Malwarebytes earns PCMag Best Tech Brand spot, scores 100% with MRG Effitas 

| February 11, 2026
An image of a trophy and of the MRG Effitas badge indicating Malwarebytes' performance in its security test

Malwarebytes is on a roll.  Recently named one of PCMag’s “Best Tech Brands for 2026,” Malwarebytes also scored 100% on the first-ever MRG Effitas consumer security product test, cementing the fact that we are loved by users and trusted by experts.  

But don’t take our word for it.

As PCMag Principal Writer Neil J. Rubenking said:

“If your antivirus fails, and it don’t look good, who ya gonna call? The answer: Malwarebytes. Even tech support agents from competitors have instructed us to use it.”

PCMag

Malwarebytes has been named one of PCMag’s Best Tech Brands for 2026. Coming in at #12, Malwarebytes makes the list with the highest Net Promoter Score (NPS) of all the brands in the list (likelihood to recommend by users).

With this ranking, Malwarebytes made its third appearance as a PCMag Best Tech Brand! We’ve also achieved the year’s highest average Net Promoter Score, at 83.40. (Last year, we had the second-highest NPS, after only Toyota).

Best Brands 2026 from PC Mag

But NPS alone can’t put us on the list—excellent reviews are needed, too. PCMag’s Rubenking found plenty to be happy about in his assessments of our products in 2025. For example, Malwarebytes Premium adds real-time multi-layered detection that eradicates most malware to the stellar stopping power you get on demand in the free edition.

MRG Effitas

Malwarebytes has aced the first-ever MRG Effitas Consumer Assessment and Certification, which evaluated eight security applications to determine their capabilities in stopping malware, phishing, and other online threats. We detected and stopped all in-the-wild malware infections and phishing samples while also generating zero false positives.

We’re beyond excited to have reached a 100% detection rate for in-the-wild malware as well as a 100% rate for all phishing samples with zero false positives. 

The testing criteria is designed to determine how well a product works to do what it promises based on what MRG Effitas refers to as “metrics that matter.” We understand that the question isn’t if a system will encounter malware, but when.

Malwarebytes is proud to be recognized for its work in protecting people against everyday threats online.


We don’t just report on threats—we remove them

Cybersecurity risks should never spread beyond a headline. Keep threats off your devices by downloading Malwarebytes today.

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