Bitdefender Corrupting Downloads

summary:

I just started using bitdefender free to evaluate your product about 3 days ago... nearly all of my image downloads since then have been corrupt... no flash videos would play all the way.. they would stop, and many times goto a green screen.. and ALL of my install package downloads were corrupt... the only way i managed to get anything to dl in a non-corrupt fashion was by turning off auto protect..

details:

I just started using bitdefender free to evaluate your product about 3 days ago... my norton 360 expired and when reading the antivirus lab reviews and pc mag recommendations i thought i'd try your product first before renewing norton to see if i liked your product more.. im evaluating it for both myself and my family as i was telling them i was going to switch them off of norton as there were better options.. at first i only noticed issues in my flash videos at coursera.. so i thought something happened with them.. then i noticed the issue was happening on youtube too.. i uninstalled and redownloaded flash... adobe said the install package was "corrupt from a trusted source" i freaked out thinking "that's not good"... especially when it kept happening.. this would be something i would expect from an infected machine... but i knew my machine was clean, i just finished uninstalling norton 360 which i've used for years.. long story short through a lot of trial and error and not knowing what was causing my issues... uninstalling and reinstallign software etc... it came down to being bitdefenders fault... when i would deactivate the auto protect.. the problem would go away..

i was about to uninstall bitdefender, and thought i should check your forums before i did... low and behold i found a bunch of people with the same exact problem.. the following topic was locked... but i wanted to give a heads up on this that it is STILL an ongoing issue.. this is a HOTFIX... as such you have to go through a process to get it emailed to you by ms.. you really need to have your product look for these conditions and WARN the user of the bug and where to download the hotfix to fix the issue, or you need to rework how you handle it to stop the corruption, or you need to pressure ms to release this as part of a larger update, or the best option would be to do some combination of the above.. this has left me with a bad taste in my mouth seeing you KNEW about this issue for this long and have done nothing to proactively warn your users and people trying your product with the conflict and how to fix it.. now i have a fair chunk of my skydrive corrupt... and i'm unhappy for the days of lost productivity.. this isn't instilling confidence in your company seeing this has been an on going issue for 3+ months with no warning, or real workaround on your side..

http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?sho...40187&st=60

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Comments

columbo

IMHO, that thread may have been closed a little to prematurely, no disrespect, Georgia, as some were still evaluating the hotfix. Also, there was no firm resolution on the part of Bitdefender, or at least a confirmation of what was being resolved on their end, hotfix aside: http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?s=&...st&p=174667

This is a concern for me too, as the possibility of a future CAD scanner and thus the possibility of any sent and received STL files were being corrupted, would cause me to make a change at least on my business PCs, just for peace of mind.

Maybe Tech support can set us at a little more ease with an update, or direction that the hotfix should be applied across the board, no matter what, before finding out the hard way?

Kind regards intended

Scott

Georgia

Hello,

We closed the topic because the issue is not caused by Bitdefender, it is a Microsoft bug and can be solved with this patch:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2789397/en-us

EatAtJoes

Hello,

We closed the topic because the issue is not caused by Bitdefender, it is a Microsoft bug and can be solved with this patch:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2789397/en-us

Actually while the bug may be on microsofts end... the "ISSUE" as you call it *IS* indeed caused by the manner in which bitdefender is coded and manner in which it utilizes the underlying microsoft systems. I write software for a living, i'm all too familiar with microsoft bugs and trying to find work arounds for them. You are releasing a product into the market place that has a DISASTEROUS affect on the data a person downloads while using YOUR product.

I have NEVER had this problem with Norton.. I have NEVER had this problem with AVG... i have NEVER had this problem with McAffee... never has this issue with Trend micro, Sophos, or Kaspersky. For a company that is supposed to have a "better product" then all of the above, i can not imagine any of the above would allow their product to be utilizing a microsoft subsystem system, apis, or library that is known to cause data corruption on their users end and for them to do nothing about it.

Most likely by changing the manner in which their software works to accomplish a given task, as there are many of different ways to accomplish the same task when programming, to work around the issue until the issue is actually not just corrected by microsoft in a windows update that is released to the public, but that said fix is in general use by more then 60-70% of the affected users. At that point a company could make a justifiable case to switch to using the method that was previously bugged as most people would be patched.

in fact, i would say from my experience in development and experience in using those products, that the odds are the software with the method that created the issue never would have made it out of internal alpha or beta testing quality control to even be released to the public... and if it had been, it would have been immediately rolled back..

there is a fix you say, but that fix is not and has not been rolled out to the general public. it is a hotfix... that is a type of fix that microsoft does NOT release via windows update where anyone but a handful of people would even have it as a result. they have to KNOW about the issue and actively look for a solution in order to find it. if my mother, or any of the client's i've worked with over the years were to have this issue, i'd be getting a phone call from them for support. they are not computer literate enough to know how to track down what is causing the corruption, let alone research it to find a solution like a hotfix. therefore the VAST MAJORITY of affected people would not only be getting corrupted data, but would be unsure how to even know it is happening and fix it without help, and until it is already too late as they will already have corrupted data because you issued them no warning..

there is an expectation when one installs an antivirus product that it will "do no harm" to the system. your implementation methods are doing ACTIVE HARM on EVERY item that is downloaded or streamed. they do a great amount of harm. the choice to implement the protection you do in the manner you do to this day, is YOUR decision.. it is not microsoft's.

i'm sorry... but based on your response to this issue... i will be uninstalling your product today.. i will not be purchasing your product, and i will make sure to let my family & friends know not to use it, and seeing i am responsible for the decisions at my place of work as to what software to leverage across our network, we won't be considering your product lines there either.

this is a completely failure of accepting any form of responsibility and frankly turns my stomach... it's easy to blame the problems on microsoft, but as a company with people actively using your product that is actively responsible for corrupting user's data you can NOT wait on microsoft to release a fix... YOU need to release some form of modification and work-around to prevent the issue from corrupting your users data.

frankly, i would even go so far as to say there is a legal liability in not only allowing the corruption knowingly, but in not having a pop-up or warning telling the respective affected user that using your product WILL cause the DESTRUCTION and CORRUPTION of their data.. this response is completely absurd.. your company should be customer centric... aka, the customer is right.. do good by them... breed and grow a feeling of faith and trust in your brand. what you have done here, and your handling of it, and continued response to it is DESTROYING trust in your brand.. do you not realize the hardest thing for a company to build is the trust in it's brand? the trust in the brand is worth more then anything.

that is why people continue to buy products like norton over yours because they trust the brand. not because it is a better product then yours per-say.. but because they trust it.. sadly, with this issue and your response to it, you have completely justified them and me in continuing to trust norton over you.

sincerely,

a former potential customer

columbo

Hello,

We closed the topic because the issue is not caused by Bitdefender, it is a Microsoft bug and can be solved with this patch:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2789397/en-us

Thank you, Georgia. So I guess in my case, even though my downloads etc. may not be showing any signs of corruption, is to install the hotfix on the PCs I'm concerned about, just to be sure... as there are to many other good features and security with Bitdefender