Malwarebytes (software)

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

MBAM 3.0.5 Premium running under Windows 10.
Developer(s)	Malwarebytes Corporation
Stable release	3.1 (Windows) / May 10, 2017 (2017-05-10) 3.0.1.389 (macOS) / August 1, 2017 (2017-08-01) 2.1.1 (Android) / November 28, 2016 (2016-11-28)[1]
Development status	Active
Written in	Visual Basic .NET, Assembly language
Operating system	Microsoft Windows XP and later, macOS 10.9 and later and Android OS 4.1 and later
Platform	IA-32, x86-64
Size	18.9 MB on Windows, 10.7 MB on Android
Available in	30 languages
List of languages Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugual), Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish and Vietnamese
Type	Anti-malware
License	Proprietary Free: Freeware Premium: Commercial Enterprise: TBA
Website	www.malwarebytes.com

Malwarebytes (formerly Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, abbreviated as MBAM) is an anti-malware software for Microsoft Windows,^[2] macOS and Android OS that finds and removes malware.^[3] Made by Malwarebytes Corporation, it was first released in January 2006. It is available in a free version, which scans for and removes malware when started manually, and a paid version, which additionally provides scheduled scans, real-time protection and a flash memory scanner.

Overview

MBAM is primarily a scanner that scans and removes malicious software, including rogue security software, adware, and spyware. MBAM scans in batch mode, rather than scanning all files opened, reducing interference if another on-demand anti-malware software is also running on the computer.^[4][5]

MBAM is available in both a free and a premium paid version.^[3] The free version can be manually run by the user when desired, whereas the paid version can perform scheduled scans, automatically scan files when opened, block IP addresses of malicious web sites, and scan only those services, programs and device drivers that are currently in use.

On December 8th, 2016, Malwarebytes released version 3.0 to the general public. This includes malware, ransomware, exploit, and malicious website protection. ^[6]

Reception

• PC World's Preston Gralla wrote that "Using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is simplicity itself".^[3]
• CNET in 2008 cited Malwarebytes as being useful against the MS Antivirus malware,^[7] and also awarded it an April 2009 Editor's Choice, along with 25 other computer applications.^[8][9]
• Mark Gibbs of Network World gave Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 4 stars out of 5 in January 2009 and wrote that "It does the job and only the lack of a detailed explanation of what it has found stops it from getting 5 out of 5".^[10]
• PC Magazine gave Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 3.5 stars out of 5 in May 2010, saying that although it was good at removing malware and scareware, it fell short on removing keyloggers and rootkits.^[11] However, the free version got 4.5 stars out of 5—and an Editor's Choice award—for free removal-only antivirus software in 2013-4.^[12]

Dispute with IObit

On November 2, 2009, Malwarebytes accused^[13] rival IObit of incorporating the database of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (and several products from other vendors, which were not named) into its security software IObit Security 360. IObit denied the accusation and stated that the database is based on user submissions, and sometimes the same signature names that are in Malwarebytes get placed in the results. They said they did not have time to filter out the signature names that are similar to Malwarebytes. IObit also stated that Malwarebytes did not have convincing proof, and promised that the databases were not stolen.^[14] After the declaration from IObit, Malwarebytes replied that they are not convinced of the argument from IObit.^[15][16] Malwarebytes claims to have served DMCA infringement notices against CNET, Download.com and Majorgeeks in order to have the download sites remove the IObit software. IObit said that as of version 1.3, their database has been updated to address those accusations of intellectual property theft made earlier by Malwarebytes.^[17][18]

Dealing with Vonteera

Vonteera is Adware which uses stolen certificates that disables anti-malware and virus protection, such as from Malwarebytes.^[19] Malwarebytes has listed a solution for eliminating this threat.^[20]

Security vulnerabilities

On February 2, 2016, Project Zero announced four vulnerabilities in the Malwarebytes flagship product, including lack of server side encryption for update files, and lack of proper payload signing within encrypted data; the combination of which allowed for an attacker to recompile the encrypted payload with exploits.^[21] Malwarebytes responded one day before disclosure in a blog article detailing the extreme difficulty in executing these attacks, as well as revealing that the announced server side and encryption issues were resolved within days of private disclosure, and were not outstanding at the time Project Zero published their research.^[22] Malwarebytes also published information on how to protect current users until a patch was released. This event also resulted in the establishment of a formal bug bounty program by Malwarebytes, who now offer up to $1000 per disclosure dependent on severity.^[23]

As with any computer system, the user of that system can be an unfixable source of vulnerability. Malwarebytes has stated that, “If an individual user is not privy to basic security practices, no tools used on the institutions’ end can fully prevent a breach.”^[24]

See also

• Internet security
• Comparison of computer viruses

References

External links

• Official website