# Does Malwarebytes work?



## t77snapshot (Sep 1, 2009)

A lot of people recommended Malwarebytes for Anti-spy/malware, but I have a concern with this free program. Ok so Windows detected some trojans/ adware in both my C: and D: drive, so I then ran Malwarebytes and the program prompt this:  "
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





"  

So I ran another program that I used in the past called SUPER-antispyware and it detected 13 trojan/ adware files. 

My question is: Windows and Super-antispyware found these threats but not Malwarebytes? I have good things about this program, but it has been ineffective for me.:shadedshu Is this program not designed to find certain files?

Edit: Yes, I have ran all updates before I ran the sanning.


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## DRDNA (Sep 1, 2009)

Its one of the Best free or paid for!


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## joinmeindeath417 (Sep 1, 2009)

it works i use it sometimes, but i don't just use one program for removing that stuff cause it usually misses shit and vise versa


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## Fitseries3 (Sep 1, 2009)

niether worked for me.

i had a laptop of a customer of mines that had some pretty bad crap in it. 

the machine would boot but become unresponsive imediately. 

i did manage to remove a lot of crap but neither solved the problems.

the malware respawned continuously at every reboot.

once i reinstalled xp everything was great.


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## t77snapshot (Sep 1, 2009)

joinmeindeath417 said:


> it works i use it sometimes, but i don't just use one program for removing that stuff cause it usually misses shit and vise versa



Yeah me too, I usually run both Avira AntiVir and Super:antispyware with great results , But today I ran Malwarebytes first and they found nothing. Being concerned about this I run the other two programs and they found many threats. So what is the issue with my Malwarebytes program?


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## Asylum (Sep 1, 2009)

I guess that just goes to show you its not all its cracked up to be.


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## Duxx (Sep 1, 2009)

It has fixed every problem I have ever had. I will continue to use it until it doesn't


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## PVTCaboose1337 (Sep 2, 2009)

It works for about 90% of the crude out there.  I don't use it for that reason.


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## mrw1986 (Sep 2, 2009)

I like Malwarebytes because it can fix some of the stuff that others can't. For instance, PAV2009. Malwarebytes works great, but others do not. That's why I use several different products on both my machine and customers.


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## dnottis (Sep 2, 2009)

yes I've used it on some really infected PCs with trojans and stuff.  Removed and cleaned they up to working perfect.  There are some fake spyware softwares out there that will show false positives to get you to buy it.  Beware of them.  Malwarebytes is the real deal though.


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## pbmaster (Sep 2, 2009)

So is this Super Anitspyware I keep hearing about good?


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## farlex85 (Sep 2, 2009)

No anti-virus/anti-spyware is 100% foolproof. Depends on the malware in question, but you can be sure that one of any number of programs won't pick it up. It could be other forms of malware malwarebytes will pick up but Windows won't. Also all of these programs can produce false positives, where one or two is successful in identifying it for what it is. Malware-bytes is good yes, especially for certain types of malware (they eradicate many fake anti-virus programs very well); but better than antivir in your case? Doesn't look like it. Stick w/ what works for you. If it's of any consequence numerous tests of various anti-virus free or not yielded antivir as the best (or very near the best) in correctly identifying malware w/ the least number false positives. I prefer Avast myself.


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## qubit (Sep 2, 2009)

*Fake a/v?*

Isn't super antispyware one of those fake a/v programs that _always_ finds something (fake hits) and tries to extort money from the gullible user to get rid of them? These sorts of programs then install there own trojan, which they magically fail to detect... 

I use Kaspersky Internet Security, which is the best one out there IMO and is available really cheaply as a 3 user OEM edition from all the regular etailers. Getting this is a no-brainer, people.


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## pbmaster (Sep 2, 2009)

I've seen quite a few people suggest Super. I had never heard of it though so that's why I'm asking.


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## PVTCaboose1337 (Sep 2, 2009)

Personally, if you want to see what product works best on a virus, just go to http://www.virustotal.com/ and see which AV's pick up your virus of choice.   Of course you have to be infected and know which file to scan but...


