Haven vs Malwarebytes Browser Guard
Both are free. They are not doing the same job. Browser Guard blocks what is already known to be bad. Haven confirms that the sites you care about are the real ones.
Ads, trackers, and sites known to be malicious.
That the page asking for your password is the real one.
What does Malwarebytes Browser Guard actually block?
Browser Guard blocks ads, third-party trackers, sites already known to be malicious, phishing pages, tech support scam pages, cryptominers, and credit card skimmers. It also declines cookie consent prompts for you. It is free, needs no account, and runs on Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari.
It is good at this. The ad and tracker blocking alone is worth installing.
One caveat. All of that protection is free, but manually blocking a specific ad by right clicking it needs the Malwarebytes app and an active subscription. Read from malwarebytes.com and the Malwarebytes help centre on 7 August 2026.
A filter and a verifier
Browser Guard works from what is known. It compares what loads against Malwarebytes threat intelligence and removes anything on the list. Haven works from what you trust. You name the sites that matter and Haven confirms you are on the genuine one.
Browser Guard
Has this been reported?
Every ad network, tracker, and malicious domain that has been identified gets stripped out before it reaches you. On the open web, this removes an enormous amount of junk and real risk.
The limit is built into the approach rather than the product. A phishing domain registered this morning, serving one convincing login page, has not been reported by anyone yet.
This is true of any block-the-known method, including the protections built into Chrome and Firefox. It is not a criticism of Malwarebytes.
Haven
Is this the real one?
Haven checks every link you meet in real time, across search results, any page, and Gmail. On top of that sits a list of protected sites: your bank, your email, the tools you sign in to.
On those sites Haven is not asking whether the page has been reported. It confirms whether you are on the genuine one, and keeps the session protected while you are there.
200+ sites are protected out of the box, and you can request any site you rely on at no cost. Once it is on the list, it stays protected.
This is why the honest answer to "which one" is usually "both". They fail in different places, which is another way of saying they cover for each other.
Is Browser Guard better than the protection already in Chrome and Firefox?
For ads, trackers, and cookie prompts, yes, clearly. Chrome and Firefox do not block those by default. For malicious sites, Browser Guard and the browsers' built-in protection work the same way, from lists of reported sites, so it is a second opinion rather than a different kind of check.
A second opinion has real value. Two threat intelligence sources catch more than one. But adding a third list does not change what lists cannot do, which is recognise a site nobody has seen yet. That gap is why Haven exists, and it is the only reason to add anything on top.
What each one actually covers
Browser Guard is broader across the open web and cleans up your browsing. Haven is narrower and deeper on the sites where being wrong costs you money. Neither is a subset of the other.
| Capability | Haven | Browser Guard | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The login moment | ||||
| Confirms you are on the real site | YesVerifies the genuine site rather than checking whether it has been reported, and keeps the session protected while you are on it | NoBlocks sites known to be malicious. An unreported lookalike is not on the list yet | ||
| Sites you choose | Yes200+ protected sites included. Request any site you rely on, free, and it stays protected | Not applicableCoverage follows threat intelligence rather than a list you control | ||
| Real time link checking | YesEvery link, everywhere you browse. Search results, any page, and Gmail. Verified links get a checkmark, suspicious ones get flagged before you click | PartlyBlocks navigation to sites on its lists, rather than marking links up before you click | ||
| Known phishing and scam pages | Yes | YesIncluding tech support scam pages and browser lockers, which it is unusually good at | ||
| Risky extensions | Pauses themOn protected sites, other extensions are paused so nothing can read your credentials, then restored when you leave | No | ||
| Downloads from sites you have not verified | Pauses and asksA download starting from an unverified site is held and you are asked to confirm it. Downloads from your protected sites are never interrupted | Not described | ||
| Check a link without installing anything | YesFree link checker, no install and no account | NoProtection runs through the extension | ||
| Cleaning up the open web, where Browser Guard is stronger | ||||
| Ad blocking | No | YesRemoves third-party ads and speeds up page loads | ||
| Tracker blocking | No | YesBlocks third-party tracking cookies | ||
| Cookie consent prompts | No | Declines them for you | ||
| Cryptominers and skimmers | No | Yes | ||
| Scanning files for malware | NoHaven does not inspect file contents | NoMalwarebytes sells this separately as a desktop product | ||
Browser Guard is doing more things than Haven, and doing them for free. What it is not doing is the specific check that matters when a convincing login page is in front of you. Neither product replaces antivirus.
We compete with Malwarebytes, so weigh this accordingly. Browser Guard's features here are Malwarebytes' own published claims, not our test results. Capabilities change. Check malwarebytes.com before you decide.
