MB Anti-Ransomware vs Zone Alarm Anti-Ransomware?

[sten2]

I have  Malwarebytes Premium,in which Anti-ransomware protection are included. I use Zone Alarm as antivirus and firewall,and in the latest release, Zone Alarm included  their own anti-ransomware for free.

Which one of these two are the best? Is there indepentent tests performed proving which Product which is the best? One can not use two anti-ransomware at the same time,causing conflict as i understand.

[digmorcrusher]

There are many sites that test malware programs, I have seen very few tests where Zone Alarm was tested. However, Malwarebytes and Zone Alarm are two different types of products that protect if different ways, you should be able to run both at the same time as Malwarebytes is compatible with almost all anti-virus solutions. Look for issues, if any arise I would try turning off the anti-ransomware protection in Zone Alarm as I believe Malwarebytes is a superior solution.

[sten2]

10 minutes ago, digmorcrusher said:

There are many sites that test malware programs, I have seen very few tests where Zone Alarm was tested. However, Malwarebytes and Zone Alarm are two different types of products that protect if different ways, you should be able to run both at the same time as Malwarebytes is compatible with almost all anti-virus solutions. Look for issues, if any arise I would try turning off the anti-ransomware protection in Zone Alarm as I believe Malwarebytes is a superior solution.

I have been using Malwarebytes and Zonealarm Antivirus and firewall for years,without conlflict. However,i dont think its a good idea to run MB and ZA anti ransomeware at  the same time,might causing issues.   Can you(or any other) please provide me with some links showing  test results which one stands up against ransomware best? At Youtube there a few years old videos,showing MB failure. The same goes for ZA. No new videos showing actual up to date testings.

[Porthos]

I can not comment on either program actually but i will say not opening ANY email attachments unless you are 200% sure of the source will prevent 99% of all ransomware infections.

Each program has a different way to block ransomware. Malwarebytes stops the encryption during the process and might let a couple of files encrypt before it stops the process.

[exile360]

Just to add to what others have already stated, another major factor is the fact that the vast majority of modern ransomware attacks actually begin with an exploit that attempts to download and launch the actual ransomware binary file/encryptor; most attacks will not make it to this stage thanks to the other layers of defense included in Malwarebytes Premium, particularly Exploit Protection which will stop the attack much earlier as soon as the exploit script tries to execute, well before the actual ransomware file itself has even been downloaded/tries to execute.  The same goes for the other protection modules in Malwarebytes, including Malware Protection (which uses both traditional threat signatures as well as more advanced heuristics signatures and algorithms; relying much more on the latter than the former which makes it far more effective than most traditional protection solutions), as well as Web Protection and the new anomalous threat detection engine included in the latest versions of Malwarebytes 3 which relies on anomaly detection through Machine Learning/AI as well as leveraging constantly updated and evolving cloud databases and new threat info.  Ransomware Protection is purely behavior based, and as mentioned above, monitors for ransomware behavior, including the attempted encryption of files on disk (though like most such solutions, one of the mechanisms it uses are early warning 'test' files that it creates which are likely to be the first to be targeted by the vast majority of ransomware, thus triggering detection before any of your own personal files are likely to be encrypted), as well as other behaviors, many of which occur prior to the encryption of files, however even then, because it is behavior based, this means the ransomware would need to first infiltrate the system and execute into memory for the Ransomware Protection component to detect it which makes it far more reactionary than the other protection components.  This is because, thanks to the other layers in Malwarebytes, it is only there as more of a fallback protection measure as most infections/attacks will never get far enough to be detected by it.

You can learn more about how the various components of Malwarebytes work to thwart attacks throughout the various phases of the attack chain/kill chain by reviewing the chart and information found on this page.

Basically, if ZA's ransomware protection works differently from the Ransomware Protection component in Malwarebytes, then you don't need to turn off either of them because they won't conflict as they are operating during different phases of a potential attack, and if they work the same way then it likely doesn't matter which you keep enabled and which you disable, as long as ZA's is as comprehensive as the Ransomware Protection provided by Malwarebytes (as I mentioned, the Ransomware Protection in Malwarebytes uses many methods to detect a ransomware attack, not just the detection of the encryption of files; it is based on one of the first developed, most effective standalone anti-ransomware protection tools that was created and first popularized during the initial rise of ransomware threats so it isn't just some side project developed by Malwarebytes' own Developers in-house as a response to ransomware when it emerged; Malwarebytes went out and found the best at dealing with ransomware on the cutting edge of the field, purchased their company, hired their Developers and Researchers and brought their code in to be integrated into Malwarebytes Premium; I suspect the same cannot be said for the ransomware module in ZA, though I could be wrong).

[exile360]

By the way, you can learn more about the origins of the Ransomware Protection component in Malwarebytes (as well as Malwarebytes Anti-Ransomware Beta where it all began) in this Malwarebytes Labs blog article.