Malwarebytes for macOS Review 2024

Many Mac users feel their system is impervious to viruses and malware. The reason for that is because it used to be relatively true. MacOS was not the mainstream platform 15 years ago that it is today. Back then, viruses and malware primarily targeted Windows rather than Macs.
That’s no longer the case.

In this post, I’ll be reviewing Malwarebytes for macOS. The macOS version of Malwarebytes antivirus includes four main components:

• The antivirus
• Real-time protection
• Identity protection
• Ad-blocking browser extension (sort of)

I’ll be looking at all of them.

If you have the time, I recommend reading the review from beginning to end to get all the details. If your time is at a premium right now, you can find a summary of my thoughts below.

Malwarebytes for macOS summary

Malwarebytes has always garnered a fair reputation in the antivirus space. Its macOS antivirus aligns with that reputation, providing a basic antivirus engine bundled with extra features, most useful compared to its competitors’ fluff and bloat.

Malwarebytes’ antivirus engine, like its reputation, is fair. It failed to detect two of our virus samples and isn’t rated on AV Comparatives or AV Tests.

You won’t find the typical “quick” and “full” scans. There’s only one scan type, and it’s extremely fast. The engine provides real-time protection from viruses and malware.

Malwarebytes’ app is slick and easy to use, and its asking price is more than fair. The customer support I received was timely, but the rep wasn’t very familiar with Malwarebytes’ business practices (more on that below).

Given its engine’s performance and the lack of advanced scanning capabilities in a paid product, the drawbacks outweigh the positives. Malwarebytes is not recommended.

Pros & cons

Malwarebytes System requirements

Malwarebytes’ minimum system requirements are defined as follows:

• Operating System: macOS Big Sur 11 or later
• Memory: No minimum requirements
• Free disk space: No minimum requirements
• Supported browsers (Browser Guard): Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari

Signing up for Malwarebytes

Signing up for Malwarebytes is like signing up for any other antivirus. You choose your subscription, enter your information and payment details, and confirm. You’ll receive an email confirming your subscription, and you download the app.

A 60-day money-back guarantee backs the subscription, so you have more than enough time to try MalwareBytes risk-free and see if it’s for you.

You can also download the free 14-day trial version from its website.

Installing Malwarebytes for macOS

Installing Malwarebytes for macOS is pretty simple to install. Here are the steps to get up and running:

1. Download the Malwarebytes installer for Mac from the official website.
2. Locate the downloaded .dmg file in your Downloads folder and double-click it.
3. In the window that opens, double-click the Malwarebytes installer package.
4. If prompted with a security warning, click “Open” to proceed.
5. The Malwarebytes installer will launch. Click “Continue” to begin.
6. Read the license agreement and click “Agree” if you accept the terms.
7. Choose the destination for installation (usually the Applications folder) and click “Install.”
8. Enter your Mac’s administrator password when prompted and click “Install Software.”
9. Wait for the installation to complete, then click “Close”.
10. Malwarebytes will launch automatically with basic protection enabled.

To enable additional features:

• Open the Malwarebytes dashboard
• Navigate to the “Protection” or “Settings” section
• Manually enable extra tools as needed

Remember: While basic antivirus protection is activated by default, you’ll need to enable some extra features manually for comprehensive security. The process for enabling these additional features will be detailed in the upcoming section on features and functionality.

The antivirus

There are three primary components to the app’s main window:

• Scanner (the antivirus)
• Real-Time Protection
• Detection History

The VPN service, displayed at the bottom, is a paid add-on.

Scanner

Clicking Scanner takes you to the Scanner menu.

From here, you can run a virus scan. There is only one type of scan and no configuration options. Malwarebytes takes a very lean approach to antivirus scans. The scans are optimized and extremely fast, but aside from scheduling options, you must take Malwarebytes’ scans as they are.

There are no custom scans, either.

Clicking Start initiates the scan.

Once complete, click View Report to view the scan log.

Let’s move on to Real-Time Protection.

Real-Time Protection

Clicking Real-Time Protection from the main page displays the settings, consisting of two toggles.

Malware Protection is a real-time malware blocker that blocks downloads that Malwarebytes believes to be malware.

App Blocks will prevent apps from what it considers “bad developers” from running. It’s unclear what criteria MalwareBytes uses to identify “bad developers,” and there are no options related to the feature. So you have to take it or leave it.

Detection History

When you click Detection History on the main page, it displays the app’s quarantined files list, the allow list, and its activity log.

Quarantine

Detected viruses or malware are automatically moved to the quarantine folder, and the items in the quarantine folder are displayed here.

Allow list

If Malwarebytes identifies something as a virus or malware that you know is safe, you can add it to the Allow list and exclude it from future scans.

Clicking the Add button displays a file picker for you to select the files you want to exclude from virus scans.

Activity log

The Activity log lists all the activity occurring in the app. This includes scans, virus/malware detection, and any changes in the app’s settings.

Let’s now look at the features we can access from the left sidebar. There are three:

• Dashboard (takes you back to the Dashboard)
• Identity Protection
• Settings

We’ll start with Identity Protection.

Identity Protection

I consider this extra feature to be fluff, as very good free online services can do this for you. You don’t need a paid subscription for such a service.

Still, it’s there.

Clicking Identity Protection from the side menu takes you to one of two Malwarebytes extra features: email identity protection.

Enter your email address and click Scan now. After sending you a 2FA code, Malwarebytes will scan known databases to see if your email and password have been compromised.

It then displays the results in a nice little infographic. Of course, I was using a burner email address, so it found nothing.

