Is Defender + MalwareBytes better or worse than Defender alone?

Using Defender + MalwareByes (in any way that the two can be used) combines the positives of the two AND the negatives of the two.

In deciding how to vote, weigh the positives against the negatives, what counts more for YOU in your actual day-to-day computing.

If you vote for 'better' write a few words why better.

If you vote for 'worse' write a few words why worse.

It is helpful to have a large pool of insights, thanks!

Hello @Haydon

Have you given thought to actively running Malwarebytes Premium with Microsoft Defender which is Malwarebytes recommended and quite effective? No mutual exclusions are required.

HTH

Haydon said:

If you vote for 'better' write a few words why better.

If you vote for 'worse' write a few words why worse.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

This type of topic comes up so often. My view is that these days WD is so good that anything else is totally superfluous --note here on Home , not corporate / cloud type networked machines - different problems and situations there.

These days even notorious torrent sites don't want their users infected with ad / spy / malware (these sites need to earn money and they don't do that by driving users away) so you are unlikely to get any nasties from those sources. In any case nobody at least on these Forums seems to be able to report problems that malwarebytes or other 3rd party A/V programs have detected which WD has failed to recognize -- note ignoring false positives as that's another whole issue by itself.

If you want to add these extra things for "peace of mind" it's your system and your choice and that sort of "peace of mind" thing isn't really quantifiable in money or technical terms. However from a purely technical point of view very little if any is to be gained by installing these sorts of programs on domestic computers.

Other people will certainly have a different opinion but WD is far better these days than the almost laughable efforts of Windows security on W7/8/8.1 when you really did need to use a 3rd party add on.

Up to you.

Cheers
jimbo

@1PW I own a lifetime license of MalwareBytes, that's how long I have been using it, from the time when Defender wasn't all that good and MalwareBytes needed to play a major role.

Nowadays, Defender is very good and the role of MalwareBytes changes to that of a second opinion scanner on demand, with no real-time protection functionality, at least for me. There used to be a free version of MalwareBytes that did exactly that, and Microsoft used to recommend the use of the free version of MalwareBytes.

The free version of MalwareBytes is unfortunately no longer available, what is available these days is a trial version of MalwareBytes that expires in 14 days. Sure, one can choose not to register MalwareBytes in the OS so that the app can work in parallel with Defender in these 14 days, but one cannot downgrade the trial version to the free version, it downgrades itself after the 14 days. I note that Microsoft stopped recommending MalwareBytes.

MalwareBytes is prone to false positives these days, and a false positive in a second opinion scanner is not really a problem, but a false positive in real time functionality can be disruptive.

The above are the pros and cons of Defender + Malwarebytes in my perspective, i.e. the pros and cons balance each other out.

@jimbo45 Thanks for your views, but you did not vote. So, I voted to balance the vote.

Haydon said:

If you vote for 'better' write a few words why better.

If you vote for 'worse' write a few words why worse.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

To me, your choices do not make sense. Defender + MB cannot be worse than Defender alone (ignoring slightly increased risk of false positives) as you are getting two independent checks.

Also, most people install MB in offline mode and just manually run periodic checks with MB.

Vice versa - if you install MB in online mode, Defender is normally offline and you can do manual checks with Defender.

I am not certain if you can have both MB and Defender online at same time, but general opinion is you should only have one online at a time as they could conflict and could have performance issues.

In the past with MB2, MB was a malware detection system, and it did coexist online with Defender but with MB3, it became a more all round system including AV checks. Windows 10 /11 turn off other AV packages if Defender is on. I have not tried it recently by I am not sure if you can have MB3 online at same as Defender unlike MB2.

Also you are incorrect about trial version of MB - there is an option to set it to work offline immediately and you do not have to wait 14 days.

(In my opinion), a better poll would be :

Which is better (and ask why):

a) MB only online
b) Defender only Online
c) Both online (if that is possible)
d) Does it make any discernable difference which you choose.

Uninstalled MalwareBytes a long time ago already .
Its bloated , never finds anything , to be short ; its very bad " oil " for a fast OS.............

@cereberus Well, if you ignore something like false positives when making a judgement call on bettter or worse, then your judgement call would be less valid.

Ah, OK, the trial version can be deactivated, I did not know that.

But yes, as I wrote in the above, you can run both Defender + MalwareBytes at the same time if you choose not to register the latter in the OS. I did that for a while.

That's one way of using Defender + MalwareBytes, there are obviously other ways of using Defender + MalwareBytes.

ALL ways of using Defender + MalwareBytes count for this poll, whether the two are better or worse than Defender alone.

I would say that's a nice and simple poll

Including the OP this is post #7, but there are already 4 votes sofar
2 for better
2 for worse

I encourage further opinions and votes

Haydon said:

Including the OP this is post #7, but there are already 4 votes sofar
2 for better
2 for worse

I encourage further opinions and votes

Click to expand...

