Malwarebytes and Norton Antivirus are likely two of the products that you are contemplating purchasing if you are in the market for antimalware software to protect your computer from attacks carried out by malware.
Malware can take the form of adware, which causes annoying advertisements to appear on your screen; spyware, which secretly monitors your online behaviour; and viruses, which can cause your system to malfunction. Malwarebytes and Norton Antivirus are two examples of antivirus software that can identify and eliminate this type of malware.
However, the two products have a few features and capabilities that are not identical to one another. But which of these options should you choose to use?
Defense against Malware
You will need to install both Norton and Malwarebytes on the test computer in order to determine which competitor provides the superior level of protection.
When it comes to protecting users from viruses, malware, ransomware, and spyware, Norton employs a variety of strategies, one of which is an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), in addition to machine learning algorithms. The antimalware also comes with a feature called Norton Insight, which identifies which files on your computer are safe to access and which ones are not, so that subsequent scans are completed more quickly.
Malwarebytes protects computers from malware, ransomware, and zero-day exploits by employing several different methods, including anti-phishing and link-scanning, to detect and remove these threats.
We will use the findings from the third-party lab known as AV-Test to evaluate the malware protection capabilities of the company. In the lab tests for protection against malware infections, some of the parameters include protection against zero-day malware attacks as well as detection of widespread and prevalent malware.
In numerous independent assessments, Norton demonstrates detection rates that are nearly flawless. Norton’s Power Eraser, a tool for removing malware, enhances the company’s capacity to achieve rapid and precise detection of malware, maintaining a consistently perfect detection rate of one hundred percent.
According to the results presented above, for instance, Norton received a perfect score when it came to detecting widespread and prevalent malware as well as protecting against zero-day malware.
Malwarebytes wasn’t too far in the rearview mirror. It was successful in detecting the majority of viruses; however, it failed to detect some zero-day malware. Its score for detecting zero-day malware attacks was 99.5% in May 2022, and its score for detecting widespread-prevalent malware was 99.9%; both of these scores increased to 100% the following month.
During the same time period, both Norton and Malwarebytes occasionally misidentified legitimate files as being infected with malicious software, with Norton producing slightly better overall results.
Malwarebytes vs. Norton: Real-Time
When shopping for antimalware software, it is important to look for one that offers real-time protection as a key security feature. This feature is helpful in determining how well a product protects you in real-time, both online and offline, against malicious software.
You may need to go to eica.org and download the test file in order to test the ability of each antimalware software to protect you from malware in real-time, such as when downloading random files from the internet. This can be done by visiting eica.org.
Tests conducted by third parties have shown that it is simple for Norton to prevent EICAR samples from being downloaded into a system. Trojans and adware that were discovered in the live samples are also very simple for Norton to eliminate.
Norton is able to detect even the most advanced and evasive forms of malware with ease, and it scores a perfect 100 on detection and real-time protection tests. This is due, in part, to the fact that Norton employs a tool called Reputation Protection (Insight), which is powered by AI and identifies unknown forms of malware based on how closely they resemble existing forms of malware.
Users are protected very effectively in real-time by Malwarebytes, which is another area in which the program excels. The application possesses a Katana engine that employs artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to detect and protect users from unknown, unstudied, and uncategorized forms of malware.
In addition to that, it comes with Browser Guard, which is an extension for web browsers that get rid of annoying advertisements, blocks trackers, recognizes and stops fake tech support scams, and blocks web pages that contain malware.
Parental Controls
You are able to keep tabs on your child’s actions, both online and off, thanks to parental controls. Norton is equipped with parental control capabilities that allow users to block access to websites as well as apps. There are no parental controls available in Malwarebytes.
Malwarebytes vs. Norton: Firewall
A firewall will monitor all network traffic, both incoming and outgoing and will detect and filter any strange activity that it finds. The intelligent firewall that is included with Norton automatically configures itself and provides a large number of capabilities for more experienced users.
The capabilities of the firewall include detection for spoofing, detection for man-in-the-middle attacks, and exceptions for public networks. Malwarebytes does not include a firewall in its software.
VPN
When you utilize a virtual private network, you can avoid having your online activity tracked by prying Internet service providers (ISPs), governments, advertising, and other third parties. You can watch content that you have subscribed to and paid for at home using a virtual private network (VPN) from any location in the world.
Both of these antimalware products come with their own VPNs. One disadvantage is that a virtual private network (VPN) service is only available with Malwarebytes’ most expensive option, Premium + Privacy VPN, whereas Norton’s VPN service is included with their most basic plan.
Protection for Webcams
With Norton’s SafeCam software, you can prevent criminals from accessing the webcam on your computer and using it for extortion or blackmail purposes. You will be notified by SafeCam any time someone attempts to use your webcam, and they will be prevented from doing so. This functionality is not available in Malwarebytes.
Malwarebytes vs. Norton: Web Protection
Protecting yourself against potentially hazardous websites and files on the internet is the job of web protection software. Norton’s Safe Web is an online reputation service that notifies you whenever you are going to download a potentially hazardous file and restricts websites that are known to distribute malware.
Even in the event that you inadvertently download a file containing malware, Norton will immediately place it in the quarantine folder. Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, and Safari are all supported web browsers for the supplemental add-on.
A service known as Dark Web Monitoring is also included with Norton. This function searches the dark web for information trafficking hubs and alerts you if any of your data is discovered there.
Safe Search is Norton’s proprietary search engine that blocks access to potentially harmful websites that are returned in search results. This feature is offered as an additional layer of protection by Norton.
Malwarebytes features Web Protection, which successfully prevents traffic from domains and IP addresses that could infect your computer with malware such as viruses, Trojan horses, and questionable programs. This feature is included as part of the software’s standard offering.
In addition to that, it protects susceptible applications with its Exploit Protection function, which you can activate whenever you choose. Malwarebytes will automatically detect any risks to the programs that you add to the list, and you are free to add as many apps as you like.
Malwarebytes vs. Norton: Passwords Manager
A password manager is more than just an added piece of convenience; it is also an essential layer of protection against keyloggers, which are programs that can record your keystrokes and steal your data. Using a password manager allows you to save several passwords in a secure vault, which in turn helps protect your online accounts from being hacked or infected with malware.
You are able to generate and save passwords in a secure location using Norton’s integrated password manager. Malwarebytes does not include a password manager in its software.
Malwarebytes vs. Norton Antivirus: Which is the Best Antimalware for PC?
Both Malwarebytes and Norton are tried-and-true antimalware products that consistently perform well in a variety of hands-on tests designed to determine how well they protect users from malware. Both provide outstanding defense against spyware, rootkits, and other forms of harmful software. Additionally, they offer protection in real-time against newly emerged dangers.
Norton, on the other hand, comes equipped with a multitude of additional features, such as an intelligent firewall, built-in webcam protection, and a password manager. In addition, the results of a number of separate tests indicate that Norton performs marginally better than Malwarebytes when it comes to the detection of malware and viruses.
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