The hidden feature: Browser Guard

So, in the opening paragraphs, I mentioned that Malwarebytes bundled an ad blocker in its antivirus subscription. And that’s true… kind of.

Malwarebytes provides a free ad-blocking extension called Browser Guard. It supports Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari. But it’s a separate and independent download. And for Safari, you need to get it off the Mac App Store.

Once installed, it displays a globe icon in Safari’s toolbar. Clicking the icon shows the extension’s active blockers and lists any blocked items.

Clicking the gear icon at the top right displays the extension’s settings, letting you to fine-tune what it blocks.

Let’s turn our attention to the app’s settings.

Malwarebytes settings

Clicking Settings from the left pane predictably brings up the app’s Settings menus.

General

The General menu allows you to set things like the quarantine behavior and the app’s update settings.

Scheduled scans

The Scheduled Scans menu is where you can set up scans to run automatically at fixed times.That’s all the customization you get for scans with MalwareBytes.

Advanced

The Advanced tab enables you to configure the amount of system resources allocated for virus scans. I haven’t seen this one very often, but I think it’s a valuable feature.

Let’s move on to the antivirus tests.

Malwarebytes for macOS antivirus tests

I started with the EICAR malware samples from the European Institute for Computer Antivirus Research. Malwarebytes only supports quick scans, so the results below only apply to those.

Also, MalwareBytes isn’t rated on AVComapartibes or AVTests, so we can’t compare our results.

Malwarebytes only blocked the raw executable and one of the compressed EICAR files. The .txt file and the second zipped executable were allowed through.

Moving on, Malwarebytes blocked all three live malware samples.

How Malwarebytes consumes resources

Here’s Malwarebytes’ impact on system resources during scans:

Malwarebytes pricing tiers

Malwarebytes offers four subscriptions:

You can download its 14-day free trial app (expires after 14 days).

It offers three tiers for a personal (individual) subscription:

It offers two tiers for a family subscription (supports 10+ devices):

It also offers a business plan for teams:

I’m using the “personal” plan. And at $3.75 per month (works out to $44.99 per year), that’s not a very big ask. If its antivirus engine had scored better, I’d consider it.

Customer support options

Support with Malwarebytes comes in one of two ways:

• Online forums
• Online chat

It would be nice if it offered email support, but I quickly got to speak with a support rep over chat (once I got past its relatively useless chatbot).

I inquired about Malwarebytes’ collection practices. Unfortunately, the answers I received contradicted Malwarebytes’ privacy policy.

There are too many data points to provide a screenshot. You can look at its privacy policy using this link.

But, in a nutshell, it collects the following data points:

• User-Agent String
• GeoIP Data (location)
• Functional Data
• Client Data (device information)
• Machine Identification Data
• License Data
• Malware and PUP Data
• Trial Data
• Exploit Data
• Operating System User Account Name and Domain
• Port number(s) used for incoming connections
• Mobile Application Data

That’s a lot of data. And while most of this collection may well be for services fulfilled, it could arguably collect less customer data than this. Other AV vendors fulfill their services with fewer data points.

The customer support rep didn’t seem familiar with Malwarebytes’ privacy policy.

Do I recommend Malwarebytes?

That’s going to be difficult – and for a few reasons.

While it provides a good app experience and reasonably prices its subscriptions, Malwarebytes for macOS‘ antivirus engine didn’t score particularly well in our testing. How does one recommend an antivirus that underperforms?

The rest of the cons are primarily annoyances – meaning, they don’t “break” the product – but they do make it more difficult to recommend. Why is the ad blocker not mentioned in the app? Why are there no custom scans? Why are there no advanced options in the app whatsoever?

And, its support reps, while timely and polite, don’t appear to be particularly knowledgeable.

Perhaps things will improve over time, but Malwarebytes is not recommended at this time.

The best Malwarebytes for macOS alternatives

While Malwarebytes has its merits, several robust alternatives offer superior protection for your Mac. Here are our top recommendations:

1. Intego Mac Internet Security X9: The Gold Standard for Mac Protection Mac-first approach, developed specifically for Apple’s ecosystem, deep understanding of macOS security needs, comprehensive protection tailored for Mac users.
2. Surfshark One: All-in-One Digital Security Suite combines traditional antivirus with broader digital protection. It includes a VPN for online privacy, features data breach monitoring, and has a privacy-focused search engine, which is ideal for users seeking a complete digital security solution.
3. Norton 360 Standard: Proven track record, consistently high scores in independent lab tests, effective protection against a wide range of threats, and a trusted name in cybersecurity with years of experience.
4. TotalAV Total Security: Up-and-Coming Mac Defender Solid performance in independent testing, user-friendly interface designed with Mac users in mind, and comprehensive feature set for total device security.

These alternatives offer robust antivirus protection for macOS, ensuring your Mac stays safe from the latest threats. Whether you prioritize Mac-specific expertise, all-in-one security, proven performance, or fresh approaches to Mac protection, one option will likely meet your needs better than Malwarebytes.

Antivirus testing methodology

We’ve structured our antivirus testing methodology to provide reliable data on the software’s effectiveness at malware protection and performance.

Our testing process includes:

• Using malware test samples from EICAR
• Testing live malware samples, including Adware and Trojans
• Comparing our own tests with independent antivirus lab test results

In addition, we measure several PC performance metrics and analyze pricing, ease of use, compatibility, and additional features.

If you want to know more about how we analyze antivirus software, we have a dedicated post on our antivirus research and testing methodology.