Cost of Full VPN when buying 5M/c 3Yr Total Security

Charentejohn

I see a previous pricing question was locked for mentioning money but this is relevant to Open ticket: 1008583061 Read quick nefore it goes ? I bought the above Total security package and on the same page it had a VPN for 29.99 option, I foolishly decided to think about it.

I then thought why not take it but then was told this is just for 1M/c for 1Yr ? On the initial screen there was no mention of that so I queried it. I got a reply, 30mins later) saying I could pay 29.99 for 1M/c for 1yr but I felt this was either deceptive on the first offer or a bit of an insult after buying.

I said that they could clarify the original offer and if possible could I pay 29.00 for 5mc+3yrs or should I just cancel for a refund and buy again and this time accept the full VPN.

Now 10hrs and silence from support so I will ask here if anyone knows what this is all about ?

It isn't the money it is the principle of the thing, I bought in good faith, asked a fair question and got a partial reply prior to being 'sent to Coventry'. I would like to stick with Bitdefender but they are making it really hard for me.

I just want a full and proper explanation and reason for all this, so when they have a minute hopefully they will reply.

Ironically I am not sure I want a full VPN as I want to try logging on from another country to see if I can access Tv there. The included one won't do that so I am buying bling and may find it is something I don't need, we will probably never know.

Potentially ex customer as Kaspersky has seved me well for the last 12 years and I may return to it unless someone here can advise. Thanks for any help,

Scott

Hi @Charentejohn

Since you posted a ticket number, let's see if @Mike_BD or @Alexandru_BD who both work for Bitdefender, can help to sort this out for you.

Kind regards,

Scott

Charentejohn

Thanks Scot, took a while but at 7am here I got a reply (from Nicolae K.) a bit garbled but basically buy more. Completely missed my point on 'implying' VPN was also for 3yrs. They said if I bought the 1yr VPN there is an option for another year in the proces ??? Clear as mud.

For the moment I will think on it. I prefer Kaspersky as it gives more control and info.

My thoughts on Bitdefender are below. They are really testing my patience but I will defer a decision for a few days to see what more I can find of how to control it. If I can't reconcile it for me the new top Kaspersky (only real alternative to this) is the same price but includes everything ,inc VPN and less confusion. It is not the money but the principle, I was about to send a reply as here but will play with this system some more, not like I have anything I would rather do :(

About to send in reply to the reply from support(had screen grabs)-See below the difference, yours is the (frankly intelligence insulting) 49.98 for 10 devices (I only want 4 really) alongside the hated monthly of 13.99. I assume this is a maths / stupidity test as should I buy for a year or rent for 3 months for the same amount. Why would anyone do that.

Compare to Kaspersky. All in for the same price as yours for 2yrs but with VPN included. VPN is the same price but it is the included bit that is important.

Says it - Then renews at $77.99 per year. Savings compared to 2X the annual renewal price of $77.99. All prices are VAT exclusive. Cancel your subscription at any time.

     If I read this right what they are saying is 108.99 now for 2yrs next time 77.99 for another 2yrs. If not I wil do what we always do and buy a new subscription.

ANyway I have spent enough time on this, may help others, I will say here if I give up.

Pros.

Simple to install.

The interface is very 'Google' which is ok but basic, I think you are going for the background running so no need to worry you are safe approach. Sadly the way of the world now but Ironically you still haven't got a full Android system.

Good and responsive support system.

Cons

Prices too variable and seems based around 1year purchase (personally I prefer longer hence don't like 'monthly rental' software like Office 360)

Pricing is all over the place, depends how you access the site. Took me a while to find Total security again.

The, click to add this, click to add that selling I find annoying. It is like dealing with Ryanair.

A big one this - It seems only the PC with Bitdefender on it controls what happens. May have this worng (but can't be bothered figuring it out) as when I look on another PC it just shows me ads and tells me how good you are.

Thank you for contacting us! The subscription you purchased (Bitdefender Total Security up to 5 devices) only offers 200mg\day of VPN traffic.

If you want to purchase a VPN subscription so you can have unlimited VPN traffic you can do it, but it is only for 1 year. 

If you want to add more years to your subscription, you can purchase a new identical product, and in the activation process, you can extend your current subscription [The VPN, you just activated it (It's just an example)] with one more year, there is an option in the activation process to do it. 

In my opinion, if you want the Antivirus and the VPN unlimitated, you need the Premium Security subscription, as this subscription have the Antivirus+Password Manager+Unlimited VPN. 

