Can Bitdefender Password prevent uninstalling Total Internet Security?

So, if I set a password in BTS it will prevent a user from changing or disabling the settings. But will it also prevent an Admin user (windows 11) from uninstalling the application altogether?

thanks

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Gjoksi

Hello.

As far as i know, it will NOT prevent an user (admin or standard) from uninstalling the application.

And the idea of password protected uninstallation has been already discussed here:

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/90967/password-protected-uninstallation-of-bitdefender-products

According to @Alexandru_BD "There are currently no updates regarding a possible implementation.".

Regards.

Alexandru_BD

Hi,

Indeed, this topic has been discussed a few times here and the developers indicated that this is not a simple feature to implement and it can easily put the user in the impossibility of uninstalling, at least via normal means.

To quote @camarie's comment from the above discussion shared by @Gjoksi, the uninstall should be no different than the other applications, though, because the vast majority of the users, and Microsoft themselves, expect a certain way to follow. Inside the application, yes, one can ask for password, make user perform additional validations, invoke UAC etc. since changing a setting or starting an operation which may prove sensitive could justify the additional stress.

But the uninstallation, at least as the users experience, is mostly handled by Windows. It is possible, true, to incorporate into the uninstaller an additional initial step that asks for an additional validation via UAC, and from a member of the Administrators group, but this will complicate the process anyway.

Perhaps a new setting, default OFF, maybe called "Perform program maintenance only by an administrator", which will do the same validation (ask for an admin password via UAC), and if validates, it will be set to ON. If one wants to set it to OFF, the same thing has to be done as well.
However, this hypothesis has not been confirmed or denied by the development teams, probably due to the fact that there are some bottlenecks or concerns regarding the complications that may arise in the uninstallation process, when it becomes necessary, for example in certain troubleshooting situations.

Like I also mentioned in the above thread, the simplest solution that comes to mind is to change the user access control settings, so you will be prompted to enter the Windows admin password for uninstallation.

Regards,

Alex

art2work4

Both my son and myself have an Admin account on his laptop. (unfortunately he needs an Admin account for certain tasks related to his study)

Can someone instruct me how to enable the UAC (for the BTS program only) in his Admin account, so that I would need to enter a pswrd in his Admin account whenever he wants to uninstall BTS?

Alexandru_BD

Hi,

To enable User Account Control (UAC) so that Bitdefender requires an admin password for uninstallation, try the following steps:

First, enable UAC if it's disabled, so ensure UAC is enabled system-wide. This setting applies to all programs but is required to enforce admin credentials for critical actions. Open UAC Settings, press Win + S, type UAC, and click Change User Account Control settings. Ensure the slider is set to at least the second-highest level: "Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer". Click OK.
Modify Bitdefender's permissions. Set Bitdefender's executable files related to uninstallation to require admin rights explicitly. Locate the uninstallation executable, Press Win + R, type C:\Program Files\Bitdefender, and hit Enter. Search for the uninstallation program (e.g., installer.exe, uninstaller.exe, or a similar file name). Then, restrict permissions - right-click the uninstaller file and select Properties, then go to the Security tab and click Advanced. Modify the permissions to allow only the Administrator group full control while denying modification access to standard users.
Use Group Policy to restrict program modifications - this step ensures Bitdefender cannot be uninstalled without administrator intervention. Launch Local Group Policy Editor, press Win + R, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter. Navigate to: Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Windows Installer. There, enable restrictions: double-click Disable user control of installation options. Set it to Enabled and click OK.
The next step would be to test the configuration. So, attempt to uninstall Bitdefender from the Admin account to ensure it prompts for the admin password.

Let me know how it goes.

Regards,

Alex

art2work4

Hi Alex,

First of all, thanks for the support. But I see a challenge with the solution:

This setting applies to all programs but is required to enforce admin credentials for critical actions. /// This means that probably he won't be able to install or uninstall other programs without my intervention. That is no practical for our use case
We have Win 10/11 Home edition, so gpedit.msc is not included as far as I know

Therefore I would still like to see an option from Bitdefender (reading the posts around this, I appear not to be the only one that has this urgent wish)

Ben