I’m wondering if there’s any difference between the viruses protected between Intego & BitD

Jeffe01

Can't decide on whether to go with one or the other… will the malware defs be the same, or??

Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/103657/i-m-wondering-if-there-s-any-difference-between-the-viruses-protected-between-intego-bitd

Intego uses and is completely dependent on the Avira engine, so you can decide for yourself between Bitdefender and Intego.

My recommendation would be to go with Bitdefender, as it consistently outperforms nearly every other antimalware vendor on the market. Many antimalware vendors integrate the Bitdefender engine, either relying on it entirely or using it as a secondary engine alongside their own in-house technology.

This underscores Bitdefender significant influence in the antimalware industry. The fact that multiple antimalware vendors have incorporated the Bitdefender engine into their products speaks volumes about its effectiveness.

Furthermore, Bitdefender consistently ranks among the top in evaluations conducted by reputable antimalware testing organizations such as AV-TEST, AV-Comparatives, and MRG Effitas.

For these reasons, I strongly recommend choosing Bitdefender.

Regards

Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/351935#Comment_351935

Antimalware protection is a mix of independent research, shared intelligence, and common resources. Companies like Bitdefender, Intego, etc., have their own research teams that develop unique detection methods. However, they also share threat information through global intelligence networks. Platforms like VirusTotal help speed up detection by allowing multiple antimalware programs to scan files and exchange results.

While many companies rely on their own engines, some antimalware vendors share engines. For example, Emsisoft, G Data, etc., use Bitdefender engine, while F-Secure, Intego, etc., use Avira engine. Norton and AVG, after merging, now run on Avast engine. This allows them to improve detection without developing everything from scratch.

Even if two companies use the same engine, they may not detect threats at the exact same time. Differences in analysis methods, update speed, and software implementation can lead to slight variations. Some antimalware programs might detect a threat earlier or later, even with the same core definitions.

Most antimalware vendors release malware updates multiple times a day, but how quickly updates reach users depends on internet speed, system settings, and the vendor update process. Some programs use cloud-based updates for real-time protection, while others rely on scheduled updates, causing minor delays.

Concluding, the truth is that today, almost all antimalware programs can detect nearly every malware, though they may identify them under different names. This is because malware signatures are created independently by each vendor, and detection techniques such as heuristics, behavior analysis, and AI-based detection vary between companies. The only cases where malware names (signatures) are exactly the same are among vendors that share the same engine—such as Bitdefender-based engine (Emsisoft, G Data, etc.) or Avira-based engine (F-Secure, Intego, etc.).

You can check the third-party engines used by different antimalware companies in the below-stated link for both consumer and enterprise users:

• Consumer: https://www.av-comparatives.org/list-of-consumer-av-vendors-pc/
• Enterprise: https://www.av-comparatives.org/list-of-enterprise-av-vendors-pc/

Regards

Jeffe01

Thanks, That's kinda where I'm at as well, tho I kept my Intego subscription for the year just in case. I had both going on my Mac for about a year, but Intego's NetBarrier was stopping Bitdefender from updating or upgrading, so I uninstalled Intego. Besides the engines, I was just wondering if they both (or rather all anti virus software) end up with the same virus definitions at the same time and all end up using them pronto.

Jeffe01

Absolutely fantastic, precise and concise answer that clarifies perfectly. Thank you!

Flexx

Glad to hear your issue has been resolved. As the matter has been addressed, this post is now closed to further comments.

Regards