Linc Davis wrote:
Regarding the "malwarebytes" product in particular, you may be told that there are no reports that is has caused damage. In fact, I know of two such reports: one by ASC user Big Kev55 in this thread, and one by LizardMBP in this thread. Draw your own conclusions from those reports. There are also many reports that the Windows version of the product has deleted essential Windows system files; see, for example, this thread on the developer's own support forum.
Whether the software damages the system or not, it takes full control and connects to a server controlled by the developer. There is no way of knowing what information it sends to that server.
The question then is: as a security-conscious computer user, do you want to take such risks when there is no offsetting benefit whatsoever?
These statements are outright libel. There is no actual evidence that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac has caused any damage to any systems. Linc knows that the two reports he's using to attack this software present only two users opinions without any evidence to back them up, and in one case the report was filled with numerous false statements that were caught and resulted in the post getting removed.
I don't deny the possibility of bugs in any piece of software. However, I also know that many people without a lot of tech experience frequently mis-attribute problems. Case in point, there were numerous complaints here not long ago about how upgrading to Yosemite "caused" adware problems. This was not at all true, but because for some people, adware problems coincided in time with the upgrade, they blamed the update. This is not their fault, but neither would it be appropriate for an expert who knows better to start running around waving his hands and yelling "Yosemite installs adware!"
For the record, I, as the original developer of AdwareMedic (which is now Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac), have never seen a single confirmed case of a system or browser damaged by either AdwareMedic or Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac. If it were to happen at some point in the future, I would address it immediately, but as far as I can tell, it still hasn't happened yet.
As for the implication that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac "takes full control and connects to a server controlled by the developer" - first, the statement that the software "takes full control" is blatantly false. The Malwarebytes app takes full control of your computer no more than any other third-party app, such as OmniDiskSweeper or GrandPerspective, both of which Linc has been known to recommend running with root privileges.
As for the implications that something fishy is going on with the communication to the server, one has only to use tcpdump to monitor the data being sent and received by Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for Mac. Linc surely knows how this is done, and could verify that the communications are to check for and download updates. Since he has not done so and chooses to make up stories about the network activity instead is deceitful.