And if you want it for more years (3 years for example), you can purchase the product 3 times, activate the first purchase as a new product under your account, and use the remaining 2 to extend your current product with 2 more years, and you will have a Premium Security subscription valid for 3 years.

Also, the following subscriptions: Bitdefender Total Security is up to 5 or 10 devices only. Bitdefender VPN Premium is up to 10 devices only. And the Premium Security subscription is up to 10 devices only.

The number of devices, you need to choose the option it fits you more, you can't change the number of devices of these subscriptions.  I hope my email served you well, 

Scott

@Mike_BD or @Alexandru_BD any thoughts on this?

Charentejohn

Just something extra to consider as an example. I was trawling what options I can see and noticed File Shredder so before doing something irrevocable I searched a bit and found this (sorry can't make it smaller here)

Tried it and it does appear to on most files, but not pdf files, only offers scan, maybe worth fixing that as I tried that first and thought great it doesen't work. Tried a jpg and now it does...

I know people always say this but I worked in mainframe computing since the late 70s (the good old days) and went from programmer through the usual to looking after a bank's ledger system. I still remember what happened when I submitted a system and the bosses found stuff like that. Just so you understand that when I look at things I spot and find stuff, not my job now though. Does not instill confidence, if this is wrong...

Charentejohn

One last Beta test and I'll stop. Found Notifications and just what I wanted, to know what's happening. Saw the dustbin and hovered (never never click immediately) and it said 'delete all' not saying all what. Tick next to it said mark as read, clicked it and nothing changed ?

I really hate it when I click someting and nothing happens. You never know if it did nothing or someting you didn't expect but says nothing.

So I selected media and still says delete all, I can only select one at a time so what does delete all do ?

PS I notice that Bitdefender has embedded itself in windows explorer (as it offers scan etc) as well as offering me windows updates so it is embedded there as well. Pushing windows security aside if fine as what it is meant to do, just interesting development.

Off to dinner now back tomorrow morning.

Scott

Hi @Charentejohn

I hope you had a good dinner :) Ticking the 2 check mark arrows, "Mark as read" will clear the notification number(s) shown on the left side of the main Dashboard, Notifications. It will also clear the Widget of those numbers as well. It will not delete anything, just the notification counter numbers displayed.

Ticking the "Delete all" icon will delete all the events from the current category you have selected i.e. Critical, Warning, Information, or All of them.

The drop-down arrow for an individual notification, as you surmised, is just to expand it for more information or actions to take.

Here is a nice article regarding the Security Widget.

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/36730/

Scott

Charentejohn

Thanks for the info shame Bitdefender didn't say that :)

It is just lazy programming, I will just say delete all, so tired now I can't be bothered to say 'delete all items in this category' still nobody will notice as nobody else bothers either. These are needed as few systems have actual user manuals (I notice BD has dozens of videos, too many, where is the full guide) so on screnn messages are even more important.

I will add the widget which is just an example (Kaspersky is the same, icon turns red or green) of the 'leave it to us you just have a nice sleep' way of the cyber world, but that isn't bit defender's fault

I tried the tick to clear the numbers (warnings as a test) but there are no numbers on either screen.

Sadly I think I am stuck with Bitdefender for 2 reasons so will have to make the best of it. 1. The world has a downer on Kaspersky, often not even reviewed now, so worried they will be further curtailed. I notice there was more mention of where stuff was done now all russia russia to put people off. 2. I use Norton and very slow McAfee (wich they force on you) is abysmal.

I am really trying to reconcile myself but not easy. I will find somewhere more appropriate to voice my concerns as you are the only one interested, and that isn't right.

Scott

Hello @Charentejohn it's me again :)

The user guide can be found at the top of the Dashboard the Lifeperserver next to My Account. Clicking that will open up the option to view the user guide.

Also, all of the user guides can be found and downloaded from here.

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/user-guides/

Kind regards,

Scott

Alexandru_BD

Hello @Charentejohn and thank you for sharing your exhaustive product review with the Bitdefender community.

You are right about the shopping cart, whenever you purchase a multi-year antivirus subscription, the Premium VPN is recommended, however, it does not state its validity and the user may indeed assume it will be applied for the whole duration of the chosen antivirus subscription. I think this is something that needs to be adjusted, to reflect the VPN duration as well. When looking at the VPN product page, one can get a hint of the available validity for purchase. There we find only two purchase options, a 1-year subscription and a monthly plan.

