Unfriendly User Interfacing

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but everytime I boot with the 2010 BD trial (version unknown as seems undisclosed anywhere), all trial users are required to click the BD splash popup (urging payment for our trial use and subscription of BD before completing our trial period) and until we click that popup's 'continue', apparently the product* (BD's Internet Security 2010 is what I agreed to try out) is or is NOT running to the extent that the machine is protected at startup? yes/no

I have to ask that as I'm seeing little indications that the product is protecting my system, especially since I'm also seeing that startup security alerts are so poorly presented (at least for default setups of this trial version).

By that I mean, I've "discovered" BD's apparent means of alerting 'trial' users to issues, seems to be only if we hover on the BD icon in our systems tray. If this's correct, is this how BD considers it appropriate for BD security alerts presented to the user (trial and/or actual paid subscribers)? yes/no

Nevertheless, when hovering that icon, it says "Warning. 1 issue requires your attention" and that interface doesn't offer any means of elaborating on that 'issue', ie; hovering the icon doesn't mention the need to right click on it's icon in order to reveal action options for the 'issue', does anyone else think that sort of intefacing has been ill afforded for a program that supposedly places a high priority on advising users of issues? yes/no

Moreover right-clicking that icon doesn't seem to afford any means to identify what the 'issue' is, ie; neither selecting that menu's "show" or "fix all issues" leads me to either identifying the issue or even fixing it.

Instead all I'm finding are strong indications that until 'we' pay for BD Internet Security 2010, only then will BD identify specifics about issues and again, only then fix them. yes/no

I say that as I tried the icon's "show" and even it's "fix all issues", but nothing is leading me to being told what the issue is (other than it's an unspecified ActiveX running on in the browser) which tends to tell me that the trial version may not fix (or identify) 'issues'. If I'm not missing something here, is this again an appropriate interface for trial version users? yes/no

I apologize for sounding like a 'doubting Thom-######', but I'm sadly disappointed in what little interfacing and disclosure that BD has afforded trial users.

Best regards and happ-e-trail to all,

wguru

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wguru

I omitted mentioning two aspects about the reason for my posted questions.

At startup, after clicking the trial splash popup's 'continue', I several times now seen a popup stating nothing except that an issue relating to an unidentified or was it unsigned ActiveX is attached to my browser, but nowhere am I finding where BD elaborates on that ActiveX, or where BD even lists a log of such issues and/or their having or not having been fixed). Am I missing something here or is this sort of logging of 'issues' and disclosure regarding them, either not readily or simply not afforded?

Secondly, as for the "Warning. 1 issue requires your attention", I believe it is simply a reminder to pay for a subscription.

However I just discovered something else. I find that trial users might well be better afforded details about registering and activating the product.

As I don't clearly recall seeing those conditions for use (who reads fine print or manuals), it seems that if this is so important, BD might have scripted a reminder for that (as opposed to simply the one about 'give us your money').

Again, not wanting to sound like a "doubting ThomAS", apologies for sounding like one when I saying that thus far I'm little impressed with BD Internet Security 2010 trial setup and interfacing.

neilrnld

Wow! This thread is VERY disturbing. I also updated from 2008 to 2010 and have experienced several problems, though not the same ones as posted here. I think I will restore to a date prior to when I installed 2010 and stay with that until they have got rid of all the bugs in the new product. It seems strange that the support team emaisl each person who posts individually, rather than provide a link to the fix. I am disappointed 'cos my guru/mentor/geek recommended BD several years ago and I have had a dream run ... until now.

unknown

Hello wguru,

We understand your concerns regarding our product. Thank you for taking the time to provide the feedback to us.

First of all we would like to inform you that when you are installing BitDefender and choose to use the trial version you should see this information mentioned on the very top of the BitDefender window - in your case you should see BitDefender Internet Security 2010 -Trial on the very top.

It is normal to receive pop-ups when you have a trial period, in this way you are aware of the fact that your product will expire in 30 days and your computer will not be protected anymore. I can give you plenty of examples of softwares which have these pop-ups.

I want to assure you that when you have a trial product you have protection, full protection. This means that the software will act as the one you would purchase. The reason for being called trial is that this protection expires after a number of days. So, to answer to your question, your computer is fully protected at the startup even if you are receiving this popup mesage.

If you want we can provide you with the steps you need to follow in order to disable this option on your computer.

We also inform you that you have the possibility to see the list with all the fixing issues in BitDefender. When you click on the Fix all issues button you should see a list with all the issues. Here you have the possibility to skip some of them (e.g. Registration issue) and then to fix them. Additionally, in the Intermediate mode, you can see the list with all the issues in the Security tab.

The reason why you are seeing the Buy now option on the Registration process is to make the things easier for the users who liked the product and want to purchase it. Also, we do not want to create confusion by providing you with the steps to register the software since you will follow these steps only if you purchase it and you receive a license key.

As per creating an account, during the installation process we are providing with all the necessary information. I have attached a screen shot with this window. If you do not activate the product by creating an account or signing in to an existing one you will also receive a pop up reminder at every restart reminding you to do this. As you can see on the screen shot, we also provided with a link where you can read the reasons why we are requesting an online account:

http://www.bitdefender.com/why_register

Regarding the ActiveX notification, please be so kind as to tell us what version of Internet Explorer you are using. Please also try the following:

- open Internet Explorer -> go to Tools -> Internet Options -> click on Custom Level -> go to Reset to -> choose the Default option from the drop down menu -> click on Reset and then OK.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about the security of your system.

Thank you.