OVERVIEW: • Installation time of 2 minutes and 15 seconds, plus one computer restart. • Very good feature set including Game & Laptop Modes. • Sub-par testing for malicious software detection. • Only average Performance in our testing. • Overall Rating: Fair  |
1) Installation:
BitDefender AntiVirus 2009 installed fairly quickly in 2 minutes and 15 seconds, but it did require one system restart after installation. The installation process was not as quick as other antivirus programs, such as Norton AntiVirus 2009 which installed in under 1 minute and required no reboots, but BitDefender did install fairly quickly and was a straightforward process nonetheless.
After installation BitDefender runs a useful configuration wizard that helps personalize the program's options for the user - a nice touch over just installing the standard "default" settings. 2) Features & Ease of Use:  BitDefender AntiVirus has both an Advanced View and Basic View for its user-interface, similar to NOD32's Advanced/Standard Modes. We find this to be a very useful feature so not to overwhelm novice computer users with "advanced" options. The 2009 version of BitDefender is much improved over its user-interface from 2 years ago. The main menu, or "Dashboard" as BitDefender calls it, quickly lets you see at a glance any problems with your computer's protection - and allows you to correct the problem with just one click. BitDefender also boasts a two nice optional features not seen in many antivirus programs: Game Mode, and Laptop Mode. In Game Mode all alerts & pop-ups are disabled, updates aren't performed, scheduled scans are disabled, and real-time protection level uses less resources. Laptop Mode attempts to minimize BitDefender's impact on the laptop's power consumption while it's running on battery. BitDefender detects when your laptop is switched to battery power and automatically enters Laptop Mode (can be disabled and configured). One last nice feature with BitDefender Antivirus 2009 is its Vulnerability Monitoring. BitDefender helps keep your crucial software on your computer up-to-date and alerts you when critical software needs to be updated to keep your computer secure. This is a nice touch for an antivirus program, it's about time a security program takes full responsibility for the entire security of your computer, and not just do its limited role to stop viruses and other malware! 3) PERFORMANCE 3a) Virus Scanner:  BitDefender 2009 has 3 different scanning options when in Basic View: In the Advanced View, BitDefender offers more scan options including Quick System Scan and Autologon Scan, as well as providing more antivirus & scanning options. Our main problem is that in Basic View the antivirus & scanning options are too basic (little or no customization is allowed). Updates: The 2009 version of BitDefender has a scheduled update every hour, which is quite good, but not the most up-to-date protection in the industry with Norton now updating every 5-15 minutes with its new Pulse Update feature. According to Virus Bulletin, BitDefender takes on average 2-4 hours to respond to new threats, this is 2nd-tier response time when compared to Avira, Kaspersky, and Norton which all respond to new virus threats in less than 2 hours time. 3b) System Resource Usage:  View the results of the Antivirus tests we performed below to see how BitDefender compares to its competition...
3c) Effectiveness:
4) Help & Support:  BitDefender has all the basics of a good support system - 24 hour Email Support, Chat Support, Toll-Free Phone Support, as well as an online Knowledgebase and program Help Files. Support appeared to be good in all areas, our only concern would be the Knowledgebase and Help Files are not the most extensive or easiest systems to use when compared to other antivirus programs. CONCLUSION: BitDefender has many nice features, including Game & Laptop Modes, and a good overall layout. It uses a very small amount of your computer's memory (7.6 MB), but our other Performance tests were not as favourable on BitDefender. Our concern with BitDefender 2009 is that its detection rates for malicious software is sub-par, and it has a very slow virus scanner. These features are the heart and soul of any antivirus program, and BitDefender's average results in these tests is worrisome. This leaves us thinking another antivirus program may be a better alternative - see our Antivirus Reviews for suggestions. Warning: BitDefender 2009 seems to have a compatibility issue with Gmail. For those of you using Google's Email service we'd highly recommend avoiding BitDefender since it slows down to a crawl unless you use the Older/HTML Version which works fine. This Gmail incompatibility makes one wonder what other script intensive Web 2.0 websites may not work with BitDefender 2009...
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BitDefender Software Description:
BitDefender Antivirus 2009 provides advanced proactive protection against Viruses, Spyware, Phishing Attacks and Identity Theft, without slowing down your PC.Confidently download, share and open files from friends, family, co-workers – and even total strangers!
- Improved: Scans all web, e-mail and instant messaging traffic for viruses and spyware, in real-time.
- Proactively protects against new virus outbreaks using advanced heuristics.
- Blocks attempted identity theft (phishing).
- Improved: Prevents personal information from leaking via e-mail, web or instant messaging.
- NEW! Instant Messaging Encryption.
- Improved: Reduces the system load and avoids requesting user interaction during games.
- Uses few system resources.
- NEW! Laptop mode prolongs battery life.
- Improved: Scans all web, e-mail and instant messaging traffic for viruses and spyware, in real-time.
- Proactively protects against new virus outbreaks using advanced heuristics.
Manage the security of your home network from a single location. BitDefender software from other computers in the network can be remotely configured, while tasks such as scans, backups tune-ups and updates can be run on-demand or scheduled to run during off-hours.
Hassle – Free Hourly Updates
Hourly updates ensure that you are protected against the latest threats without pushing a button. Lost program files are not a problem either. In the rare event of file damage due to PC problems, BitDefender automatically repairs and updates itself.
FREE 24/7 Support
Got a question? Our security experts are available to help you 24/7 via phone, email or chat at no additional cost.