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## farlex85 (Sep 2, 2009)

qubit said:


> Isn't super antispyware one of those fake a/v programs that _always_ finds something (fake hits) and tries to extort money from the gullible user to get rid of them? These sorts of programs then install there own trojan, which they magically fail to detect...
> 
> I use Kaspersky Internet Security, which is the best one out there IMO and is available really cheaply as a 3 user OEM edition from all the regular etailers. Getting this is a no-brainer, people.



I never really liked Kaspersky. And cheap isn't as good as free. Still I recommend it to those who want to pay (masochist, like spending money, think premium will be better, ect). It does indeed have good detection rates. As I said whatever works for you.....


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## qubit (Sep 2, 2009)

farlex85 said:


> *I never really liked Kaspersky.* And cheap isn't as good as free. Still I recommend it to those who want to pay (masochist, like spending money, think premium will be better, ect). It does indeed have good detection rates. As I said whatever works for you.....



What don't you like about it?

If you get malware on you PC it's bad news, so if paying for an a/v product (and especially at such a low price) gets you better detection and protection, then it's well worth it.

I especially like the hourly updates 24/7, which are the best in the business.


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## dnottis (Sep 2, 2009)

Ive been using Norton 2009 and the pulse updates are great.  It gets updates every few mins.  If you like hourly updates you'd like an update every few mins.  I agree though, never really liked Kasparsky either.  Used AVG, Avira and NOD32 until this year.  tried the Norton 2009 gamers edition beta, loved it and bought a 3 user license for $25.  Its very lightweight dont even notice it running.

Although for me, Im a master at the reformat I can have my machines back reinstalled and up in about 30 mins.  So a reformat for me is nothing.  In fact if I do get infected I'd rather just wipe it.


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## t77snapshot (Sep 3, 2009)

qubit said:


> Isn't super antispyware one of those fake a/v programs that _always_ finds something (fake hits) and tries to extort money from the gullible user to get rid of them? These sorts of programs then install there own trojan, which they magically fail to detect...



Negative.....I use to free version and its great!  (with non of those annoying pop up windows asking my to "buy" the product.)


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## mrw1986 (Sep 5, 2009)

qubit said:


> Isn't super antispyware one of those fake a/v programs that _always_ finds something (fake hits) and tries to extort money from the gullible user to get rid of them? These sorts of programs then install there own trojan, which they magically fail to detect...



No.


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## Wile E (Sep 5, 2009)

farlex85 said:


> I never really liked Kaspersky. And cheap isn't as good as free. Still I recommend it to those who want to pay (masochist, like spending money, *think premium will be better*, ect). It does indeed have good detection rates. As I said whatever works for you.....


In this case, paying is better than free. None of the free AV's can compete with Kaspersky, NOD32 or Norton 09.

AVG, Avast and AntiVir don't hold a candle to them.


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## grunt_408 (Sep 5, 2009)

I use Malwarbytes in conjunction with a few others and it often picks up things that the others do not. So IMHO yes it does work.
EDIT: I use Kaspersky for my main protection


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## mrw1986 (Sep 5, 2009)

Nod32 all the way! I would use Norton 2009 but its hard for me to get it free...and it has some minor annoyances to me. I tried the trial version and was impressed...but there was just something about it.


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## qubit (Sep 5, 2009)

Wile E said:


> In this case, paying is better than free. None of the free AV's can compete with Kaspersky, NOD32 or Norton 09.
> 
> AVG, Avast and AntiVir don't hold a candle to them.



+1

I use Kaspersky Internet Security and it's very effective. It beat the Yahoo scanner (Norton) the other day, which didn't think a zip attachment from a spam email was dodgy, but Kaspersky flagged it even before I could download it. 

(And yes, I did know that attachement was dodgy, I just wanted to see if Yahoo could pick it up.)


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## kenkickr (Sep 5, 2009)

I use a combination of programs and settings to clean virus/spyware issues.

Turn off System Restore
Boot Scan with Avast Home
Scan Safe Mode with Avast Home, Malwarebytes, A-squared, and Spybot
Do the same in Normal mode but finish off with Windows Live scan
Finally turn System restore back on.  

You have to remember to alot of these programs will skip False negatives that claim to be Severe/High issues but infact are just trace cookies(That's why I like A-squared cause it LOVES to detect trace cookies).


