According to 2018 BDO Cyber Governance Survey, there has been a 350% increase in ransomware attacks, a 250% increase in spoofing attacks, and a 70% increase in spear phishing attacks in comparison to last year. In this era of the increasing influence of the Internet, Cyber Attacks and threats are also increasing exponentially. That’s why it is necessary for you to protect your system from any kind of cyber attacks or viruses. In order to that, you need the best Antivirus Programs for your system. That’s why in today’s post we will be comparing two of the most popular and most trusted Antivirus programs, Avast and Malwarebytes. We will provide you with a brief comparison between the two Antiviruses and will decide which one has got an edge over the other.
An introduction to Malwarebytes
Malwarebytes is an American-based computer security software firm that was established in 2006. Malwarebytes started their journey with the Malware Removal Tool. As the company gained more reputation and revenue, they launched their advanced security solutions that were fully equipped and capable of handling any kinds of malware and viruses. Malwarebytes 3 Premium is one of their security solutions that is more than enough for protecting your system against all kinds of viruses, malware from fmovies, 0123movies websites and Zero-day attacks. Malwarebytes Antivirus Suites include:
- Malwarebytes Free (Windows & Mac)
- Malwarebytes Premium (Windows & Mac)
An introduction to Avast
Avast is a very well-known Czech company that is working in the field of Cybersecurity and providing us with Security Solutions since 1988. Avast is serving more than 438 million users spread across 186 countries. According to Avast, their Antivirus programs block more than 3 billion attacks every month. Avast makes sure to implement all kinds of next-gen technologies in order to protect their users from malware, viruses, zero-day attacks and various other kinds of cyber attacks. Avast Antivirus Suites include:
- Avast Free Antivirus (Windows)
- Avast Pro Antivirus (Windows)
- Avast Security Pro (Mac)
- Avast Internet Security (Windows)
- Avast Security (Mac)
- Avast Premier (Windows)
- Avast Ultimate (Windows)
Must read: Bitdefender vs Avast – Which is Best?
Avast vs Malwarebytes: A Brief Comparison
In order to compare the two antiviruses, we will focus on factors such as:
- Security Related Features
- Protection against threats
- System Resource consumption
- User-friendliness
- Popularity
So, let’s compare both of the Antiviruses on these factors and see which one emerges out as a winner.
Security Related Features
Avast is known for providing extra features and tools apart from the Antivirus program. Just like any other Antivirus program, Avast has also got a variety of scans like Smart Scan, Boot-time scan, and Full Scan. Apart from that, the Wi-Fi Inspector Tool protects you from suspicious Wi-Fi Networks, The Software updater updates any outdated program, the gaming mode allows you to play games without being disturbed by notifications and pop-ups. Other features such as Email Protection, Password manager, and Rescue disk are also present. All these advanced features make Avast a great choice for your PC. On the other hand, Malwarebytes does not provide you with such features. But it has got all the basic features that every Antivirus has. Hence, the winner is Avast.
Protection against threats
We will use the reports and data from the AV-Comparatives to know which Antivirus provides better protection against the threats. In the recent review of Avast, AV-Comparatives tested the antivirus against around 190 samples of zero-day attacks and 10,684 samples of known malware. Avast scored a 6/6 in that test, blocking 100% of the Zero-day attacks in both months and 99.9% malware in the month of November and 100% malware in the month of December.
On the other hand, Malwarebytes does not participate in any independent tests. The reason is that Malwarebytes does not specialize in detecting malware based on its signature. They may even delete the signatures of an old malware that they haven’t come across in recent years. Its specialty lies in detecting Zero-day attacks by analyzing the behavior of a threat. So, any independent test that uses dated malware to measure the performance of Malwarebytes may make it look sub-standard.
That’s why Avast is a clear winner in this category.
Also Read: Bitdefender vs Kaspersky 2019 Comparision
System Resource Consumption
According to tests conducted by AV-Comparatives, Avast Antivirus didn’t consume a large number of system resources. Avast Antivirus scored 5.5/6.0 in the performance test. Here is the screenshot of the test results.
As Malwarebytes does not participate in any independent test we can’t comment on its System Resource Consumption. But if we go by the community reviews, Malwarebytes has been criticized for consuming a large percentage of system resources. Hence, we can say that Avast is much lighter on your PC in comparison to Malwarebytes.
User-friendliness
When it comes to user-interface, Avast has got a modern-looking dark-themed interface which is really clean and elegant. You get a vertical menu on the left side that gives quick-access to Status, Privacy, Protection, and Performance categories. The default window is the Status window which shows whether the System is protected or not. A “You’re protected” message with a green check-mark is displayed when everything is under control but If there are any kinds of threats present then the check-mark turns to red. Overall, the interface is pretty user-friendly.
Malwarebytes has also got an equally well-designed, clean, and elegant user interface. It might look complicated at first but after using it for a few times you will get used to it. The default window is the Dashboard window on which your status is shown. A button is also provided to run a Smart Scan. On the right-hand side, you get the list of active modules, your last scan status, and protection history.
It was really tough to decide which Antivirus has got a better interface. So, it’s a tie.
Popularity
Avast is way more popular than Malwarebytes. Avast has a greater market share, it has got a greater number of downloads on CNET, and it has a greater number of social media followers. All of these stats point to the conclusion that Avast is more popular than Malwarebytes. You can also read my latest post windows defender vs Avast, out of both Windows Defender wins the race.
TL; DR
- Security-related features: Avast is the clear winner when it comes to having more security-related features. Malwarebytes does not offer that many extra security-related features.
- Protection against threats: Here also Avast has got an edge over Malwarebytes. Avast has consistently performed better against all kinds of threats whether it is malware, viruses or zero-day attacks.
- System Resource Consumption: Avast is much lighter on the PC in comparison to Malwarebytes.
- User-Friendliness: It was really hard to decide a winner in this case. That’s why it’s a tie! Both Avast and Malwarebytes has an amazing and easy to use user interface which makes both of them pretty user-friendly.
- Popularity: Avast is more reputed and popular in the field of Cybersecurity than Malwarebytes. Hence, Avast is the winner in this section.
Final Words
By looking at the Avast vs Malwarebytes comparison we can clearly say that Avast is a much better Antivirus in comparison to Malwarebytes. Both of the Antiviruses have got some pros and cons which should be considered before deciding to buy any one of them. For example, Malwarebytes performed really well when it came to detecting Zero-day attacks but was left behind by Avast in Malware detection. That’s it for this post on Avast vs Malwarebytes comparison I hope that you found it informative. Stay tuned for more such comparisons and other related posts. Thanks for reading.
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