Malwarebytes began life as a complement to antivirus suites. It was a backstop to catch and remove particularly troublesome malware that your primary security program couldn't. That all changed in December 2016 when the company announced its paid version, Malwarebytes Premium, was capable enough to be your primary security program. “With the launch of Malwarebytes 3.0, we are confident that you can finally replace your traditional antivirus,” the company said in a blog post.
Malwarebytes comes in two flavors. The first is the free version that is only capable of removing malware infections during a scan. Upgrade to Malwarebytes Premium at an annual cost of $40 for a single device or $60 for 10 devices, and it adds real-time protection, adware and unwanted program blocking, automatic updates, and scan scheduling.
