Originally Posted by Ira L
For the comparatively minimal cost, the subscription adds another level of peace of mind. Just sayin'. 

Originally Posted by artie505
Genericizing your analysis of the relatively recent XProtect/MalwareBytes situation makes it sound much like past analyses of the longstanding macOS/TechTool Pro situation, and you haven't weaned yourself off of TTP yet (although you've suggested that it's coming with the next paid upgrade).

Since "Premium" is ambiguous, I don't know what your MBP renewal will cost, but if it's cheap enough, you may best serve yourself by being consistent with your caution and weaning yourself off of it rather than going cold turkey.

FYI:

  • Actually TTP has gone the way of many apps over the years that have outlived their usefulness. I deleted it when it would not run on Monterey and for the life of me I can think of no reason to pay for another upgrade. The only feature I have used or paid any attention to in years is TTP's ability to show the complete S.M.A.R.T. report with all the values for HDs and the equivalent NVME reports for SSDs and Drive Scope does that equally well.*¹
  • The Premium in MalwareBytes Premium means regular, even daily, signature updates and automatic scanning anywhere from every three hours to weekly intervals as opposed to manual scanning in the free version. Ultimate is MalwareBytes Premium plus VPN.*²
  • A single Premium subscription is nominally $3.33 per month.*³


Thanks for the input! Both of you have confirmed my inclination, but I still have not made up my mind. XProtect appears to have the most likely vulnerabilities covered but, like MalwareBytes, it can only detect KNOWN malware signatures so there may be value in double-checking using different signature databases. I have some time left on the MalwareBytes for Mac subscription so I don't have to make a decision until sometime next month so I am going to postpone the decision on whether or not to renew the subscription and se how I feel then. (It took at least three releases and >$150 in upgrade costs with no real benefit to give up TechTool Pro). The fundamental problem is not MalwareBytes, it is the number of subscriptions and the total cost just keeps going up.


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  1. TTP 14.X is the only Micromat product certified for use on Apple Silicon although Drive Scope does work.
  2. Actually with Apple Pay, and logon with Apple combined with Private Relay and Hide My Email in Monterey there don't seem to be much need for a VPN. (Even if you were dealing with highly sensitive information and/or we're in an area with repressive internet regulation onion routing and a compatible browser like Brave or TOR would be a better alternative and Onion Routing is Open Source.)
  3. Paid annually so it is a one time hit of $39.96 + TTL.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein