Protection Mode?

[MWE]

Sorry for the (maybe) obvious question, but can someone tell me what the "Protection Mode" feature in the paid version of Malwarebytes actually does. I have checked the appl's Help utility, poked around the web site and did a web search. Can not find much. I am interested in both what it does and how that overlaps other real time monitoring programs"

Thanks

[yardbird]

If your asking about the IP Protection Feature? It will block a website that has been deemed malicious. Its in the (paid) pro version. and will appear on the bottom rt. of your taskbar. Like the pic below! You can toggle it on/off.

EDIT: you can read about the rest of the program here: http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

and I believe theres more info on this in the False Positive forum, 2nd from the top, called IP Blocking False Positives

[noknojon]

Here <-- is a very good 11/2 page article on the IP modole and how it protects you - Read "Section G "

Thanl You -

[exile360]

Greetings MWE

There are 2 primary functions currently in the Pro version of Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware's Protection Module:

1. Execution Protection: This component will block the execution of malicious software when it attempts to run and prompt the user with a pop up message allowing them to remove the threat, ignore the threat or disable the Protection Module in case the user desires to do so.
   
2. IP Protection: This component blocks known malicious IP addresses and IP ranges that are known for hosting malware and identity theft/fraud scams to prevent you getting infected by accidentally visiting an infected website or when a safe site gets hacked and has embedded content from a malicious website (this commonly happens on popular sites like social networking sites, news sites and download sites because of the traffic that they generate).
   

If you have any further questions or issues please post.

Thanks

[MWE]

Greetings MWE

There are 2 primary functions currently in the Pro version of Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware's Protection Module:

1. Execution Protection: This component will block the execution of malicious software when it attempts to run and prompt the user with a pop up message allowing them to remove the threat, ignore the threat or disable the Protection Module in case the user desires to do so.
   
2. IP Protection: This component blocks known malicious IP addresses and IP ranges that are known for hosting malware and identity theft/fraud scams to prevent you getting infected by accidentally visiting an infected website or when a safe site gets hacked and has embedded content from a malicious website (this commonly happens on popular sites like social networking sites, news sites and download sites because of the traffic that they generate).
   

If you have any further questions or issues please post.

Thanks

Thanks; the above plus the more detailed information provided via nokojohn's link was quite helpful. re IP protection, it appears that Malwarebytes examines the IP address in real time vs the "modify the HOSTS file" approach of, say, SpyBot. Is there any appreciable difference in performance? Any idea why there is no useful information via the normal web site mechanisms, e.g., a (much) better explanation of the appl's features, something in a FAQ page, etc?

If anyone who works at Malwarebytes is listening, I recommend that you make it very clear on your web site pages that instead of the normal customer support, FAQ section, etc, users with questions should go directly to the forums and pose questions there. Persistent users will eventually figure it out, but why not just tell them?

[exile360]

With regards to using a HOSTS file vs using the IP blocking method in Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware the biggest difference would be that while a HOSTS file blocks websites by domain name, Malwarebytes' blocks the actual IP's of the malicious sites which enables it to prevent infection from the same malicious IP even when they change their domain name (something they frequently have been observed to do, especially with the case of fake/rogue security softwares, each time they create a new variant, they change the domain name to match the new "product" name, but they much less frequently switch IP's due to the cost and time involved).

As for more info on the web page, I believe a new format for the Malwarebytes.org webpage is currently in development however I am not privy as to whether or not there will be more extensive info provided regarding the differences between the paid and free versions and the details of the features in the paid version, but I would imagine so. Recently, as of version 1.44, if you are using the free version and you click on the Protection tab it provides a very basic comparison of the two versions and I believe these types of addtions will continue, likely in the product's help file as well as on the website.

Thank you very much for the suggestions, they are appreciated as they help us to make Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware a better tool .