The problem

In mid-2020, The product team became aware of a sharp increase in users dropping out of the Malwarebytes anti-malware installer. Likewise, the customer support team noted an increase in support calls from customers having trouble installing Malwarebytes on their computer. The installer had been around since 2018 — it never caused any problems before 2020. I wasn’t the original UX writer on this project, but I was asked to audit the designs.

The goal

Figure out why users were dropping out of the Malwarebytes installer and contacting support for help. Fix the problem and stop the influx of support tickets.

The choices, “home” and “business,” didn’t make sense in the post-COVID era—with much of the world now working from home.

Empathizing with users

To figure out which version of Malwarebytes anti-malware to install we asked users: “Where are you installing Malwarebytes?”

Users had two choices: “Home” or “Business.” Depending on the user’s answer, we installed the consumer-grade anti-malware product or the enterprise-grade endpoint protection.

The original design for the installer matched our user’s mental model until COVID happened and changed the way things worked in the real world. The choices, “home” and “business,” didn’t make sense with much of the world now working from home.

I also took issue with the question “Where are you installing Malwarebytes?” It sounds very much like we’re asking for their physical location, which could be a privacy concern.

Facing these pain points, it was easier for users to contact support than use the product as designed.

To validate my theory, I looked at the support tickets, finding that user sentiment aligned with my own beliefs about the problem. Users said:

“Installed the wrong version.”

“[Malwarebytes] says I have an invalid license key.”

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

“Why are you asking for my location?”

User archetype

To further inform our audit of this tool, I developed this user archetype:

Informational needs

• Is this the real Malwarebytes or is this malware in disguise?

• Why am I being asked about my location?

• What is the difference between “home” and “business?”

Jobs to be done

• I need to remove malware from my computer

• Give me a reason to place my trust in Malwarebytes

Psychological profile

• Tesler’s Law: Did we oversimplify the installation process by reducing the choice to “Home” and “Business?” Is more explanation required?

• Picture superiority effect: Do users associate the image of desktop computers with work? Are the images working against us in this case?

Ideation and design

The average Malwarebytes customer installs the product because they need to remove malware that’s already on their computer, as opposed to proactively protecting their computer. They’re scared and they have little patience. They need to be certain they’re making the right choice.

Facing any uncertainty, they will drop out of the installer and call customer support. Accordingly, the copy in the installer should be clear, concise and leave no doubt as to what will happen when the user takes an action.

I asked that we change the copy to “Personal Computer” vs. “Work Computer,” because all we really wanted to know was “Do you own this computer?” allowing Malwarebytes to install either the consumer anti-malware or the enterprise endpoint protection.

I also asked to change the images since, I believed, nobody uses tower-style desktop computers anymore and any implicit meaning is lost on the user.

Further iteration

The designer and I shared mockups of the installer with revised copy but stakeholders on the project were still worried about the images and copy causing confusion for users.

The designer and I went back to the drawing board one more time. Looking at the copy again, I realized that the question “Where are you installing Malwarebytes?” misses the point — users are trying to fix their computers. “Installing Malwarebytes” is just a means to an end.

So, for the final iteration of the installer I came up with the copy in the image below, placing emphasis on the user “jobs to be done.” And per my recommendation, the visual designer changed the images to better represent the dichotomy between home and office.

The final iteration of the Malwarebytes installer, featuring my updated copy and image suggestions.

Validation and results

My hypothesis held true and this tiny copy fix had a big impact. Users abandoning the installer, dropped from 35 percent to 25 percent — about what they were prior to 2020.

The same was true for support tickets regarding installer issues. Tickets tagged with installer issues accounted for less than 5 percent of all support tickets.