You might need an "I don't know" option because many people, like me, might not know. That way, you'll have a better bead on whether it's even being tried.

I have had MWB for a long time. Differing AV companies all try to kill it by send messages that its causing conflicts. First to 'protest' was iobit Advance System Care. They were having a 'war' with MWB because MWB claimed that iobit (chinese) had stolen their database and passing it off as their own. Later I began a long association with Kaspersky who also said MWB conflicts with their own product.

I have MWB Premium but on manual use, and run it at least once a week. I am now on Bit Defender because a USA source said that Kaspersky had close ties with the Kremlin. Bit Defender does not tell me that MWB is a conflict for some reason. As far as I am concerned, MWB is a valuable asset which covers some areas not covered by Defender, which is also a top software. So I would say yes, use MWB with Defender.

Haydon said:

@cereberus Well, if you ignore something like false positives when making a judgement call on bettter or worse, then your judgement call would be less valid.

Ah, OK, the trial version can be deactivated, I did not know that.

But yes, as I wrote in the above, you can run both Defender + MalwareBytes at the same time if you choose not to register the latter in the OS. I did that for a while.

That's one way of using Defender + MalwareBytes, there are obviously other ways of using Defender + MalwareBytes.

ALL ways of using Defender + MalwareBytes count for this poll, whether the two are better or worse than Defender alone.

I would say that's a nice and simple poll

Including the OP this is post #7, but there are already 4 votes sofar
2 for better
2 for worse

I encourage further opinions and votes

Click to expand...

I am afraid we will have to agree to differ in opinion. We have had zillions of this sort of post and they never conclude anything useful.

Difference in opinion is quite alright, but constructive discussions are useful though

Hmm, I currently use Windows Security and Microsoft Defender, both appear to be effective as Malwarebytes Premium and Windows Security. I have used Malwarebytes Premium and Windows Security with Win 10. My current security combo appears to be working well with Win 11. FWIW, Microsoft Defender is available at the Microsoft Store.

I use Defender all the time, and do full and offline scans every week in addition to manual scans with the free version of Malwarebytes. They don't interfere with one another. As for the security, I have no idea, but happily don't have any problems online, so it must be reasonable. I voted better, for what it's worth.

None of your choices are what i was hoping to read when i came upon your topic. I am making my assessment on 23 yrs. of Malware fighting & cleaning peoples computers, Defender is very a good daily scanner & cleaner, Malwarebytes even the free version is used also in some of the cleaning i do, but there are many other tools (programs) that we use to find what else may be lurking or causing havoc with computers ! But above everything you must be trained in what to look out for & know how to read logs produced by the programs you run ! So i guess i will chose Defender alone ! Be Safe ............

Chuck

Haydon said:

But yes, as I wrote in the above, you can run both Defender + MalwareBytes at the same time if you choose not to register the latter in the OS. I did that for a while.

That's one way of using Defender + MalwareBytes, there are obviously other ways of using Defender + MalwareBytes.

ALL ways of using Defender + MalwareBytes count for this poll, whether the two are better or worse than Defender alone.

Click to expand...

If you are not using the real-time protections of both, you are not using them together as you say. Just doing manual scans with Malwarebytes is not using them together in any sense.

The "scanning" portion of Malwarebytes is not its real strength, it is actually the weakest.
Exploit and web protection is its best features. Defender has no actual web protection and exploit protection is not that great.

Malwarebytes and Browser Guard combined with Defender make a great combo and better than either alone.

The bottom line is how you use the computer and what you click on. Most users are not looking for trouble but seem to find it.

I have a few hundred active MB premium user's in my client base and I have never seen an infection since Win 10 was released and I would know. I offered free virus removals when I sold Malwarebytes to them and have never had to clean up any of them.

I will admit my clients do not torrent and download every free thing they can find. I do have several that have fallen for fake support phone calls though.

It is your money and your computer so it is your choice what to use.
Most of my clients have lifetime licenses I sold them since I was a reseller from the beginning. so they are not paying a subscription.

flashh4 said:

None of your choices are what i was hoping to read when i came upon your topic. I am making my assessment on 23 yrs. of Malware fighting & cleaning peoples computers, Defender is very a good daily scanner & cleaner, Malwarebytes even the free version is used also in some of the cleaning i do, but there are many other tools (programs) that we use to find what else may be lurking or causing havoc with computers ! But above everything you must be trained in what to look out for & know how to read logs produced by the programs you run ! So i guess i will chose Defender alone ! Be Safe ............

Chuck

Click to expand...

Yes - but over 23 years the whole nature of "Attacks", security systems and even the operating systems have hugely changed over that period which is a geological age in technology terms -- rather like comparing an old surgeon using a candle and butchers implements to perform surgery rather than todays laser controlled computer assisted precision keyhole non invasive methods. Or using a Horse and buggy to transport goods rather than a modern electric pilotless drone.

