This will include Potentially Unwanted Programs, such as toolbars, plus any actual malware. Once complete, MalwareBytes will show a list of threats that it has found. If you have other tasks to do on your PC and the scan is slowing it down, you can Pause Scan. This can take some time – around 15 minutes is typical – but the timeline along the top of the screen shows the scan’s progress. Within the Malwarebytes control panel, click on the blue Scan now button for diagnostics. To do so, open Malwarebytes on your computer. Go to Settings > My Account, then click on Deactivate Premium trial.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, there’s an easy way to downgrade your copy of Malwarebytes Premium to Malwarebytes Free. Members have contacted us to say they’ve been forced to take a free trial of the paid-for version of Malwarebytes, without the option to choose the Free version only. You can double-check you have the latest definitions by clicking Update in the Database Version panel. Once you click Install, the software will automatically head off in search of the latest version.

In the final panel untick Enable free trial of MalwareBytes Anti-Malware Premium to avoid being nagged later. You’ll need to accept terms and conditions before installing the package. Follow the instructions, including closing other open programs and switching off your antivirus package. Once downloaded, you need to install the software, by finding the mbam-setup.exe file that’s been downloaded and clicking Run. Head to the Malwarebytes website (You’ll have the option to Buy or Download – the latter gives you the free version, so go for this. If you find yourself stuck with the latter, we have advice in this article for how to easily downgrade to the fully free version. Please note, we recommend using the fully free version of Malwarebytes, rather than a free trial of the paid-for version. Malwarebytes Free can scan your PC and can often pick up infections or unwanted programs that are missed by other antivirus programs.

If you think your computer may have a virus, but your main security software hasn't found any threats, it can pay to get a second opinion.

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