Clarification On How To Use Bitdefender Products Under Windows Xp
Hi Everyone;
This post is for anyone who is still running that venerable Windows XP and who wants to keep using BitDefender. I have found that the instructions on BitDefender’s webpage related to XP (http://www.bitdefender.com/support/-1453.html) to be confusing, incomplete, and inaccurate. This was compounded by some unfortunate erroneous advice (or at least my interpretation of it was that it was erroneous) given on this forum (see /index.php?showtopic=69545" rel="">https://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?showtopic=69545). (I hasten to thank all those that replied to my original queries, and hope that this post will help alleviate any confusion).
Background: I had BD AntiVirus Plus 2015 installed on my system, and as my subscription was running out I bought a new 3-computer license from Amazon and fully expected the renewal procedure would be as simple as just entering the new code I purchased. How wrong I was! After having wasted a considerable amount of time and becoming increasingly frustrated, I have finally figured out how to install a BD product under Windows XP, and I thought I would share my findings with the community (since the community has been extremely helpful to me in the past).
Here is my break-down (for what it is worth). This assumes that you already set up an account under BD Central:
a) BD no longer functions under Windows XP for their 2016 products (at least not for AV Plus)
This means that you CANNOT use AV Plus 2016 under XP, even if you buy a new subscription/license (as I did from Amazon). The ONLY product you can get to work under Windows XP that BD will support and will renew your subscription for is Internet Security 2015. Even though IS 2015 is a more expensive product than AV Plus (with more features), BD will give you access to it if you are using Windows XP. Note that you have to install the 2015 version of Internet Security (not the 2016 version), but BD will continue to allow you to use the program and to update your definitions but you will be using the 2015 version.
Note: If you already have BD Internet Security 2015 installed, you do NOT need to uninstall it. Just enter the new code/license key that was generated from your BD Central account (see step d below). My understanding is that if you have ANY other BD product and you have Windows XP, then you need to uninstall it and use Internet Security 2015.
c) You therefore have to completely UNINSTALL your old BD product (in my case the 2015 version of AV Plus), using Control Panel followed by the BD Uninstall tool
d) Then, in your BD Central account, you Go to My Devices (on the left side of the window), Click on Install Bitdefender. (in the right part of the window), Click on the Windows logo icon, and Click on Get compatible version here. A new window will pop up with the Bitdefender license key generated for you. Please write down this license key, so you can use it to register your Bitdefender product. (These instructions are taken verbatim from the BD webpage related to Windows XP, and are one of the few things that were actually clear to me and that made sense).
e) Once you have the new key, download the 2015 version of Internet Security (their web page gives link: http://download.bitdefender.com/windows/installer/en-us/xp-vista/bitdefender_isecurity.exe but I am not sure if this is valid for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of XP. The BD customer service rep sent me a direct link to the 32-bit version which I include here: http://download.bitdefender.com/windows/desktop/i_security/2015/en-us/bitdefender_is_18_32b.exe
f) After you have uninstalled any previous product (unless you already have IS 2015), have generated a new key from BD Central, and have downloaded the 2015 version of BD Internet Security, you are now ready to install your BD Internet Security 2015.
g) Run the BD IS 2015 exe file to install it, and when prompted you enter the new license key that was generated from your BD Central account. Do not enter the license key you bought (for me it was the one I purchased from Amazon) – you first need to convert this via BD Central as outlined in (d).
At this point everything should be up and running.
Note: I have been informed by BD that this process will be discontinued in future years (ie from 2017 onwards), and if you wish to continue using Internet Security under Windows XP you have to contact their customer service and they will manually renew your subscription (assuming of course that you buy a new subscription).
I hope this helps others who find themselves utterly confused by BitDefender’s instructions (and I encourage anyone to correct any errors I may have made). In my opinion they clearly dropped the ball on this by not making it crystal clear how customers who are still using Windows XP are restricted to using IS 2015 and how to go about installing it. I hope in future to see marked improvements on their support pages. I will add, however, that some of their customer service reps were extremely helpful in the end.
Thanks again to everyone in the community who took the time to help out in the past.
Kind regards,
Tonia