When each one is the right call
What Browser Guard covers
- Ads, trackers, and cookie consent prompts, which also speeds pages up.
- Sites already reported as malicious.
- Tech support scam pages and browser lockers.
- The same protection across four browsers, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari.
- A second threat intelligence source alongside your browser's own.
What it leaves uncovered
- The login page that looks exactly right, on a domain nobody has reported yet.
- Confirming your bank is your bank, by name rather than by reputation.
- Links checked as you browse, rather than blocked after the fact.
- The specific sites you care about, protected because you chose them.
- A download starting from a site you have not verified.
Most people reading this should run both. They are both free, they do not conflict, and the overlap between them is small.
Four things worth knowing before you pick
Lists only know what has been reported
Phishing domains often live for hours. By the time one is on a list, the campaign has moved. This is true of Browser Guard, Chrome, and Firefox equally.
Haven does not block ads
If that is what you came for, Browser Guard is the better answer and it costs nothing. Haven does one thing and ad blocking is not it.
We flag. We do not decide for you.
Blocking is the right answer for ads and sites already known to be bad. For everything else it removes the context along with the risk. Haven marks what it finds, verified links get a checkmark and suspicious ones get flagged, and where it does step in it asks first rather than deciding for you.
Neither one is antivirus
Both work inside the browser. Malware already on your machine needs device level security. More on that here.
Answers to Your Questions
Get answers to commonly asked questions about Haven and Malwarebytes Browser Guard.
Contact usIs Malwarebytes Browser Guard free?
Yes, genuinely. All of the protection is free with no account required, on Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari. One convenience feature is gated, manually blocking a specific ad by right clicking it, which needs the Malwarebytes app and an active subscription. That is a small exception rather than a catch. Browser Guard is best understood as the free part of a company that also sells paid desktop protection.
Is Malwarebytes Browser Guard safe to install?
Yes. It is published by Malwarebytes, an established security company, and distributed through the official Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari extension stores. Like any extension it can see the pages you visit, which is what allows it to block things.
Is Malwarebytes Browser Guard good?
For what it does, yes. It removes ads and third-party trackers, speeds up page loads, declines cookie prompts, and blocks sites that have been identified as malicious. It is particularly strong on tech support scam pages and browser lockers. Where it does not help is a phishing page too new to have been reported.
Is Malwarebytes Browser Guard an ad blocker?
Yes, among other things. It removes third-party ads and trackers as a core feature, which is why many people install it. Haven does not block ads at all, so if ad blocking is what you want, Browser Guard is the better answer.
What is the difference between Browser Guard and Scam Guard?
They are separate products. Browser Guard is a free browser extension that runs in the background and blocks ads, trackers, and known malicious sites. Scam Guard is a free AI chat assistant inside the Malwarebytes apps, where you paste a suspicious text, link, or screenshot and get a verdict. The practical difference is that Browser Guard runs without being asked, while Scam Guard is something you go to once you are already suspicious.
How is Haven different from Malwarebytes Browser Guard?
They ask different questions. Browser Guard asks whether something has been reported as bad, and removes it if so. Haven asks whether the site in front of you is the genuine one, on a list of sites you choose, and confirms it rather than waiting for a report. Haven also checks links in real time across search results, any page, and Gmail. Browser Guard blocks ads and trackers, which Haven does not do at all.
Is Browser Guard better than the phishing protection built into Chrome and Firefox?
For ads, trackers, and cookie prompts, clearly yes, since browsers do not block those by default. For malicious sites it works the same way the browsers do, from lists of reported sites, so it acts as a second opinion rather than a different kind of check. Two sources catch more than one, but no number of lists can identify a site nobody has reported yet.
Can I use Haven and Malwarebytes Browser Guard together?
Yes, and for most people that is the right answer. They are both free, they do not conflict, and the overlap between them is small. Browser Guard cleans up the open web. Haven covers the moment you are signing in.
Does Haven block ads?
No. Haven does not block ads, trackers, or cookie prompts. If you want those, pair it with an ad blocker such as Browser Guard.
Is Haven free?
Yes. Haven is free for individual use. Haven is operated by MirrorTab, Inc.
Cover the moment a list cannot
The next time a login page looks exactly right, Haven is the thing that can tell you whether it is. Free for individual use.
Add to Chrome, it's freeLast checked 7 August 2026. Browser Guard features and terms were read from malwarebytes.com, the Malwarebytes help centre, and the official extension listings on that date.
Malwarebytes' feature descriptions are Malwarebytes' published claims, not our testing results.
We compete with Malwarebytes. Where we could not verify something, we left it out rather than guessing.
Haven is operated by MirrorTab, Inc.
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