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## farlex85 (Sep 5, 2009)

qubit said:


> What don't you like about it?
> 
> If you get malware on you PC it's bad news, so if paying for an a/v product (and especially at such a low price) gets you better detection and protection, then it's well worth it.
> 
> I especially like the hourly updates 24/7, which are the best in the business.



Don't particularly like the fact that I have to pay for it. I also don't like the interface all that much and the fact that it defaults to annoyingness.



Wile E said:


> In this case, paying is better than free. None of the free AV's can compete with Kaspersky, NOD32 or Norton 09.
> 
> AVG, Avast and AntiVir don't hold a candle to them.



Well, actually they do. AntiVir actually tests very near Kaspersky last time I checked, although I'm not sure where that review was. To me though, it's about personal experience. If my computer was hacked, what's the worst case scenario? Identity theft. Granted no walk in the park, but quite unlikely b/c of the way I keep things, and remediable in the degree that would be possible. Other than that somebody could delete programs and such or just cause general havoc, but quite frankly I don't care that much it's easy to fix.

There have been about 3 times I've clicked on something or downloaded something that Avast immediately warned me about and deleted. I've then periodically downloaded Kaspersky or NOD32 or what have you to see if there was something I was missing out on. Turns out there wasn't, they detected nothing in thorough scans. Conclusion: Why pay for something I've been doing for free?


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## Wile E (Sep 6, 2009)

If you are the only user, and surf intelligently, then no, you don't really need high end AV protection. 

Hell, I don't even run AV on my main rig, as I'm tho only one allowed to touch it. But I also have 3 kids aged 14 and under. They don't always know what's safe and what isn't. In this case, a paid AV is more than worth it, especially in the case of Kaspersky Internet Security, where it has absolutely great parental controls. No free suite comes close. Not to mention, a 3PC, 2 year license was only $18 on ebay.

None of that even takes into account that the 3 I mentioned are still better than all the freebies.


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## douglatins (Sep 6, 2009)

Malwarebytes = Malware from what ive heard


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## Wile E (Sep 6, 2009)

douglatins said:


> Malwarebytes = Malware from what ive heard



You heard wrong.


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## DonInKansas (Sep 6, 2009)

douglatins said:


> Malwarebytes = Malware from what ive heard



Source?  Link?  Whoever told you that needs their head examined.

MBAM kills dang near everything I've ever run into.  Nothing is 100% accurate, but it's as close as anything I've ever used.


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## exodusprime1337 (Sep 6, 2009)

i don't mind malwarebytes, however, it seems that spybot always picks something up that malwarebytes did not, i run both out of curiosity sometimes, and that's the result i see. Most people i talk to though swear by it, so tuti gusti sono gusti...


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## Mussels (Sep 6, 2009)

i fid malwarebytes to be an overhyped piece of crap. Get two copies of the same file - name one keygen.exe, one harmless.exe - MB shows up the keygen.exe as a virus when it isnt. 

The program doesnt have a true scanner, it just looks for filenames - its terrible.

P.S IMO, i dont give a damn how many 'nasties' it gets, if it gets false positives and deletes things it shouldnt have.


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## farlex85 (Sep 6, 2009)

Wile E said:


> If you are the only user, and surf intelligently, then no, you don't really need high end AV protection.
> 
> Hell, I don't even run AV on my main rig, as I'm tho only one allowed to touch it. But I also have 3 kids aged 14 and under. They don't always know what's safe and what isn't. In this case, a paid AV is more than worth it, especially in the case of Kaspersky Internet Security, where it has absolutely great parental controls. No free suite comes close. Not to mention, a 3PC, 2 year license was only $18 on ebay.
> 
> None of that even takes into account that the 3 I mentioned are still better than all the freebies.



Absolutely, in your case I agree for $18 that's a much better route. As I said it's personal preference, there isn't really just one for all occassions. Added parental controls are a great bonus if you need them.


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## Mussels (Sep 6, 2009)

farlex85 said:


> Absolutely, in your case I agree for $18 that's a much better route. As I said it's personal preference, there isn't really just one for all occassions. Added parental controls are a great bonus if you need them.



i went the same route with kaspersky. its cheap, its reliable, and its one (if not the) best AV's out there - and it comes with a good firewall (and many varied plugins, such as parental controls and ad blockers)


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