Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I installed and tried Bit Defender on my laptop, which has previously used Kaspersky internet protection and McAfee.
The program installed easily on my computer, without incident. I found Bit Defender to have a decent-looking interface that is difficult to use. Under the guise of targeting their product to different levels of users (novice/intermediate/expert), they have supposedly made things less complicated, but what that really means is that, at the lower two levels, one is stuck with automated options that cannot be changed without switching to expert mode, and believe me, some of these things are quite irritating.
I found several things troubling about the protection aspect of this software: the first being that at various times, particularly after rebooting, Windows informed me that I had no virus software turned on. I had to manually request it to turn on. And at least two times, for no apparent reason, I received the alert that Bit Defender had turned itself off to perform an update, leaving my computer vulnerable for this period of time. It happened while I was writing this review, and managed to turn itself back on within a minute or so. There was no pop up about this, either: I just happened to be looking at the "dashboard" at that time. The first time this happened to me, I manually restarted the program. This is most unsatisfactory.
This is part of a troubling pattern where the program rarely alerts the user to what is going on. Everything is running in the background -- even many problems. The program just quietly notes them and keeps them to itself. One finds them only by going to the Bit Defender Dashboard to check.
The other option is somewhat incomprehensible pop-ups. I had a problem for several days where I continuously had a pop up that updates could not be performed because the system scan was running. I had no idea what it was talking about. Finally I went to Bit Defender, and it informed me that there was a critical problem that the program had not updated itself in 2 days. It seems that this program spends an inordinate amount of time, at least with the program defaults, conducting deep system scans, which slow down one's computer and render the program unable to update itself, unless you tweak this setting yourself in the expert control setting. These deep system scans take between 2 and 3 hours on my computer and are performed constantly. I honestly have no idea why it needs to perform so many system scans to make sure no virus has gotten through the cracks.
Also, all problems are of equal weight. Don't have the program turned on? Don't have the latest Firefox update? Don't have the latest change to the Windows User Pack? Haven't updated the virus definitions in 10 days? Your system password is not strong? These are all CRITICAL issues, according to Bit Defender, but in reality, I think it's misleading. I don't think the lack of "non-critical Microsoft updates" (which included a picture and video file sharing program) should count as a critical issue affecting the status of an antivirus program.
And how does one know there is an security problem? The program does not go out of its way to alert you. There are no pop ups. There are no alerts. Nothing flashes. Nothing beeps. Instead, one has to go into the program to check on things. I have been unsettled at how many times I have been informed that, for example, no updates have been performed for 5 days -- simply because all updates are canceled if the window for the system scan is open (which is not visible on the taskbar, but only in the small icons in the lower right portion of the screen). Remember, the urgent alerts include both obsolete virus definitions AND not having downloaded some optional multimedia sharing program. Basically, the user assumes all is working well, but it's not; only by seeking out information does one happen to realize the computer may be vulnerable. This is a giant flaw, and it occurs when the program is off and when the system is out of date. This is so whether one is an expert user or a novice.
I did not like that it installed an Anti-Phishing toolbar on IE without consulting me. No toolbar was installed on Firefox.
And an oddity -- after registration, I realized (although I never specified my country of residence), the company had assigned me the country of Senegal. Reading others' reviews it seems that this is common.
So, although this program works for 3 PCs, I am honestly not sure I will install it on any other computers. I have found it to not affect system performance in some aspects -- my computer starts up quickly and doesn't freeze during updates as it occasionally did when using McAfee -- but virtually continuous system scanning and a program that does not really communicate its status in keeping my computer protected from viruses, shows a troubling deficiency in its most important feature.
UPDATE after 2 weeks of using it: It turned automatic updates off, and my computer is not able to obtain any virus definition updates (the updates screen is grayed out and says updates are not available). While awaiting a response from Bit Defender's tech support, I discovered that (judging from their user forum) that this is a very common problem. Tech support advised me to uninstall and then reinstall the product. I decided to uninstall it only.
Click Here to see more reviews about:
Bitdefender Antivirus 2010 -3 Pc/1 YrBitDefender Antivirus 2010 provides 3 PCs with one year of protection against viruses, spyware, and identity theft without slowing them down. It features: IM Encryption, for confidential chatting; Gamer Mode, for secure gaming at top speed; Laptop Mode, for prolonged battery life; automatic hourly updates; home network management; and more.
Maximum Security, Maximum Speed
Securely download music, movies, and files from the Web, friends, and family.
Scans and removes viruses and spyware
New--Advanced protection that continually monitors your system to catch threats that lay dormant, before they attack
Scans all Web, e-mail and instant messaging traffic in real-time
Proactively protects against new virus outbreaks using advanced heuristics
Protect your identity: shop, bank, listen, and watch, privately and securely.
Stops attempted identity theft (phishing)
Prevents personal information from leaking via e-mail, Web or Instant Messaging
Blocks concealed programs that track your online activities
Security that won't slow down your PC.
New--Scans 60% faster than even last year's lightning-fast edition.
Uses minimal system resources
Laptop Mode prolongs battery life
Guard your conversations with top-of-the-line encryption.
Instant Messaging Encryption (Yahoo! and MSN Messenger)
Gamer Mode.
Reduces the system load and postpones scans/updates, allowing for secure gaming at top speed
Be in control, stay in control.
Manages the security of your entire home network from one PC
Use the dashboard to fix security issues with just one click
Automatically decides best security actions to take
Designed for ease of use.
New--User Profiles (Standard, Parent, Gamer, Custom)--set up your security to best match your computing activities
New--See only what you need! Select from Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced views
New and Improved in BitDefender 2010
More Protection Many of today's stealth viruses are designed to avoid antivirus detection by initially laying dormant only to attack your PC when it is most vulnerable. BitDefender 2010 features a cutting-edge security system, Active Virus Control, which constantly monitors all of the processes on your PC, 24/7, blocking any malicious behavior before it can cause any damage.
More Speed The abundance of new viruses calls for faster ways to detect them. BitDefender's Optimized Scanning avoids the scanning of files that are known to be safe. The result? BitDefender 2010 scans your PC in half the time needed by previous versions, while using less resources.
Easier to Use Whether you're a security expert or a novice, with the new BitDefenderUser Profiles you can easily manage your PC's security. The product interface adapts to the chosen profile and provides quick access to the main security functionalities you are most likely to need (Parental Controls for parents, or Gamer Mode for gamers). BitDefender 2010 also features three dashboard views--Novice, Intermediate, and Expert--to better accommodate users with different levels of PC knowledge.
Improved Intrusion Detection BitDefender detects and blocks attempts to change critical system files or registry entries on your PC and warns you about attacks performed by code injection (DLL injection).
Improved In-Product Technical Support You can get answers to the most common product-related questions or contact technical support directly from the product using its easy-to-use self-service module.
Get 83% OFF
Click here for more information about Bitdefender Antivirus 2010 -3 Pc/1 Yr
