Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Note: This review covers v1.44 of the software.

If you've got only one piece of anti-malware software on your system, you're not protected well enough. Most anti-spyware programs can't detect and kill all spyware, so it's a good idea to run two on occasion, and sometimes more. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware is a worthwhile addition to anyone's anti-spyware arsenal, because unlike some overly complex programs, it's easy to configure and use.

Using Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware is simplicity itself. After you run it, click Scan, and it checks your system for infections, and you can either do a quick scan, or a more comprehensive scan. For an initial scan, a comprehensive scan is a good idea.

After the program reports what it finds, it will clean the infections for you, and can also place them in quarantine before killing them, a feature common to most pieces of anti-spyware. There's also an Ignore List, so that if Anti-Malware incorrectly identifies software as malware, you can put it on the list, and the next time around, it won't be identified as malware.

Note that you can run Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware program for free to scan and disinfect your system. But if you want to enable real-time protection to stop your PC from being infected in the first place, and to schedule scans, you'll have to register it.

--Preston Gralla