First, a critical distinction: There is a difference between the version of Malwarebytes and Malwarebytes Premium .
Defender is fine for "average Joe" who visits Facebook and YouTube. But if you torrent, visit niche forums, download mods, or work in a high-risk environment, Malwarebytes Premium is a mandatory layer on top of Defender (they run together silently).
If you currently use the free version, you are vulnerable. Here is the risk scenario:
: Defends against remote attempts to crack your system passwords. Malwarebytes Performance and Lab Results
No software is perfect. Here are the legitimate drawbacks:
For years, the prevailing wisdom was: "Keep your regular antivirus installed, and run the free version of Malwarebytes once a week for a second opinion."