Bitdefender Premium VPN blocks RT.com on Canada servers, while free Proton VPN works, Serbia works

Bitdefender VPN Premium is blocking RT.com on every Canada server I tried. RT.com works perfectly with split tunneling, and it also works on servers in Serbia, Albania, and Georgia, so this is not a website-wide issue.
Proton VPN Free, using an off-the-shelf default configuration, works perfectly on the same site, while your paid VPN does not. Proton is even running a very attractive spring sale right now, which makes this especially frustrating while I am spending time testing and troubleshooting Bitdefender Premium VPN.
I also understand that VPN is not Bitdefender’s main business and is likely an add-on to the security suite, but it is still frustrating that not even my Canadian ISP blocks RT.com.
Is Bitdefender somehow more sensitive to traffic and revenue coming from Serbia, Albania, and Georgia than from Canada?
With the AI revolution, software prices should be falling significantly anyway, including security software such as antivirus and antimalware, which is Bitdefender’s core business. Right now it feels like I am paying for a product that is creating more friction than value.
Please explain whether this is due to VPN IP reputation, DNS handling, or filtering, and tell me how to stop it from happening without needing split tunneling.

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Comments

Alexandru_BD

Hello,

I think it can be either one of these - VPN IP reputation, DNS handling, or filtering. I would exchange servers and protocols first, change DNS settings and check if this solves the problem. Nothing to do with revenue or anything like that. Some websites may block VPNs and this can happen sooner or later, if they detect the traffic is filtered through a VPN connection. Here are a couple of articles that may prove helpful here:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/30765/ (this includes other troubleshooting steps as well, not only Split-tunneling, since I understand you don't wish to use it).

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/13353/

This is not an uncommon scenario, even for a paid VPN. I mean, it doesn't really make a difference if the service is paid or not, the problem is that certain websites practice geo-blocking as a way of limiting access based on the user’s geographical location. Geo-blocking is done by identifying the IP address. And if they detect a VPN, they simply block it and if some other VPN is working fow now, that doesn't mean it will work forever. 😉

Alexandru_BD

@nemmesis as for the AI revolution and cybersecurity, research shows that security spending overall is still growing, and Bitdefender is positioning newer AI-powered protection as added value rather than as a reason to cut prices.
Keep in mind that AI is mainly an amplifier, not an automatic productivity windfall. Generally speaking (and this applies in many other industries) vendors are rethinking packaging and shifting toward value or outcome based pricing, not simply cutting prices.
In other words, if we are talking about software in general, cheaper code generation does not automatically translate into much lower customer prices, although at first you may be inclined to assume this.

Because in security, we need to look at both sides. The threat landscape, and the ones defending against malware.
In security, AI is also increasing the threat level since malware and other threats are also being created with it, thus the cost base to fight against increases as well. Have a look at the Gartner forecast and research on this topic.
Gartner explicitly says rising threats and the expanding use of AI by both internal users and attackers are growth drivers, and that security software is the fastest-growing segment in that forecast. That is the opposite of a market where prices are obviously collapsing because AI made everything cheap…

https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025-07-29-gartner-forecasts-worldwide-end-user-spending-on-information-security-to-total-213-billion-us-dollars-in-2025

Furthermore, cybersecurity vendors are competing by adding AI-era protection and privacy features, not by signaling “software is now much cheaper because AI wrote the code.” I think we need to keep in mind that security software pricing depends on far more than writing code.. Even if AI reduces part of engineering effort, security vendors still pay for threat research, cloud infrastructure, telemetry pipelines, model inference, customer support, compliance, distribution, and rapid response to new attacks. Since AI is also helping attackers create more convincing scams and deepfakes, vendors have reason to invest more, not less, in detection and response. Gartner and vendor materials both point in that direction..

Bottom line is, AI may reduce the cost of producing some kinds of software, that's true, and this approach can put downward pressure on prices in commoditized categories, but cybersecurity software is NOT currently showing a simple, significant AI-driven price collapse. 🙂

Regards