My (expired) subscription included many features (VPN, etc. ) I have no interest in. How do I subscribe only to antivirus, anti-malware, and protection against harmful websites etc.?
(My subscription was to Total Security)
Hello Doug,
The standard VPN version is included by default in your Bitdefender product on Windows, Android, macOS, and iOS and the app is installed automatically alongside your security solution/antivirus. So it's actually part of the security suite and you cannot unsubscribe from it separately.
As for other security features that are included, these cannot be individually removed from the plan. The security suite has been designed to offer advanced protection, and this is no longer limited to antivirus, because in today's threat landscape, that is simply not enough. Total Security has been enhanced to include scam protection layers, ransomware protection, cryptomining protection, password security and data breach detection.
Online threats evolve, and so does cybersecurity.
Hi @Doug Jensen
I personally have a subscription to Antivirus Plus, for the exact reasons you're mentioning. It does not include a firewall, so if you're okay with Windows firewall, you'll be fine. Otherwise, there are free 3rd party firewalls if desired. I did create a Windows firewall rule to block PowerShell (outbound), as I'm not a developer and that is a common route for some types of malware to install and "phone home" to continue to run and install their payload.
Here is an image comparison of the differences between AV Plus and Total, from the Bitdefender website (you need to scroll down the page to, "Compare"). You would still need to uninstall the VPN on a AV Plus install, which I what I do to use my preferred VPN.
I also have a Bitdefender Free version account, as even though it shows some of the modules with the settings paddle locked, they are actually running in the background, you just can't turn them off, have that user control. The main BD Shield is On, running, but you can toggle that option.This was confirmed in a post on this forum. If needed, you can add the Bitdefender TrafficLight extension to the support browsers, which will also display the site ratings when doing a Google search.
I hope this information helped :)