The response you have received from the support representative is accurate and I know it might be confusing at first, since there are many products and services to choose from and their prices may vary according to the way they are bundled. The standard VPN version is included by default in your Bitdefender product on Windows, Android, macOS, and iOS. It offers 200 MB daily traffic per device. So Bitdefender does offer an included VPN, in a similar fashion as its competitors. Moreover, there are a few packages available that include the Premium VPN among other features and this means you won't have to purchase the services separately. But these are one-year plans, specifically because the VPN validity cannot exceed 1-year on a single purchase. You can, of course make additional purcases should you wish to extend the validity of your Premium VPN product, however a 2-year or 3-year version is not available by default. This happens because as you may already know, the Bitdefender VPN is not a service developed entirely in house and there are certain limitations when it comes to the variation of devices and validity that can be offered as standard. The VPN functionality is a third party software and it is licensed to you under the respective third party licenses mentioned here.

I have noticed your notifications questions were already answered by Scott, so if you need anything else, you've come to the right place. I know that learning to use a new product after using a different product for a long time can become challenging and most of the time big changes are like this. We are familiar with specific functions and settings and all of a sudden, we are greeted by a new UI and we have to learn our way again, but once you discover the insides and learn the interface, I think it becomes a walk in the park, especially for a computer specialist such as yourself 😉

Regards,

Alex

Alexandru_BD

Following up on my last comment, as I've missed something.

Whenever you add the Premium VPN in the shopping cart along with the antivirus of your choice, before finalizing the order it does state it's a 1-year subscription:

Charentejohn

Thanks to both of you for all the advice and help, you probably wasted as much time on this as I did :) I am now firmly 60/40 in favour of another product, would have been 90/10 without you.

I will go with the big green machine I think as the pricing of Bitdefender is all over the place, in helping me you have ended up highlighting how bad it is. Also the VPN being a collaboration / purchase so restricting use is another nail in the coffin. Nice to see the user guide so easily accessed, if only anyone knew what the round symbol meant, maybe it could be in the user guide ?

Sorry to quote (don't like doing it) but "there are a few packages available that include the Premium VPN among other features and this means you won't have to purchase the services separately. But these are one-year plans, specifically because the VPN validity cannot exceed 1-year on a single purchase." Oh dear. I am sure they see a clear pricing structure but I see disorganisation where to get a VPN they can't write they let a company rule them. Not the best of excuses for the pricing mess.

I think they should consider just one year subscriptions only then and include everything, don't make me remember to renew the VPN every yr but Av every 2, why not just do 1yr, split the price. As ever I can't find the screen I bought from but saw 32euros for Total Security for a year, make it 43 and include VPN ? Same for the other 2 offers ? They say the 32.00 is worth 85.00 before discount so implying that is what it may (unlikely) go up to. Try yr2 guaranteed 50% discount then we will see. Any sensible person would do what I am about to and buy the new offer just before the old expires. Ironically in researching this I found they allow update to the new version (different name and facilities) before the end of my current one, woo-hoo.

I think I will stick with my current provider who for 65 euros + vat (price is not important to me remember) it includes the usual full protection for 5 machines for 2yrs, crazily they have their own VPN included, what are they thinking. They have only 3 offers with drop down menus for machine / yr selections. There are just a couple of euros difference between their top and their best but I actively don't need the extras.

Now boils down to a matter of confidence and I have lost mine, a bit like buying a new car and it arrives dirty with a broken light and flat tyre. They fix it but now you aren't sure you want it. Like the head of Sony once said they test TVs etc for hours on the line so they reduce failures because once replaced or repaired people don't value them anymore and don't but again. I have a lot of Sony stuff, just bought my first non Sony TV, that was because of cost :)

Charentejohn

Just to let you know I have just sent a cancellation request as I can't live with the state of the interface and purchasing system. I await the swift response and inevitable 'are you sure what can we do to help keep you' reply, all companies do this but maybe I will be surprised.

All decent AV companies (there are 3 really) can do the protection and AV bit well. What makes the difference is the interface and range of products and system resource used. My view of the interface is clear but in looking at other posts I found one on ad blockers. The response was that they wanted to concentrate on the AV side (why ? is it struggling ?) so use somebody else's so I will use one that has it's own integrated ad blocker and vpn as I don't want yet more download / installs of random software. Something to consider I think, just do what Microsoft do, buy a good company that does these + a couple of staff and make it your own.

Good luck for the future I will check in again in 2yrs when my replacement AV expires. In the meantime get someone apart from company staff to test things as you can't see the flaws if you are too close.

Alexandru_BD

I'm sorry to see you go, it was a good chat. Hope you'll come back to Bitdefender in the future.

Your cancellation request will be processed by the Support teams shortly.

