When White Hats Collide - Comments Page 2

I have been using PC Matic for four years now and it has kept my four year old HP Pavilon 20 running almost like the first time I fired it up. The bottom line is; I trust it. I don't know what to make of MBAM. I'll just keep using PC Matic and consider MBAM a PUP.

E. Perilloux asks what happened to good old-fashioned integrity in the marketplace. What happened is deregulation. The prevailing and openly-stated ethic of laissez-faire capitalism is that anything goes in the quest for profit.

The brief era of widespread prosperity and somewhat civil society that prevailed in my youth has been demolished by the type of politician who constantly invokes a return to a mythical good-old-days, the type of good-old-days that brought us the depression of the 30s.

Re: "Does this leave you with a bad impression of Malwarebytes?"

Nope. PC Matic's marketing along would disqualify it. Unlike BobR, I find MalwareBytes rationale for disqualification convincing.

Now on to MalwareBytes v3: suddenly MalwareBytes themselves have taken on most of the characteristics they decry - like automatic enabling of their pro trial, re-enabling the trial on upgrading, not following their own flag to not start on Windows boot, and now Auslogics defrag is now also labeled a PUP (a favorite defragger.) I can forgive the bugs (a couple of bad ones were found on first release) but it looks like MalwareBytes really, really want to sell stuff over simply helping people.

It is unfortunate when computer users become collateral damage in a snit between or among members of the corporate community.

Also:

If MalwareBytes removes the PC Matic *Trial* I would be all for it. The PC Matic trial does nothing - until you pay up. I would want them to identify and remove all such things; there is altogether too many of these "Free Download!" things that are frankly false advertising.

However, if MalwareBytes removes the PC Matic *paid* copy I be very upset. In that case the user made the decision to actually buy the product, that makes all the difference.

I used to have MBAM, but I deleted it quite some time back. I truly don't remember why, but it must have been that it was either interfering with other programs, hounding me to install other programs I didn't want, automatically installing other programs, hounding me to get the paid version, their test scores weren't as impressive as Kapersky or some combination or the foregoing. I now use Kapersky and Super-Anti Spyware and though I am lately getting a bit paranoid about Kapersky being from Russia, so far the results are trouble free computing.

You say you can no longer recommend Malwarebytes but what about PC Matic? They both used my computer as a killing field - both are acting like spoiled, conceited brats. Professional? Not hardly! Trusted? In no way can either be trusted! I can see the lawsuits coming and not from each other but from the consumer who have had their computers sabotaged by both companies. They are both losers.

As I recall, I accepted your recommendation to use Malwarebytes software. Whatever PCMatic uses, appeared to not work for me. Why? I lost control of my browser while browsing and ended up having to reload my Win10 and change my user file. Once loaded, Malwarebytes displayed a pop-up to warn me and blocked issues I was not aware of until after damage was done (while using PCMatic).

Malwarebytes suddenly started blocking my PCMatic and caused confusion with me. With Malwarebyte Version 3 I am not able to click links within PCMatic emails. I still am not able to get Malwarebytes to allow this.

I would like to hear your opinion on Malwarebyte and PCMatic's Super Shield.

What about credibility? Since PC Matic commissioned and paid for the study I am deeply suspicious as to their logic. Also, I consistently hear negative comments about PC Matics product, especially their trial before buying. So Bob, are you recommending PC Matic, or not!

EDITOR'S NOTE: I didn't say anything about recommending PC Matic in my article. The article was to point out the controversy, and let each person decide for themselves.

I noticed that no specific virus/malware was annotated in the test, just class and numbers. This feud between Malwarebytes and PCMatic needs a level ground comparison.

PCMatic has Super Shield as an add on that is included with their program. My Firefox browser shows PCMatic using Ublock, so it makes me wonder how AV Comparatives was testing.

It is my judgement that Malwarebytes is showing poor character that may lead to weak security coverage.

The craziness on planet earth continues. I have never used PC Matic, and never will. From this article, I am inclined to think PC Matic may be funding Bob Rankin, as well as AV Comparatives. Over

I know you don't control them, but I found it a bit ironic that two of the four "ads" at the bottom of the page following the article were for PC Matic!

You mentioned MBAM deleted Webroot SecureAnywhere. I use them both and have never had a problem with either.

I have utilized MBAM for years and have had very few false positives, but

I will admit that MBAM did find issue with System
Mechanic. It found malware from within the program and deleted a couple of files from System Mechanic. However, System Mechanic continued to function just fine.

I don't know what to say about any of these things.

During a recent troubleshooting-&-repair, my I.T. guy installed the free versions of Avast, MBAM, and SUPERAntiSpyware. (I had previously always used Windows Defender). He explained that, "Whatever one program misses, the other(s) will catch"
But after reading the above, I am strongly inclined to upgrade the AVAST to the Premium version, and delete all the rest. Seems like one really good full-featured A/V program is a much better choice than multiple "free" overlapping ones.

How come nobody has mentioned Norton 360 or Norton Security? I've found Norton honest and efficient.

When ransomware hit the press I phoned Norton and asked if the program was effective against that particular bit of evil. "Absolutely," I was told. "We make it our business to find every virus and update Norton to eliminate it."

I was skeptical about all that reassurance, but I haven't come across anything to disprove it.

Thank you for the warning.
It appears that the ISIS syndrome is even spreading to the net.
Ignore the colateral. Just eliminate everyone you feel is not worthy. That is, to you finantially.
Sad.

I've never run PCMatic although I have used PC Pitstop's free scans for years. Malwarebytes has been a staple for me, but in their latest revision it is extremely difficult to find a link to the free version, so I would say they are focusing on making more money. As far as System Mechanic, I have run it and in my opinion it is worse than a PUP. You can run every scan and "improvement" they suggest, and their software tells you that your computer has sped up, but independent 3rd party programs I have run before and after show absolutely no difference. Then if you decide to remove it you have to jump through hoops and go into safe mode to get rid of all of it.

I have been using Norton 360 for many years and have found it generally effective. But if I have some concern then I also use as a one-off the free Malwarebites software to do an additional check. I was recommended the latter several years ago after my PC got infected by a virus after I installed a downloader program that I thought was reliable but later learnt allowed malware to enter.
Occasionally I also now use Norton's Power Eraser as an additional precaution.

It pays to be very wary of who is sponsoring any site that does reviews and makes recommendations. You wonder where their loyalties lie.