ByteFence is antimalware, which had a bad reputation previously. It was classified as a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) lately. It was due to their corrupt practices. They tried to spread their software using the bundling method. Which means when users install other software ByteFence enter in their computer without user’s permission. That’s why the program becomes PUP and users started to run from it. However, they have improved the program, and now it is no longer categorised as PUP. The maker of the software had changed their marketing techniques, and they no longer distribute it using the software bundling method. Also, the program used to change the settings of the browser, and now it doesn’t do that.
Users are still not sure if they can trust the program. Some users still complain about the program. If you also have doubt, then in this article I am going to review ByteFence. I will list its features, the protection, and impact on the performance. You will get all your answers at the end of this article. So, keep reading.
About ByteFence
ByteFence is created by Byte Technologies LLC headquarter in the USA, this is mentioned on the website. The program is to catch malware and crapware from entering your PC. And if there is still something on your computer, it detects it during the scan. Initially, Byte Technologies tries wrong ways to distribute their program. They contact the software downloading websites and bundles the ByteFence with their popular downloads. This way, their program reaches several thousands of computer without much effort.
They also used to hijack the browser settings with the Search.bytefence.com domain. It replaces the URLs of the homepage, new tab, and default search engine with this address. So whenever you open your browser, you will see this website. Not only this, it records your search queries and then redirects you to Yahoo search engine for results. This method classified the program as PUP.
However, from the past two years, the makers of ByteFence antimalware have realised the mistake. Now they have stopped the unethical methods. They no longer use software bundling and also doesn’t include hijacker their installation. If you download it from the official website, you will not get any crapware with it. I am going to install it on my PC and test it.
The Installation
The installation process is simple. Once you quickly set it up on their computer. The installer size is just around 13MB. Therefore, it is not going to take a lot of time to download. Also, you need to take only four steps to install it on your PC. It took around 3 minutes to install. However, it could take a few more minutes if your PC has low specifications.
Features of ByteFence
It is antimalware, so the features are limited and contain only the essential ones. It has three different scan modes.
- Quick Scan Mode- Quickly checks your PC for malware infection. It does not scan the whole computer just some important area where could a malware be.
- Full Scan Mode- If you suspect there is a malware infection, then use the Full Scan mode. It thoroughly checks your computer and analyses every file.
- Scheduled Scan Mode- You can specify a time when it will scan your computer. You can schedule it as a daily or weekly basis.
Another exciting feature is the browser check. It checks all the browser installed on your system and displays the settings and extensions. So if you find any hijacker in the browser, you can select it and remove it directly from the ByteFence.
Impact on Performance
ByteFence is light on your system resources. It doesn’t consume many resources while in the idle mode. However, during the scan, it starts clogging your computer, and you won’t be able to do heavy tasks. You might need to close the browsers to run the scan properly. Especially, if you have low configuration PC then during the scan, it makes your computer slow. However, if you have a better PC configuration, then it should not leave much impact on the performance.
The Protection
The protection wise I could test it properly since my regular antimalware keeps blocking it. However, I ran a quick scan using the ByteFence, and in that time, it detected a few threats which were not harmful. It catches the adware samples residing on my PC and displays them as a severe threat. Then ByteFence asked me to upgrade the program and purchase the PRO version to remove these threats. Otherwise, this malware will destroy your PC.
I didn’t take that seriously as I was aware of those threats. They were simple adware, and there was nothing to worry. However, users who aren’t much aware could take it seriously and purchase their Pro version, which is the ultimate goal of this program. My regular antimalware MalwareFox keeps alarming me about the ByteFence, so I removed it.
Is ByteFence Safe to Use?
Technically there is nothing harmful in the ByteFence if you choose the official website to download it. Due to its unethical marketing technique in the past few antiviruses don’t trust it. Look at the VirusTotal score.
Two antivirus engines consider ByteFence harmful. K7AntiVirus thinks that ByteFence is a Trojan and K7GW find it as a Riskware. However, my prefered antimalware MalwareFox consider it as a Malware. It blocked every process and services of ByteFence during the startup and didn’t let me run it on my machine.
I trusted these antimalware and antiviruses and removed ByteFence from the system. ByteFence might be safe for your PC, but I doubt it could make your PC safe. Why trust such an antimalware whose responsibility is no one taking. When there are better alternatives, so why to choose it?
The Conclusion
ByteFence is no longer a PUP. It has stopped using the software bundling method to spread the software. Also, it no longer hijacks the settings of your browser. I am pretty sure about that; however, the critical question is, will you trust it now? Is there any reason you should believe it? No, there is none. Features wise it is an average antimalware that alarm over the light threats and persuade users to upgrade to Pro version. There is no reason to trust it and start using it when you have better alternatives.
I will recommend installing MalwareFox antimalware on your PC. Along with Windows Defender, MalwareFox becomes a deadly combination for all kinds of malware. Its real-time protection stops the threat even before they start damaging your computer. Like it blocked the ByteFence. It analyses the behaviour of the programs, and if their activities are like malware, it prevents them immediately. You could also consider installing Malwarebytes antimalware.
Thanks man for sharing this amazing article. Also, crack The ByteFence Anti-Malware Pro activation key, that provide real-time security to your system so you can detect and eliminate any type of risk and harmful content from your system.