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Malwarebytes Anti-Malware 2.1 to ship with UI changes and feature improvements

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is a powerful program that you can run on your Windows system next to other security software to add another layer of protection to it.

The free version offers an on-demand scanner only while the premium version of the product real-time protection on top of it.

The next version of the product, currently available as a beta version, ships with several feature improvements and a redesigned user interface.

The changes to the UI are not as drastic as those of CCleaner 5.0 though, and it is likely that the majority of users will welcome them as they tone down the color scheme a bit.

Take a look at the following two screenshots that highlight the differences between the old and new user interface of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.

malwarebytes old interface

malwarebytes new interface

As you can see, the green is gone with the exception of the smiley face if your system is fully protected. The footer area has been redesigned as well as it features a scan now button only.

The previous version linked to the scheduler and advertised another company product in that area in addition to that.

The scan interface itself has been changed as well. It displays scan stages now that the program switches between to indicate the overall scan process.

scan stages

The interface changes are not the only ones that Anti-Malware 2.1 will ship with. One useful addition is that the program checks for database updates before it runs scans so that always the latest database information are used.

It is possible to override that behavior according to Malwarebytes but the option does not seem to be available yet in this first public beta release.

The quarantine functionality has been streamlined as well. Threats that have been detected during a scan are now selected automatically for removal which you can do with a click on the remove selected button in the interface.

If you uncheck threats, you are asked what you want done with them. This gives you options to ignore the threat once or always.

The program's rootkit detection and removal capabilities have been improved as well with no further information given at this point in time.

Beta users will receive prompts when new beta versions become available so that they can be downloaded directly in the client.

First user impressions on the official forum report longer scan times and cpu usage. Considering that this is a first beta release, it is too early to come to conclusions in this regard.

The program's minimize button places the Anti-Malware icon in the taskbar now. If you want it to remain in the system tray area only, you need to use the close icon instead.

On a personal note, I noticed one program crash and some lag when using the program after the update. It is advised not to update to the beta version on a productive system.

This article was first seen on ComTek's "TekBits" Technology News

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