Do I need an anti-malware app when using Avast?

As the topic suggests, do I need an anti-malware app such as Malwarebytes Anti-Malware on top of Avast or will the free version of Avast and its anti-malware methods be enough?

Up until now I’ve been using both Avast and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware but then I figured maybe I don’t need Malwarebytes Anti-Malware if Avast will protect me just as good.

I guess I really never understood the difference between malware and virus.

See: https://www.avast.com/c-online-threats

Thanks but already read that and can’t say it answered my question really. Maybe a virus is the general term while malware etc are the type of the virus?

Still also wondering if Avast by other users is considered to be a good enough protection for malware or if others are also using software such as the one mentioned on top of Avast?

Personally, I dropped MBAM a while ago.

All virus is malware, but all malware is not virus … Hmmm ???

https://blog.malwarebytes.com/101/2015/09/whats-the-difference-between-antivirus-and-anti-malware/

https://antivirus.comodo.com/blog/computer-safety/malware-vs-viruses-whats-difference/

Avast detect it all, Malwarebytes is a help tool designed to assist your antivirus and has limited detection.
It does not detect real virus (file infectors) and not script, media or doc files. It only target fresh executable files not older then 3 months.

Also note that no security program have 100% detection or zero false positive

Thanks for sharing these links, both very interesting!

I guess to sum up it was actually the other way around where malware is more the general term while a virus is a type of malware.

And…the recommendation although Avast for example may be able to detect most types of malware is to use a multi-layered approach running for example Avast and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware alongside since they both target any possible infections in a little bit different way.

So with this said I’ll go back using the Avast-Malwarebytes combo.

Thanks for your input :slight_smile:

Yepp, I only use / used the free version.
Depending on your surf habits, what you download, stream … run it as a extra scanner / check now and then

May I ask why…I still use it, but not sure of it’s quality any longer. I sometimes run super antispyware also

Given a choice between SAS and MBAM, I would choose MBAM, but even then I no longer have MBAM installed on any of my systems even though I have lifetime licenses.

I found MBAM version two to be a bit of a resource hog, I dropped it then and haven’t bothered with MBAM 3.

Anything besides those two that you use?

May I ask why....I still use it, but not sure of it's quality any longer. I sometimes run super antispyware also
Nothing wrong with the quality. But as said, depending on your surf habits and you never get any crap, your AV handle whatever you do get then you may not need it?

I hunt and download malware evry day, still I don’t get infected :wink:

Good to know…thanks for the response.

Check my signature they are the main ones and they aren’t all programs in the same right as MBAM or Avast, etc.

But by far the most important aspect of your protection is having a robust backup and recovery strategy, hard disk image backups to a second hard drive and preferably to an off line drive. I have a 2TB USB 3 HDD that my backups are stored on. I run a full image backup every week and I keep the last 6 full backups.

Because it’s rather heavy nowadays and doesn’t bring much to the party.
If I really should need a second opinion I run EEK (on demand from USB drive).