Modern threats on DOMESTIC (and I repeat here Domestic) computers are more in the ways of Scams, fraud and identity theft, which are not currently even remotely defendable via any sort of software. This will require very sophisticated and complex A.I to manage via computers and we are no where near that stage yet.

Windows Computers rarely get attacked by malware these days if you stick to the base WD, and enable the pretty frequent updates. I've used all sorts of sites, some of which musn't be named here - and never had a problem with malware on W10 / W11. On W7/W8 etc computers Windows security was laughable, and 3rd party products were the only solution.

Today hackers are much more interested in going for larger corporations, or causing havoc and mayhem on national / internation infrastructure where they have much "tastier" pickings both financial and political. Nobody is going these days to waste time and energy breaking into "Mom and Pop" computers to steal a few dollars !!!.
Like all these things - install extra security if it gives you peace and mind -- but from a technical standpoint - it's utterly pointless for about 99.9% of domestic users.

These topics just keep coming up -- nobody's 100% right or wrong. Choose what you need to do but for the right reasons, learn what scams are out there and don't fall for them. Don't answer emails or open attachments from unknown sources, don't give out too much info on social media and just use computers sensible, and be aware that the Internet can be a trap for the unwary.

-- One of the nastier Scams currently is that in some cases deposits from unkonwn sources are made to peoples bank accounts and then they get a threat saying you haven't paid for goods xxxx ordered and we'll take you to court. So people assume the Bank has made a mistake and forward the money on to the account in question. This is a "Sophisticated way" Money Launderers are operating in some cases - and even if you fall a victim to this scam if you pass the money on you are committing a CRIME and in a lot of countries that can involve serious JAIL time.

If you are a victim of this either let the Bank know immediately (often doesn't help as they will think you are complicit anyway) or just spend the money -- you won't get taken to court as theres no audit trail that you ever "ordered" any of the "alleged goods".

cheers
jimbo

The big security hole in both WD and MBAM is what I call 'the boy who cried wolf'.

Although I have no proof, I have long suspected that all the big AV outfits are paid by various software and media companies to report pirate download sites as infected.

So if I am looking for a hookie movie and I click 'download', before I get to the download page MBAM Browser Guard flags up DANGER - TROJAN !!!! On the rare occasions that I have clicked 'ignore, continue to site' I find there is no danger.

One of these days I'm going to click 'ignore' and find my pc gets infected or encrypted by some Bitcoin criminals - just like the villagers in the Aesop fable who ignored the wolf warning and their sheep got eaten because previous false cries of 'wolf' had amounted to nothing.

This 'boy who cried wolf' malarkey doesn't just affect piracy. I heard about an Islam friendly version of Google that has severe censorship and I thought it would be interesting to have a look - but MBAM blocked it



So - do I go there or not ?

I gave it a swerve :)

MWB tried to block my entire opera browser a week or so ago. I uninstalled MWB, rebooted, pout it back in, and its not happened since.

badcrc said:

The big security hole in both WD and MBAM is what I call 'the boy who cried wolf'.

Although I have no proof, I have long suspected that all the big AV outfits are paid by various software and media companies to report pirate download sites as infected.

So if I am looking for a hookie movie and I click 'download', before I get to the download page MBAM Browser Guard flags up DANGER - TROJAN !!!! On the rare occasions that I have clicked 'ignore, continue to site' I find there is no danger.

One of these days I'm going to click 'ignore' and find my pc gets infected or encrypted by some Bitcoin criminals - just like the villagers in the Aesop fable who ignored the wolf warning and their sheep got eaten because previous false cries of 'wolf' had amounted to nothing.

This 'boy who cried wolf' malarkey doesn't just affect piracy. I heard about an Islam friendly version of Google that has severe censorship and I thought it would be interesting to have a look - but MBAM blocked it

View attachment 31496

So - do I go there or not ?

I gave it a swerve :)

Click to expand...

Hi there
I tested MBAM on a machine I use exclusively for Virus testing -- and I got a similar message when trying to download an Arabic version of "The Koran" from Saudi Arabia of all places !!!!! I must be on about 97 Govts lists as "Undesirable now " !!!!!!!

Have to see what happens if I download " the King James / Vulgate" version of the Bible. or the Torah !!!!

3rd party A/V outfits need to justify their existence since much of their original market "Raison d'etre" has now been fulfilled by Ms in its own WD and Azure cloud server.

Cheers
jimbo

A few thoughts...
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Using Defender + MalwareByes (in any way that the two can be used) combines the positives of the two AND the negatives of the two. In deciding how to vote, weigh the positives against the negatives, what counts more for YOU in your actual day-to-day computing and give an explanation, it is helpful to have a large pool of insights.
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Just lurk on bleepingcomputer.com and notice the many 'nobodies' that seek help there. Perish the thought that YOU are better or luckier than other 'nobodies'.
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If you are ONLY looking for an additional anti-malware scanner for your Windows computer, here are some that do not require installation