initial impressions of Bitdefender Total Security

Twilight · 2020-08-14T20:04:11+00:00

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The software package looks thorough but bloated and definitely does not play well with others.

If I do not have any local email clients, why does anitspam default to on?

If I already have 1Password or LastPass (at least), why does password manager default to on?

SafePay is a nice idea but is useless to me because it only works with Bitdefender password manager. Why not make it work with other password managers?

I first tried installing Bitdefender with Malwarebytes installed. It gave no warnings or errors but hung at about 85%. After reboot, it did not work. After uninstalling Malwarebytes, it still did not work. After doing a reinstall, Bitdefender finally worked. Given that Malwarebytes is still extremely common and goes to great lengths to work with other applications, why does Bitdefender not work with them? And, if it's not going to, why doesn't it give a warning on installation?

We'll see how it goes as I watch/check check performance and resource hogging (or not)...

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Captain Obvious

"If I do not have any local email clients, why does anitspam default to on?"

Because it does not hurt to have this turned on. If you have no email client installed, then the antispam feature does nothing.

"If I already have 1Password or LastPass (at least), why does password manager default to on?"

In case you wanted to use this feature. All you need to do is turn this off if you do not wish to use it.

"SafePay is a nice idea but is useless to me because it only works with Bitdefender password manager. Why not make it work with other password managers?"

SafePay is useless to everyone who uses Bitdefender, so you're not alone.

"I first tried installing Bitdefender with Malwarebytes installed."

Is the single most idiotic thing a person can do in the year 2020. If your comment was posted in the year 1998, maybe it would be considered reasonable; but in this day and age you should know that installing two or more security softwares on the same system is just begging for trouble. It doesn't increase the security of your computer AT ALL, and in fact, can do the exact opposite. As the softwares conflict with each other, this can lead to your system becoming MORE vulnerable to infections. For example, let's say your computer got a virus. At that point, Bitdefender and Malwarebytes will fight over who gets to attack the virus, and what method they will use to attack the virus. Malwarebytes might detect Bitdefender's attempts to disinfect the file as "suspicious activity" and block Bitdefender from doing so. As you can see, this leads to nothing but trouble. If you're going to have security software installed on your computer, choose ONE AND ONLY ONE. Uninstall the rest.

Hope that answers your questions.

Twilight

Except that, generally (not verified for Bitdefender), having protection turned on usually means there is a process running and taking up resources (even if it is doing nothing because you don't have/use what it is protecting).

That's interesting that you say to install one and only one security software. The majority of security sites still recommend installing multiple. There are a lot of forum threads out there with people asking how to use Bitdefender with Malwarebytes. If you read reviews, Malwarebytes and Bitdefender have different focus so it makes perfect sense to install both. The vast majority of security packages (that aren't identical purposed) play nicely together - just not Bitdefender.

I'm wondering why Bitdefender has such a bloated suite. It defaults to everything being on. However, a LOT of people don't use local email clients. SafePay is useless (at least if you don't use Bitdefender password manager and you say even if you do). Bitdefender VPN is useless (it's basically just an ad for buying the premium version) - given that Total Security is already supposed to be a full security package, why is the VPN extra to begin with?

I'll keep evaluating Bitdefender but, as of right now, I'm likely to go back to Malwarebytes (and possibly something else) due to the above plus Bitdefender being a significantly higher resource hog (about twice as much memory used and constant (low) amounts of cpu used). One of the original reasons I tried Bitdefender was that Malwarebytes had markedly increased resource usage over the years (but still significantly lower than Bitdefender).

Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/296746#Comment_296746

Hi Member,

Kindly confirm your PC/ Laptop specification . I am able to run malwarebytes & bitdefender together without any issue. I have 16GB DDR4 RAM with 250GB SSD with AMD Ryzen 5 2.50 GHz

Regards

Flex

(Bitdefender beta tester 2019/ 2020)

kingdave

Hi everyone,

I just bought the Bitdefender Total Security at a discounted price from the official website. I started playing around with it a little bit and noticed on the Bitdefender Central that I'm missing three of the most important features, the Virus & Spyware Removal, Adware Removal and Computer Tune-Up. Furthermore, when I was selecting the package, it said that the VPN is included in the package. Once I bought, it says that it's only a 7 day free trial and that I need to purchase a VPN Premium.

I'm honestly very disappointed as many websites say this is the best anti-virus. I'm not sure how to approach this situation. Have I been scammed? Is there a tiny print somewhere saying that these features will not be part of the package?

Please let me know asap.