SpyHunter vs Malwarebytes: An in-depth comparison

January 2023 · 10 minute read
spyhunter vs malwarebytes ESET Antivirus comes with all the security tools that you may ever need to protect your data and privacy, including:

Keeping your PC safe from malware should be your priority, and many tools can help you with that. SpyHunter and Malwarebytes are currently the best tools for this task, but how do they compare to one another?

Both tools offer similar features, and both should be able to remove all types of malware from your PC. So, which one should you choose?

In this guide, we’re going to compare SpyHunter and Malwarebytes and help you find the best malware removal tool for your PC.

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SpyHunter vs Malwarebytes, which one should you use?

A quick introduction

What is SpyHunter?

SpyHunter is a malware removal software for both Windows and Mac. The software can detect all types of malware including ransomware, keyloggers, trojans, viruses, spyware, rootkits, and others.

The software comes with a simple and user-friendly interface, so even first-time users won’t have any problems while using this software.

What is Malwarebytes?

Malwarebytes is a well-known malware removal software that was first released way back in 2006. The software can detect almost any type of malware and remove it securely from your PC.

Malwarebytes evolved during the years, and now it has a real-time scanning feature so it works like antivirus software and not just a malware removal tool.

Regarding the availability, the software is available on both Windows and Mac platforms.

Interface and ease of use

SpyHunter: Simple but clunky at times

SpyHunter offers a simple and friendly user interface, and you can access all the essential features right from the toolbar.

Although the interface itself is simple, we can’t shake the feeling that it looks a bit outdated, but that’s just a personal preference and not a dealbreaker for us.

We did have a few issues with the interface, and we didn’t like how to reports are organized. All reports are available in a form of a tree, which makes them harder to read, and we hope that would be changed in near future.

Scheduling feature interface also leaves a bit to desired, and we wish that there was an option to choose what type of scan you wish to perform.

These are some minor issues with the interface, and we hope that those issues will be fixed in near future.

⇒ Get SpyHunter

Malwarebytes: Simple and friendly interface with a couple of minor flaws

Malwarebytes interface is simple, clean and with large icons, so you can easily access any feature that you want.

All your notifications are available in the right pane, so you can easily see any recent detections, warnings, and blocked threats.

While the interface is simple, the application had a couple of elements that we didn’t like. Most notably, there’s a reminder during the scan that will suggest upgrading to a Premium version.

This isn’t a dealbreaker for us, but some users might not like this. Overall, the interface is simple and friendly, and you won’t have any problems using it.

⇒ Get Malwarebytes Premium

Feature overview

SpyHunter: Simple but capable malware removal tool

SpyHunter comes with a simple and friendly interface, and you can perform a system scan with just a single click.

According to the developers, the software can detect malware, viruses, spyware, ransomware, keyloggers, trojans, rootkits, adware, unwanted programs, and security vulnerabilities.

In addition to the quick scan feature, the software also has a custom scan, allowing you to choose which drives you wish to scan.

Using the custom scan you can choose to scan for privacy issues, vulnerabilities, and rootkits. You can also choose if you want to scan your memory and registry.

The software can also protect hosts file and protect system files as well. As for network protection, there’s DNS and proxy protection available.

SpyHunter also has a scheduling feature, allowing you to schedule your scans, and thanks to the reporting feature, you can see all your previous scans and results with ease.

We also have to mention that SpyHunter has a System Guard feature that provides real-time protection, but sadly, this feature is available only in the Full version of the software.

The Free version also has an unusual limitation, allowing you to remove detected threats only once per 48 hours. This is a questionable decision indeed.

Malwarebytes: An advanced malware removal software

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The main highlight of Malwarebytes is its malware removal feature, and the software will be able to detect and remove any malware type with ease.

The software is incredibly simple to use, and you can perform a quick scan with just a few clicks. The custom scan feature is available, allowing you to choose which drives you to want to scan.

You can also choose if you want to scan memory objects, startup items, rootkits, and archives. This feature also allows you to choose how you want to treat detected threats.

This allows you to automatically quarantine all threats, ignore them, or choose the desired action for each threat.

Extensive reports are also available allowing you to view a detailed list of all detected items. Of course, there’s a whitelist feature and you can add files, folders, applications, and websites to it with ease.

