Any Info On Number Of Definitions?

Putting it here not because I'd touch 2015, but because it may be where support reps look most and I hope the number of definitions is the same across all versions. So after it constantly dropping for a long time, what'd be the normal one now? Because some consolidation is one thing, but a drop of millions is quite suspicious.

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darge

Not sure about this. But are you saying that you're number of definition decreased? If yes, then something might be wrong on that.

Cavalary

Been decreasing constantly for months, and you can find threads here dating back to spring, when it peaked, explaining that the signature database is being compacted, but I'd like to know what the normal number is now just to be sure, and if it's the same for all versions, including particularly old ones that still let the user have some say in what happens on their computer.

antikythera

attached is what mine currently shows. the number of definitions has indeed decreased steadily as the signatures are optimised. also take into account the cloud scanning which reduces the number of signatures required on the PC itself further.

this does not indicate a problem with your installation

Cavalary

Yep, exact same number here too, thank you.

Still concerned about efficiency though, talking of an old version that relies mainly on definitions, not cloud scanning or such.

antikythera

Yep, exact same number here too, thank you.

Still concerned about efficiency though, talking of an old version that relies mainly on definitions, not cloud scanning or such.

you're welcome. which version are you using currently? the screen grab is of 2014 I don't use the 2015 build either.

Rohugh

I use 2015, definitions are less but not a great deal.

Cavalary

you're welcome. which version are you using currently? the screen grab is of 2014 I don't use the 2015 build either.

2011, last one before they thoroughly messed up everything. Ability to set firewall rule scope from the prompt, to decide whether I want a rule to be created at all, and to set "prompt user for action" in case an infected or suspicious object is detected, which were present in earlier versions, gone by then as well, but at least I still have an amount of control I can generally work with. As I keep saying, that's no longer the case with 2012+. Tried that and 2013, then gave up completely, last year looked into Kaspersky but heard that was being dumbed down too and when I contacted their branch from here they wouldn't reply to my questions by e-mail, asked for my phone number instead and when I said that if I sent a message one'd assume I expect a reply via the same method they didn't reply again at all, so filed them off as... something that the forum software here will likely censor and stuck to BD for another year. Now wondering if I actually can stay on it till this license expires (in February, had 3 bonus months) and then start all over with looking for something new or I have to do it sooner.

Recommendations if I asked around for a solution that was top-notch in terms of security but also highly customizable and suitable for advanced users that also want to use it for system control were quite fixed on Comodo, but plenty saying that it'd be better with some other antivirus product paired with the Comodo Firewall instead of their suite, and I know that since 2012 BD doesn't play well with that, so blah...

antikythera

2011 builds are end of sale and life status since 6th January 2014. according to their end of life policy they provide support for 6 months after end of sale date. so in effect it is now the same as running unsupported windows xp. if it works still then fine but you now don't get critical updates or bug fixes to the program itself rather than the databases.

if you are happy to continue like that it is at your own risk. you are right about the dumbing down at KL which was part of the reason I switched to BD. You can use Comodo with newer versions of BDAV but not BDIS (it isn't wise to have more than one software firewall running anyhow to due conflicting rules and traffic filtering mechanisms). All you need to do is uninstall it before upgrading and re-install it afterwards so it isn't detected during install of BDAV.

The earliest supported version now is 2012. I prefer the 2013 version but am using 2014 which I have just about got configured to my liking excepting the current system performance issues affecting it. Each have their own benefits and drawbacks. It is nice to be able to choose between supported versions going back that far.

Cavalary

Yeah, just noticed that EoL date a few days ago when I checked. Was worrying, but it's not like I've been expecting program updates to it for quite some time now. What I'm interested in is to have accurate 0-day definitions still being added (and if you look on the definitions download page, you see them going back to BitDefender 10, as in the one launched in 2006) so if something shows up it'll still notice it, not have them simply do without definitions and rely solely on the newer behavioral analysis modules and cloud to handle things, leaving older versions in the cold.

In fact that's what I expect a security suite to do in terms of security, have the definitions to keep me safe from stuff that may trigger without my knowledge, such as exploits, drive-by downloads, that sort of stuff, plus old-school viruses in the sense of malicious payloads inserted into otherwise legitimate files. Otherwise I'm pretty darn security conscious, at times perhaps too much so, to avoid actually performing actions myself that may cause problems, much less installing stuff that may in itself, as a whole, be malicious. So basically block the obvious malware that may act without my knowledge and let me know of anything else, help me monitor and control my system as I keep saying.

Wasn't thinking of having it alongside BDIS... But that does beg the question, if my key is for BDIS, can it also be used a level down, on BDAV? And can the Comodo Firewall be used at full power? Because on that thread about the issues the 2012 version had with Comodo it was said not to activate any of the additional features the Comodo Firewall comes with if you want it to work.

And it'd be far nicer if you wouldn't have to choose between versions because each newer one would actually be an improvement over the older ones, by fixing any issues and adding new features without removing any old ones!

Cavalary

This sure is dropping fast... 6976635. Down some 90k in the past 24h I think, and 67277 over the last 9h, actually tracked this exactly. Either the database had been outragerously bloated for years and they didn't care (peak was some 11.8 million I think?) or they're just moving all stuff to cloud and good luck even with newer versions if you want to scan when disconnected or some malware won't let it connect or something.

csalgau

This is normal and the count will probably continue to drop for some time. We're aggressively compacting and eliminating unneeded signatures at the moment.

Keep in mind that this will not affect performance or detection rates, even in disconnected scenarios.

Thank you for raising this concern.

Cavalary

Thanks for the reply.