Friday 13 January 2017

Some info on the new version of Malwarebytes

I have long been a proponent of Malwarebytes anti-malware program.

No antivirus program has ever fully protected against all forms of malware and Malwarebytes was an important additional tool to have, as long as it was updated and run on a fairly regular basis.

In the past, the only real difference between the pro version and the free version was the fact that the pro (paid for) version would run it’s scans on a schedule behind the scenes, so people didn’t have to remember to update and run it.
I was never prepared to pay just for that. I’d simply set myself reminders.

However, Malwarebytes now has a brand-new version of it’s program  - Malwarebytes 3.0

There are far more differences between the free and the paid version now, and some of the Premium version’s features are quite compelling, especially as it professes to protect against ransom-ware, one of the worst threats, which locks up your data with a cryptic key, and only paying the very costly ransom will (hopefully!) get you that key. Of course, if you do REGULAR backups you could simply wipe the drive and put back your data from a backup, but it’s still time consuming and costly and a miserable experience.

If it’s true that Malwarebytes can now protect against ransom-ware, I wouldn’t hesitate to advise anyone to upgrade to the Premium version at around CA$50 per year, or a little less if you purchase a 2-year license.

Malwarebytes is not a substitute for antivirus, but it does add a substantial layer of protection, which in this new version has some compelling features.

I’ll leave it to you to check it out and decide if it’s worth it to you

At the very least you can still get the free version, it still protects against “traditional” malware– just remember to run it!