Malwarebytes Slows Computer - Analysis & Solutions

Malwarebytes Slowdown - Usual Operation

Note that Malwarebytes is probably not responsible for your computer’s slowdown, unless you notice the slowness during a scan. Malwarebytes is not a background scanner (at least the free version isn’t). It’s an on-demand scanner. It shouldn’t be using any processing power unless you are running a scan at the time. If you are experiencing slowdowns after installing Malwarebytes, it is probably just a coincidence.

Although, if you purchased the more advanced protection module, you may simply be suffering a slowdown from the active coverage. There isn’t really much that can be done about that. It may just be too strong for your computer. The best step would be to turn off the active coverage during your more intensive activities and see if there’s a difference. You may not be able to run the active protection at all times, if you don’t want to suffer from slowdowns. If you would like more information or help with troubleshooting your active coverage, you may want to check our article on fixing slowdowns from Malwarebytes’ active protection.

Malwarebytes Slowdown - Schedule Solutions

If you are experiencing slowdowns when using the scanner, note that it’s a very resource intensive process. It can take up a lot of processing power on older computers, and can probably cause a noticeable slowdown for some newer machines. You just can’t run an active virus scan while you expect to do other resource intensive processes.

The easiest way around this is to schedule your scans for times when you don’t expect to be using the computer, or at least don’t expect to use it for much more than just checking emails. Unfortunately, you can’t actually schedule regular scans with Malwarebytes. This makes doing regular scans much more difficult, since they will have to be manually initiated. Try starting a scan before eating or cooking dinner or run a scan while you’re watching something on television.

Malwarebytes Slowdown - Other Solutions

One important note for anyone suffering slowdowns during scans is that you don’t really need to run a full system scan every time. In general, Malwarebytes support recommends only running a full scan if you believe that an infection has occurred and you need to make sure that all traces are removed.

For everyday scans, or basic diligence, you can rely on quick scans and be quite safe. Sticking to quick scans should make the slowdowns much less of an issue. It should be easier to run a scan while you’re in the shower or eating dinner, since the quick scan shouldn’t take more than about a half hour at worst. My most recent one took roughly four minutes.

If you are suffering from slowdowns and just don’t wish to use Malwarebytes anymore, you can always remove it. We have a full article on removing Malwarebytes, if you need help with it. Thanks to a few online utilities, it’s actually quite easy to completely wipe it off of your system.