I'm not sure where you saw the comment regarding the ad blocker. What I can tell you is that Bitdefender offers an anti-tracker extension and you can read more about it here:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/25583/

Quoting from your above post - The response was that they wanted to concentrate on the AV side (why ? is it struggling ?) It's not struggling, as you can see for yourself, the antivirus is doing quite well receiving multiple awards from various independent testers in the past decade. I think whenever a company decides to invest in new technologies or to acquire partnerships, it has to make sense from the business point of view. If there isn't any demand to develop a specific service or if the market is already saturated by similar offerings, most likely there will be no return of investment. The focus should be on innovation these days.

Regarding this - I see disorganisation where to get a VPN they can't write they let a company rule them. I can assure you that they are very well organised. This is not something new. Antivirus vendors may choose to partner with third-party VPN providers for a variety of reasons, primarily centered around enhancing their customers' online security and privacy. They aim to provide a comprehensive suite of security tools to their customers. Keep in mind these are partnerships and they are not rulling eachother, but they are bound by an agreement.

By integrating a VPN into their offerings, antivirus vendors can provide an all-in-one solution that covers both malware protection and online privacy. Developing a robust and secure VPN infrastructure requires specialized knowledge and resources. Antivirus vendors such as Bitdefender might choose to partner with established VPN providers to leverage their expertise and focus on their own core competencies.

It's important to note that the effectiveness of a VPN depends on the quality of the service provided by the partner. When choosing a partnership with a VPN provider, antivirus vendors carefully consider factors such as the provider's reputation, track record, encryption standards, server locations, and user reviews to ensure they are offering a trustworthy and reliable service to their customers.

If you are using the green K, make sure to check their renewal policy as well. From what I found on their website, it says the following, I quote:

When you buy a subscription, you may be offered a reduced price for some time. This discount may be granted only once and only applies to the specified period. After this period ends, you will be charged the normal subscription fee for the subscription you have chosen.

Best regards and good luck to you as well!

Charentejohn

Thanks, I know that all the top Av suppliers are the same in terms of performance / security. For me it is just the bits that wrap around it that are important. To be fair Big K they say what it will be, 64.99 (+vat) now for 2yrs then will go to 79.99 / year which is their price for 5mc/1yr. Not worried by prices but as usual just do what I normally do and buy another 2yr offer, there will always be one To be fair our 4 machines protected for 96euros inc vat is 16/yr each or 32c/week per machine, cheap enough for me :) Based on 4 machines the below deal is about 15c/week, BD will be similar.

Bitdefender advertising can have that one, say 30c/week and sounds cheap, because it is. :)

I saw Flexx advised on fully removing bitdefender from my PC in my other post still nothing on the android one, I assume just tell bitdefender to stop protecting and my wife uninstalls. Shame you don't do a send e-mail to uninstall as well as install on remote machines. https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/96878/how-do-refunds-work/p1?new=1

Alexandru_BD

Hi @Charentejohn,

To remove the product it's best to use the dedicated uninstall tool, as this will remove all traces of the antivirus from the system. For Windows, you can download and run the uninstall tool corresponding to your Bitdefender version from here:

https://www.bitdefender.com/links/uninstall_consumer_paid.html?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D15076382408106129181797583903595292388%7CMCORGID%3D0E920C0F53DA9E9B0A490D45%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1692614150

For Android, check this article:

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/832/

Regarding pricing, don't be shy to ask the Support teams for a quote should you reconsider the product in the future. The people at Bitdefender are always helpful and they can tailor something out for you. 😉

Regards,

Alex

Charentejohn

Hi again, I cancelled this 5 working days ago so eagerly awaiting a refund. I recieved no reply as such so not sure if it is being processed. Is there someting more I need to do, sent e-mail as below on the Friday 22nd and technically today is the last day of the 5 days so I would expect sonething early next week ?

My level of confidence is so low I an just putting this here in case it lapses to past the 8th (I paid on 8th of July) so it is noted. Ticket no 1008583061 note I replied before they closed it and no idea what they are doing now....

Is there someone I can contact directly to ensure this is in hand.

Alexandru_BD

Hello @Charentejohn and thanks for following up here.

Please disregard the above message, it was an automated notification sent on August 22 and it's no longer relevant. The ticket is still open. I have asked our Commercial Support team to process the refund as soon as possible. Once the funds are released from their end, it may take a couple of business days for the amount to return in your account, depending on the issuing bank. So, most likely next week you should receive the refund. You will also receive a confirmation on the open ticket.

Thank you for your patience.

Regards,

Alex