Malwarebytes has evolved from a device cleaner to proactive malware monitoring and web traffic protection, to providing safety and peace of mind beyond devices with identity protection tools. The company recently launched integrations with ChatGPT (February 2026) and Claude (April 2026) to enable users to check potentially fraudulent messages, links, domains, and phone numbers directly within these AI assistants.
Cyborg Score Rationale
PCMag ranked Malwarebytes No. 12 on its 2026 Best Tech Brands list and reported the highest Net Promoter Score (NPS) among the brands evaluated. Latest AV-Comparatives testing from February-March 2026 shows Malwarebytes Premium can successfully block 100% of threats. The company maintains strong market position but faces typical competitive pressures in crowded antivirus/cybersecurity market.
Top Insights
In February 2025, the Katana engine began using advanced AI and machine-learning techniques to detect unidentified malware families; later in 2025, Malwarebytes employed heuristic and machine-learning technologies to strengthen behaviour-based protection across consumer products
In November 2024, Malwarebytes acquired AzireVPN, a VPN service based in Sweden, expanding its product portfolio into privacy protection
In January 2026, Malwarebytes introduced the Student Protection Program in the United States, providing university students, faculty, and staff with a 2-year subscription to Malwarebytes Premium Security covering up to 3 devices per user
In June 2026, the company launched Scam Number Check, a free standalone reverse phone lookup service that checks a number against its threat-intelligence data
Named Competitors
McAfee — Enterprise and consumer antivirus and endpoint protection
Avast — Antivirus, VPN, and identity protection solutions
Norton 360 — Consumer antivirus, identity theft protection and VPN
Bitdefender — Endpoint security and threat detection solutions
ESET — Endpoint protection and threat detection for consumers and enterprises
Sophos — Endpoint protection and antivirus with EDR capabilities
Recent Developments
(November 2024) Acquired AzireVPN, a Swedish VPN service to expand privacy protection capabilities
(January 2026) Launched Student Protection Program providing 2-year subscriptions to university students, faculty, and staff
(February 2026) Integrated scam-detection technology into ChatGPT for real-time threat checking
(April 2026) Released free scam-detection connector for Anthropic's Claude assistant
(May 2026) Appointed Chung Ip as Chief Financial Officer
(June 2026) Launched Scam Number Check, a free reverse phone lookup tool powered by threat intelligence
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