The software also offers Real-Time Protection in a form of Web Protection, Malware and PUP Protection, Ransomware Protection, and Exploit Protection.

Each of these components can be turned off, so you don’t have to use them if you don’t want to. Unfortunately, all the options from the Real-Time Protection are only available in the Premium version of Malwarebytes.

Another feature that is exclusive to the Premium version is scheduled scanning, which means that you have to manually start each scan on your PC.

Even though the Premium version offers full real-time protection, the Free version is more than capable to deal with all malware threats.

Want to know more about Malwarebytes Premium? Be sure to check our Malwarebytes Free vs Premium article for in-depth analysis.

Final thoughts

SpyHunter: Simple with a few flaws

SpyHunter is incredibly simple but powerful malware removal software, and it should help you deal with any type of malware with ease.

The software also offers some unique features such as hosts, proxy, and DNS protection that will surely come in handy.

Real-time protection isn’t available in the Free version, but during our testing, SpyHunter didn’t interfere with Windows Defender, so you can use the two without any interference.

The user interface was our biggest complaint, and while we didn’t mind the slightly outdated interface, we didn’t like how the report feature worked.

This section looked crammed with information, which can be a problem, especially if you have tens of threats detected on your PC.

This isn’t a dealbreaker, but it still something that might need a bit of improvement. The software also had a bit of a questionable past, and the SpyHunter was often labeled as a potentially unwanted application.

We also had to mention that the Free version had a 48 hour wait period for malware removal, which can be a problem if you need to remove malware urgently from your PC.

Although SpyHunter did a decent job, you should take its questionable past and unusual limitations in the Free version into consideration before using it.

Pros Simple to use Can remove all types of malware Hosts file protection DNS protection Proxy protection Cons Questionable past Can remove malware once per 48h in Free version

Malwarebytes: One of the best malware remover tools

Malwarebytes offers easy to use interface, so you should be able to scan for malware in a matter of seconds.

The Free version is more than capable to deal with all types of malware, but unfortunately, the real-time scanning and scheduling remain available only in the Premium version.

This isn’t a major issue since you can easily use Malwarebytes with Windows Defender side by side. Some users might not like the message that keeps asking you to upgrade to the Premium version, but we didn’t find it too distracting.

Pros Simple user interface Ability to remove all types of malware Can work alongside Windows Defender Unlimited manual scans in the Free version Free Premium trial Cons Some features are only available in the Premium version

Both applications are more than capable of dealing with malware, but with SpyHunter’s past and the limitations of the Free version, Malwarebytes seems like a far superior choice in our opinion.

What is your malware removal software of choice? Let us know in the comments below.

What are the hardware requirements for Malwarebytes and SpyHunter?

Here are the requirements for Malwarebytes:

The hardware requirements for SpyHunter are the following:

Is SpyHunter a legitimate antivirus software?

Many users have criticized SpyHunter for its practices, such as the ability to remove detected malware once every 48 hours in the Free version.

The software also had its share of controversies, and it was labeled as a potentially unwanted program for detecting fake threats on users’ PC.

This lead to many being skeptical about SpyHunter’s legitimacy as antivirus software.

What the trial version limitations for SpyHunter and Malwarebytes?

In the Free version, SpyHunter doesn’t have real-time protection as well as 24/7 support. The software also has a questionable limitation that lets you remove malware once every 48 hours.

On the other hand, Malwarebytes doesn’t have any scanning limitations, and you can manually scan your system as often as you want.

Real-time scanning and scan scheduling are available only in the Premium version. However, Malwarebytes comes with a 14-day free trial, so you can fully try it out.

Can Malwarebytes and SpyHunter work alongside Windows Defender?

SpyHunter works without any problems with Windows Defender at least in the Free version. The Full version with real-time protection might interfere with Windows Defender in some way.

Malwarebytes works with Windows Defender, but to enable that, you need to open the Settings section and navigate to the Security tab.

From there, you can find an option to register Malwarebytes in the Windows Security Center. Disable this feature and Malwarebytes will work alongside Windows Defender without any issues.

Can SpyHunter detect malicious/fraudulent websites?

No, SpyHunter can’t detect fraudulent websites, and instead, the software is focused on detecting malware that is located on your PC.

On the other hand, the Premium version of Malwarebytes can easily detect and block any malicious or fraudulent websites with ease.

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