Is there a simple way to turn Bitdefender off temporarily to do an install of software via internet

Karl J
edited March 10 in Install and Updates

Attempting to download a trusted program that fails because it says another program is running. My guess is that other program is Bitdefender. Wish to turn Bit. off temporarily. Watched a video that had dozens of steps to turn Bit. off. Must be an easier way or I am using the wrong security software.

Answers

  • Flexx
    Flexx mod
    edited November 2024

    To temporary disable bitdefender services, have a look at below stated link as provided by bitdefender support

    https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/28557/

    Regards

    Life happens, Coffee helps!

    Show your Attitude, when you reach that Altitude!

    Bitdefender Ultimate Security Plus (user)

  • Hello @Karl J,

    Try to disable the Bitdefender Shield first and check if you can download the program afterwards. If not, follow the steps provided by Flexx above to temporarily disable all the security modules.

    Regards

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • deaded
    deaded War and Peace
    edited November 2024

    Regarding the first post, WOW! Seriously?

    14 steps to turn off Bitdefender for a few minutes? That's incredibly inconvenient. Is there some kind of kill switch that will disable everything for a period of time? Or does going to Protection→Advanced→Click off, do all of this? Because that would be exactly what I want.

  • Well, you could do that as well, but I think it really depends on what you are trying to achieve. For example, if you wish to install a program that is otherwise being blocked for some reason, disabling the antivirus alone may not help and there might be other security modules that need to be temporarily disabled. I think the purpose of having these options is to offer the user more flexibility and a more granular level of security management. The individual deactivation of the security modules may be very useful when troubleshooting, for example. But there isn't really a kill-switch for that.

    Regards,

    Alex

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • deaded
    deaded War and Peace

    That's too bad. Going through 14 steps to disable it is crazy. They really should add a kill switch for when you KNOW you are safe, not online, and don't want it slowing down your system.

  • @deaded If you notice a significant slowdown after installing Bitdefender, this article may prove helpful:

    https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/31856/

    A kill-switch feature (or exit option) was intensively debated on the forum in the past, however, the developers' decision was not to implement this due to several security concerns and vulnerabilities that could be exploited.

    Regards

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • deaded
    deaded War and Peace

    @Alexandru_BD Thank you for the link. I had read through that already but did not find it helpful in my situation.

    I completely agree with the post above. I feel like Bitdefender in a sense treats us like children. If we wanted to give up our freedom we would be using a Mac. In that way I guess it is similar to the debate about our right to own guns, so I can see your point. However, it is still annoying and may be a dealbreaker for me. I just came to Bitdefender from ESET NOD32 which worked fine most of the time but took forever to start and stop before a scan. I will give Bitdefender a year and see how I feel then. I do hope that the development team revisits this issue.

    I sincerely appreciate your thoughtful responses and your reasoning in this situation Alexandru_BD. Thank you.

  • So maybe I should write a batch ****** or a powershell ****** to disable the services, and of course another ****** to re-enable the services?

    — VirtualDiscord

  • VirtualDiscord
    edited February 11

    Hmmm, curious why the word "s.c.r.i.p.t" is flagged and replaced with asterisks?

  • Hi,

    It's intended. We had various guests in time who were trying to inject code and harm our forum, so I censored this wording via settings, among other terms. 🙂

    That won't be possible since Bitdefender is capable of self-defense. 😁

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • If the batch s.c.r.i.p.t goes undetected by signatures or heuristics, there is a high chance that advanced threat defense (behavior blocker) will stop its execution 😂

    Regards

    Life happens, Coffee helps!

    Show your Attitude, when you reach that Altitude!

    Bitdefender Ultimate Security Plus (user)

  • Thanks to you both for your replies and insight into the product. It appears that there is no way to temporarily, AND QUICKLY, disable bitdefender. I can start and stop network adapters, all sorts of Windows and 3rd party services, and even VMware services when not needed.

    Sadly then, Bitdefender does not seem to be for me. I hope these type of decisions by Bitdefender are not made in the same mindset as Microsoft and other developers that "you know best what works for me and my environment."

    —VirtualDiscord

  • You're welcome and I'm sorry to hear that Bitdefender is not suitable for your requirements in this case..

    The developers understand that users may have specific needs and that there are situations in which some users are willing to expose themselves, either to get a better experience during gaming, run certain tests or install various software (which may sometimes conflict with the security solution in some way), and the fact that the antivirus does not facilitate an option to completely disable all defenses at once, may pose an inconvenience.

    In my opinion, this is not about them knowing best what works for the consumer and their environment, because naturally each user has a specific set of requirements and people use their devices in an unique way, they have certain apps or programs installed and the level of security they require may also vary. This has to do more with overall security and vulnerabilities that may not become obvious to the user at first, but also with the multiple categories of users who install the antivirus solution. When adjusting the security products or developing new features, the product management teams always take multiple criteria into account, and each modification must be designed for both advanced users and less tech savvy users as well, to meet overall requirements.

    The product developers and security researchers always take into account all possible vulnerabilities and scenarios of usage, and in this extremely long and complex analysis, they have concluded that an option to completely disable the antivirus protection can pose certain risks for less tech savvy users. Again, we are looking at the bigger picture here and not only at the segment of experienced users that may pose advanced cybersecurity knowledge and usually know how to defend themselves, even when the protection is temporarily disabled or completely unavailable. This always comes with certain risks, of course.

    I understand how this vigilant approach may seem like "babysitting" to more experienced users, but its main purpose is prevention, because this is actually the first and perhaps most important measure of protection.
    As a trusted service provider, Bitdefender is responsible for the integrity of the protected systems and user data, and any vulnerability can be exploited, which they want to avoid completely, as part of their promise to keep users safe at all times.

    And yes, you may argue that other security solutions provide such an option, and you can certainly find ways to ensure that users who use the setting remain unprotected for as little time as possible, but if you put things into a larger perspective, I think this is a trade-off..

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

This discussion has been closed.