Has BitDefender reduced my Admin privileges?

bd_38

I have Windows 10 on Dell XPS 17.

I was trying the free BitDefender (BD). It seemed to mess up so much functionality that I restored a Macrium which PRE-DATED the installation date of BD. 

After the restore, I noticed 2 things:

 - BD was still present !! 

 - My laptop was in a stable and consistent state, except for the reduced privileges, as follows.

In Control Panel > User Accounts, I see:

 - <me>

 - Local Account

 - Administrator

However, I'm unable to do some of the things that I could do about a week ago.

Examples:

 - I no longer have a "Second Admin" account on my login screen. (Purpose: to allow login if my primary account was in accessible.) I'm assuming that's because I no longer have the rights to CREATE Admin accounts.

 - The WhatsApp link link on my desktop disappeared. I'm not allowed to access C:\Program Files\WindowsApps to replace the icon, but I can launch from the Start menu - so that's bearable. 

 - I suspect that iDrive thinks I'm not an Admin. The "AppData" folder is marked in red in iDrive, which means I'm not allowed to copy the contents. I've posted this issue on the iDrive forum.  

I would be grateful for any advice.

BTW: As I mentioned, one purpose of the Macrium restore was to eliminate BD - but it still persisted. I've decided to bite the bullet and keep it. So many satisfied BD users can't all be wrong.

Thanks.

Alexandru_BD

Hello @bd_38 and welcome to the Community!

Bitdefender Free can be easily uninstalled from the control panel. I do not know what effect macrium restore has on Bitdefender, but it is not recommended to use this to get rid of the program. It's unlikely for the rest of the issues to have anything to do with the antivirus, in my opinion.

If Bitdefender fails to uninstall and cannot be removed, download and run the uninstall tool corresponding to your Bitdefender version from this location.

You can use the uninstall tool for Total Security and then reinstall Bitdefender, should you wish to continue to use the product.

Regards

Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/95961/has-bitdefender-reduced-my-admin-privileges

Kindly perform below steps & see if this helps you in anyway.

1) Uninstall the bitdefender product with add/ remove programs option in windows

2) To remove the remaining files download and run Bitdefender product uninstaller: https://www.bitdefender.com/files/KnowledgeBase/file/Bitdefender_2022_Uninstall_Tool.exe

3) Restart PC in safe mode: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/start-your-pc-in-safe-mode-in-windows-92c27cff-db89-8644-1ce4-b3e5e56fe234

4) As soon as desktop opens, assuming your windows drive is C, open below things in run (windows icon + R) command one by one :

C:\Program Files (delete any folder with name bitdefender)

C:\Program Files (x86) (delete any folder with name bitdefender)

C:\ProgramData (delete any folder with name bitdefender)

C:\Users\{your pc name}\AppData\Local (delete any folder with name bitdefender)

5) Open run command again and run below command one by one :

temp ,delete all the files in the folder

%temp% ,delete all the files in folder

prefetch ,delete all the files in folder

6) Open registry editor through run command (windows icon + R) and then type regedit. Once registry editor opens, click on edit -> find, make sure to tick mark match whole strings only. Type bitdefender in search box and click find next. If any file or folder under name of bitdefender is found, delete it. Continue searching the registry and deleting until the search will report no registry keys found.

7) Restart your PC in general mode by unticking the option that you selected to run the system in safe mode and then click apply.

8) Remove devices from online bitdefender central: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/2795/

9) Download online installer for your respective bitdefender product from below stated links

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus: https://download.bitdefender.com/windows/installer/en-us/bitdefender_antivirus.exe

Bitdefender Internet Security: https://download.bitdefender.com/windows/installer/en-us/bitdefender_isecurity.exe

Bitdefender Total Security: https://download.bitdefender.com/windows/installer/en-us/bitdefender_tsecurity.exe

Once your respective bitdefender product is installed, a bitdefender dialogue box will open where you will need to login with your registered bitdefender online central details and after a successful login, your product will be synchronized with your online bitdefender central account. Henceforth, your product will get registered & activated with online bitdefender central automatically.

10) Finally run windows defragmenter (if needed): https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/ways-to-improve-your-computer-s-performance-c6018c78-0edd-a71a-7040-02267d68ea90

If issue persists, 

Generate bitdefender BDsysLog: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/1922/

Generate bitdefender support tool logs: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/1733/

Generate bitdefender connectivity logs: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/9689/

Share the logs & your query with bitdefender support team by dropping them an email at bitsy@bitdefender.com

If the generated logs are larger in size, you can upload the logs to google drive or we.tl (7days link validity for free users) or ask the support team to provide you with the online link & password of bitdefender cloud where you can upload the logs and share the upload link with the support team.

The support team will reply back to your query within next 24-48 hours excluding weekends.

Regards

bd_38

@Flexx

Many thanks for the detailed list of instructions.

Before making a start, I made one final attempt with an earlier Macrium restore. Fortunately, that restore removed BitDefender.

After I update any out-of-date software, I intend to have another try with BitDefender. I'll try to take more care next time 🙄

Thanks

Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/324800#Comment_324800

Generate bitdefender BDsysLog: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/1922/

Generate bitdefender support tool logs: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/1733/

Generate bitdefender connectivity logs: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/9689/

Share the logs & your query with bitdefender support team by dropping them an email at bitsy@bitdefender.com

If the generated logs are larger in size, you can upload the logs to google drive or we.tl (7days link validity for free users) or ask the support team to provide you with the online link & password of bitdefender cloud where you can upload the logs and share the upload link with the support team.

The support team will reply back to your query within next 24-48 hours excluding weekends.

Regards