Malware Bytes Or Norton's Internet Security?

[woodchopper]

Have been using NIS for donkeys years never any problem - how does Malwarebytes compare?

[Old_Geezer]

NIS is a full security suite inc. anti-virus. Malwarebytes is not, it looks just for malware. One doesn't compare the two. One supplements the other.

[JimF]

I have never used any paid anti-virus / anti-malware software and I also have never had any problem.

What version of Windows are you using?

[Buenchico]

Viruses and malware are different. You need an anti-virus program to zap viruses and an anti-malware program to zap malware.

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (on its own) is useless against viruses; it only deals with malware.

Norton Internet Security (which has now been replaced by Norton 360) is a full security suite, which includes both anti-virus and anti-malware programs. However, if you opt for it, you also end up paying for additional 'bells and whistles' (such as cloud back-up and a VPN) that you might not need.

I've been reading (and posting on) Technology threads here on AB for over a decade and it seems clear to me that the majority of people here just use a free program to zap viruses, with Avast possibly being the one that's currently most favoured:
https://www.avast.com/en-gb/index#pc
[Many people are also happy to simply stick with Windows Defender, which comes built into Windows anyway].

They then top that up with an anti-malware program, with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) being by far the most commonly used. With MBAM you can choose whether to just use the free version or to pay for the Premium one. The difference is that the Premium version 'runs in the background', constantly watching out for malware and removing it. The free version is 'run on demand' only, meaning that it does absolutely nothing until you choose to run it. (That's good enough for the majority of people though, who might run a scan every few weeks or, of course, as soon as they suspect that their computer has acquired some malware).

My own choice is to use Avast, together with the free version of MBAM (or AdwCleaner, which is another freebie from Malwarebytes), so I don't pay a penny for my security software. For the vast majority of computer users, paying for security software is a total waste of money!