that are known to be hard to remove but no others; if that is correct it would contradict statements I've seen about MBAM's have "advanced heuristics", wouldn't it?

I guess I still don't really understand what MBAM is.

Of the 7 types of malware that I know of (Viruses, Trojans, Backdoors, Worms, Spyware, Adware, Rootkits) which am I protected from with MalwareBytes?

Regards,

Jonathan.

You are correct that malware is a very general term, however Malwarebytes' is not an antivirus, it is basically a program designed to detect and remove infections that most antivirus programs tend to miss or are unable to remove. You should absolutely have an antivirus software along with a good firewall and of course a good antispyware/antimalware app like Malwarebytes'. If you want programs that are low on resource usage some good AV's would be Kaspersky and Avira Antivir (just use one of course), and for antispyware/antimalware: Malwarebytes' (of course) and SUPERAntiSpyware. If you really wanted a "suite" or all-in-one solution, I can't say that I can recommend any of them, because if you think about it you're relying on one company, one group of investigators to positively identify every single piece of malware on the internet at any given time, and that just isn't going to happen, that's why I believe the layered approach is always better. I'm sure you've heard the old saying "jack of all trades, master of none", that's how I see all-in-one security suites, they just can't detect everything on any given day.

[nosirrah]

Going after malware by family is not the way we do things as most current malware blends two or more types in almost all cases .

The majority of the research that goes into MBAM is based on what the Antivirus vendors are failing on most frequently . This allows us to keep a smaller database and prevents conflicts with antivirus software .

The only thing MBAM does not do is to unpatch system files as this is the job of your dedicated antivirus software .

MBAM is designed to work along side your existing antivirus software , not conflict or compete with it .

I guess I still don't really understand what MBAM is.

MBAM is antimalware software that is designed to fill in the gaps left by antivirus software .

More than anything else the biggest difference between MBAM and other applications is not in what it looks for but rather how it looks for malware .

[DaChew]

Going after malware by family is not the way we do things as most current malware blends two or more types in almost all cases .

The majority of the research that goes into MBAM is based on what the Antivirus vendors are failing on most frequently . This allows us to keep a smaller database and prevents conflicts with antivirus software .

The only thing MBAM does not do is to unpatch system files as this is the job of your dedicated antivirus software .

MBAM is designed to work along side your existing antivirus software , not conflict or compete with it .

MBAM is antimalware software that is designed to fill in the gaps left by antivirus software .

More than anything else the biggest difference between MBAM and other applications is not in what it looks for but rather how it looks for malware .

I know some who don't use a resident antivirus for whatever reason, in light of your post, what online scanners would you reccomend?

I always reccomend Avira running resident for those concerned about resource hogs

[cmdd]

According to the malwarebytes home page of 06/04/2017, "Malwarebytes 3 is a next-generation antivirus replacement".

 

So is it or isn't a true antivirus

[1PW]

Hello @cmdd:

You have awakened an eight and one-half-year-old topic when folks were using MBAM v1.32 and our world was simpler.  Back then, MBAM 1.x was not to be thought of as an anti-virus solution but was certainly meant to supplement full-time A-V products.  Time moves on and progress has been made since 2008 where Malwarebytes 3 (MB3) Premium can now be thought of as including a full-time anti-virus feature as one of its many capabilities.

However, some still prefer to supplement MB3 with a separate, installed, full-time, feature laden, top tier A-V solution.  That choice is yours.

Thank you.

[Porthos]

This is also a real good post to read as well.

 

[dcollins]

As this post is from 2008, I'm going to go ahead and lock it. The link that @Porthos shared has much more relevant information to our MB3 product. If you have further questions, please use the linked thread above.