Malwarebytes

Related Information

Download Malwarebytes for students and employees
Malwarebytes guides and FAQs
Malwarebytes request form for Departmental IT Admins
Malwarebytes’ company site
Learn more about anti-malware

Malwarebytes is a virus, malware, and spyware scanning program. CUIT has purchased Malwarebytes licenses as the central endpoint solution for affiliated Columbia University students, Columbia faculty and staff. 

Eligibility

  • You are allotted one (1) free license for Malwarebytes anti-malware software. 
  • Malwarebytes will require you to validate your license to ensure you are a current student every 12 months. 

Visit CUIT’s secure software download portal to download Malwarebytes.

  • If you are looking to install Malwarebytes for your personal device, please visit CUIT’s secure software download portal to download Malwarebytes.
    • You are allotted one (1) free license for Malwarebytes anti-malware software. 
    • To address remote work requirements, CUIT has made Malwarebytes available to employees' personal machines for the current year (2020).

  • If your computer is managed by CUIT, Malwarebytes will be deployed to your system automatically in August 2020. Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) will be removed. The easiest way to check if you have a CUIT-managed computer is to look on your computer and see if you have the CUIT software download center installed:

    • For Windows: You have the CUIT Software Center icon on your desktop.
    • For Macs: You have the Self Service center in your applications folder.
  • If your computer is managed by a departmental IT group outside of CUIT, please ask your departmental IT administrator(s) to complete a Malwarebytes Site request form for your specific affiliation at Columbia.
  • If you do not have a departmental IT administrator and are the administrator of your own Columbia-owned computer, please contact CUIT Cybersecurity at [email protected].

FAQ

Malwarebytes Premium includes real-time malware protection and malicious URL blocking. It also includes exploit protection, ransomware protection, and behavior-based detection.

Learn more about the benefits of Malwarebytes on their website.

Malwarebytes strives to be unobtrusive, messaging you only when necessary. The software works in the background of your computer, and insights are available on a dashboard that you can keep hidden. The product review website Wirecutter recommends Malwarebytes Premium for virus and malware protection for both Mac and Windows computers.

Malware—which is the broad category for any malicious software designed to do things such as damage or steal files, spy on a user by recording photos, videos, or keystrokes, or usurp a user's identity—is rampant on both Windows and Macs.

Malware specifically targeting Macs has been increasing significantly in recent years, as reported by Security Boulevard in 2019. As Windows has become more secure and Macs have increased in popularity, many cybercriminals have seen an opportunity to expand the scope of their attacks. Mac users tend to be much more complacent, since the platform has a very good reputation for security. While Macs are perceived to be relatively safe from some perspectives, it certainly has its flaws; no platform can be 100% secure.

Today's malware differs from what we worried about in the early days of computing. Early viruses generally just deleted files or displayed strange screens or windows, but today's malware is designed by cybercriminals who are in it for the money. Whether through stealing your credentials for a website or service, infecting your computer with ransomware, or installing cryptocurrency miner software, one of the main motivators for most malware makers is to make money.