In addition to high-end malware and web protections, Bitdefender also has more security features than almost all other brands, and all of its extras work as promised and are very simple to find and use. Bitdefender also has some of the best web protections on the market, detecting more fake and risky sites than both built-in protections from Chrome, Firefox, or Edge, and anti-phishing protections from other antiviruses.
It has all of the cybersecurity protections most users need to stay 100% safe, it’s super easy to use across all devices and operating systems, and it’s cheaper than most competing brands.ĭuring all of my tests, Bitdefender had perfect results against all types of malware samples, and thanks to its cloud-based virus engine, it didn’t slow down my computer even during full system scans. I was happy to re-install MSE.Bitdefender is one of my favorite antiviruses in 2022. For my money, this AV is too simple, and reserves too much control to itself. If your internet crashes, your AV protection is effectively gone. I worry about entrusting my security to the "cloud". It concerns me that detected files are automatically quarantined, with no option to restore and investigate them. I would not assume that the protection it provides is equal to what the paid version of BD offers.
This free version has yet to be evaluated by independent tests (unlike avast! Free, or MSE, both of which I have used for years). Whilst I liked what I saw, I had some reservations: It comes from a vendor that gets top marks for its paid version. It played well with my other resident programs (MBAM Pro and WinPatrol Pro) and on-demand scanners.
This is certainly an AV that is light on resources, simple to install and use, and gave me no grief. Using these instructions, I had no problem uninstalling BD Free, and re-installing MSE. I reccomend you you follow the procedures here: Note: Uninstalling/changing one's AV is not a trivial process. I did not see this, although my experience was brief (~2 days).įor those not satisfied with this AV, there is a removal tool here: Some have complained that ads were popping up occasionally. Boot to desktop with no AV installed took about 75 seconds, which was similar to when MSE or BD Free were installed.Īs always, I cannot comment on the ability of any AV to block or remove viruses/malware on my systems. I could not confirm that boot-up time was quicker than when I used MSE as my AV. This does not bode well for the detection/investigation of possible false positive files. The Quarantine page seems to only offer the option to delete, not to restore. When I attempted to download the "EICAR" test file, it was immediately blocked, and quarantined.
On my system, this took about 24-40 minutes.īD Free performs an "Autoscan" periodically by default, either a "Deep Sweep" or a "Quick Sweep". To run an "on-demand" scan, a right-click of the tray icon offers you only the option of a "Full System Scan". When you open the program from its tray icon, the only choices are to enable/disable its resident Virus Shield, and its Auto Scan. Minimal configuration is required, or even possible. Well, this is certainly a simple and unobtrusive AV.
Registration including an email address is required. Straightforward and quick, wth no bundled software. It's a 158 kb download that takes only a few seconds. Supported OS: Windows XP/Vista/Win7/Win8 (32-bit and 64-bit)
Very light on resources, and no need to update An Anti-rootkit - This technology is used to scan and block rootkits B-Have, a pro-active behavioural module Scans all the links you are accessing from your browser, checking them for various scams or credit card phishing attempts and blocking them when they are unsafe. Early Boot Scanning, improving boot time Thus when a free "cloud-based" BD version was released about 6 months ago, I was intrigued, but waited until now to test it, figuring it would take a while to work out the bugs.Īmong the claimed benefits of the BD free veersion are: BitDefender AV has an excellent reputation, and the paid version consistently scores well at independent test sites in all tests.