Malwarebytes released Malwarebytes 4.0, a new version of the company's security program, for Microsoft Windows systems on November 4, 2019.

The new version of the program includes the company's new Katana Engine, a new user interface, and other improvements. You may want to check out our first look of Malwarebytes 4.0 which we published in August 2019.

Malwarebytes 4.0 is offered as a Free and Premium version just like previous versions. Premium users, including those with lifetime keys, may upgrade to the new version for free.

The new version can be downloaded from the official Malwarebytes website. The default installer requires an active Internet connection; users who need an offline installer can download it by following the link in the second post on this page.

Note: Malwarebytes 4.0 is not compatible anymore with pre-Windows 7 operating systems. The company recommends that users stay on Malwarebytes 3.x as it will continue to be supported.

The new version has several issues. Users who run Windows Firewall Control (which Malwarebytes acquired some time ago) will notice that Malwarebytes Self-Protection module will prevent the firewall tool from opening. Other issues include that Controlled Folder Access blocks certain advanced installer options on Windows machines and GUI issues with high DPI and certain screen resolutions.

The company's browser extension, Malwarebytes Browser Guard, exited Beta recently as well.

Malwarebytes 4.0

The very first thing that Windows users who install the new Malwarebytes 4.0 may notice is not the new interface but that the product registers itself as the system's main antivirus solution in the Windows Defender Security Center.

Malwarebytes believes that its product is ready for the responsibility thanks to the integration of the new Katana engine in the new program version.

The new Malwarebytes Katana engine provides superior malware detection for zero hour threats in particular while improving performance for faster Scans.

It remains to be seen how good the new engine really is. Malwarebytes promises expanded malware detection, improved zero-hour detection, and improved signature-less behavioral detection.

Users who don't want the program to be registered as the primary security solution may disable it in the options under Security.

Tip: Malwarebytes collects usage and threat statistics by default. Open the program settings and disable the option under General to disable this.

The new interface puts the focus on protection settings, the detection history, and the scanner. You may change real-time protection settings right then and there by toggling the "Web Protection", "Malware Protection", "Ransomware Protection", and "Exploit Protection options. Note that these are only available in the Premium version of the product.

A click on a section opens it in an overlay on the screen. Scan starts a scan of the system right away while a click anywhere on the Scanner widget opens the scan interface. If you want to run a custom scan you need to do that.

A click on "advanced scanners" on the page that opens and on the next page on custom scan displays the available options (including a scan for rootkits).

The Real-time protection section displays the number of threats blocked on the local device and globally. The latest Malwarebytes blog post is highlighted on the page as well.

The new interface looks more streamlined but that comes at the expense of functionality. If you want to check out previous reports and scans, you cannot do that anymore straight from the main interface. You have to click on the scanner widget to access these reports.

Memory use has been quite high on a test system. The three Malwarebytes processes mbam.exe, MBAMService.exe and mbramtray.exe used nearly 450 Megabytes of memory (with MBAMService.exe using 317 Megabytes alone).

Closing Words

Tests will show how good Malwarebytes 4.0 really is. The program has been streamlined but memory usage is still, maybe even more so than before, an issue. It is usually a good idea to wait with the upgrade until known issues are taken care off.

Users who upgraded from version 2.x to the initial version 3.0 may remember that it too had stability and performance issues in the beginning.

Now You: Have you tried version 4.0 of Malwarebytes? What is your take?

Summary Article Name Malwarebytes 4.0 for Windows launches Description Malwarebytes released Malwarebytes 4.0, a new version of the company's security program, for Microsoft Windows systems on November 4, 2019. Author Martin Brinkmann Publisher Ghacks Technology News Logo

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