Bitdefender Blocks Website Even Though Parental Control Is Disabled

It seems that, in one form or another, this has been a recurring problem as shown by the previous posts linked to below:

http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?showtopic=23026

http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?showtopic=22971

http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?showtopic=22947

http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?showtopic=22780

http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?showtopic=22139

http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?showtopic=22102

http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?showtopic=21682

I have had yet another problem, as shown by the link below:

http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?showtopic=22811

While I did receive a personal reply to the "Blocked Website" problem, it got resolved by an update before I could pursue that further, however that problem has recently returned. I had some "back and forth" in the forum regarding the Easy CD-DA Extractor conflict, but it did not get resolved. It should be know that I never did submit a ticket, but chose instead to pursue help via the forum. I think that's better than a ticket, because it lets more people know what's going on. I put posts in BitDefender's forum as well as Poikosoft's (the maker of Easy CD-DA Extractor) for that reason. Since I had more than just the "Blocked Website" problem, I chose to uninstall BitDefender Internet Security 2011 and re-install 2010, and I was pleased to see BitDefender provide links for that as shown below:

I was able to install BitDefender Internet Security 2010 by downloading all of the files at the link below into one folder on my hard drive and running the "setup.exe". There's a single, larger file in the parent directory, but that didn't work for me.

http://download.bitdefender.com/windows/de...nal/en/msi2010/

More languages and versions can be found at the link below:

http://download.bitdefender.com/windows/desktop/

As of writing this, the "roll back" appears to have fixed all of my problems. Once again I thank BitDefender for making earlier versions of the software available for users who do not wish to live on the "bleeding edge". My service is set to expire soon and I am strongly considering Norton, however, in keeping with my use of forums, I decided to visit there's and they have their problems as well. One interesting suggestion is to make it a user option to update the engine or just the virus definitions. While I understand that updating the engine can be very important for improving security, since it can also reduce functionality (such as conflicting with applications or blocking web sites), as well as disable the entire machine (!), I believe the user should have the option of whether to update the engine and virus definitions or just the virus definitions. I'm glad to see Norton considering this, and suggest that BitDefender do so as well.

My apologies to the BitDefender Team, as it appears I have missed, and consequently violated a posting rule:

"4.

When posting a reply on a topic try to keep the suggestion within a relevant range – for example, when there is a post concerning an error message in BitDefender 2009 do not recommend downgrading to BitDefender 2008 for this suggestion does not address the original issue. Multiple posting of this type will lead to an increase of the warn level with 20%."

It would seem I may go from "Newbie" to "Banned Newbie". Sorry again. I thought I was helping users, but it is true that my posting does not help resolve the original issue.

Hello,

As usual everyone is posting where they feel like it, without reading our Forum Rules nor considering all the posts where I keep repeating the same thing: do NOT post in a topic NOT related to the issue you encounter as it will confuse both me and you.

Mushfiqur Rahman: Warrned +10% for off topic posting. Please provide me with a screenshot of the Parental Control module having BitDefender Security Center in Expert View.

pardonmyownage: you are also posting in a topic NOT related to the connectivity issue you encounter.

13ack.Stab: as being your first post, I will not warn you for posting Off topic. Also post a screenshot of the Parental Control module in Expert View and mention the Windows Username you are using when the website is displayed as blocked. Also create a NEW topic and explain the streaming issue.

ChrisCC: Even if you have posted those links from other topics , those topics are NOT related to the issue you described. Those topics are related to an issue we had with certain websites being blocked by Real Time Protection and not Parental Control. Furthermore Chris you have used a MSI installation file not the full installation kit. If you have a slow Internet connection you have have issues if you install BitDefender using the online installation kit file.

I will repeat again:

- posting in a topic not related to the issue you encounter will get you a warning of 10% and the post to be ignored. With all the respect but I can not troubleshoot multiple issues in a single topic, that is why we have created all the Forum categories, for you to choose the appropriate one and create a new topic there.

- posting without providing me with at least the basic info about the system you are using and the BitDefender product and version will not help you get an answer faster, it will only postpone my answer until I have the info I need to come to a conclusion.

WHAT?!?!?! how am i posting in an unrelated area? i have the same problem as stated by the original post. i merely said what i thought the cause was in my case. really what do you want me to do? spend countless hours reading all of the forums here for a problem with YOUR product? or post in a topic already created with the same problem as mine? i'm not having connectivity issues. the problem is entirely related to parental control blocking safe websites eventhough parental controls are disabled. so please. if this isnt there im suppose to be, send me to the right place instead of chastising me and everyone else

incase i missed it,

Windows 7 64bit

BD 2011 TS

edited:

@DanyDan- as someone who complains about people reading rules and such, you obviously cant/wont/didnt read what was posted in this thread.

I am also having this issue - on one laptop (Vista 32bit, fully patched - Bitdfender 2011 trial edition)

Some websites are blocked - the message says it's by Parental Controls. Parental controls are not enabled for any user on this machine.

One website that is blocked is www.game.co.uk - this is not blocked on another machine running the same version of bitdefender.

I am yet another person who suffers from this problem. I added my 360 to my Media Center Extender list thingy today, and random sites are now being blocked as well.

This problem did not exist before today (also, BitDefender seems to block the 360 Media Center Extender thing, too. Skimmed a thread about unlocking ports and stuff, but it seemed too complex at that time, so I just disabled BitDefender Firewall "Until System Restart").

As with other users, Parental Controls are disabled, but the page is still blocked.

BitDefender

This webpage has been blocked by BitDefender Parental Control!

This web page has been blocked by the User Control Heuristic Web filter.

Changing the Parental Control Settings for the current user will enable you to access this page. If you are an administrator on this system, you can change the Parental Control settings from the BitDefender Parental Control module.

Specs:

Windows 7 Professional 64-bit OEM Edition

BitDefender Total Security 2011 (used online-downloaded installer)

AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE @ 3.2 GHz

ASUS 890GX Pro

4GB 1600MHz Corsair XMS3 RAM @ 1333MHz 8-8-8-24

Palit GTX 460 Sonic Edition

SeaSonic S12II 620w

Cooler Master Hyper 212 CPU Cooler

Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB HDD

ASUS DVD-RW/+RW Drive

Cooler Master 690 II Advanced

exactly, glad you all can confirm that this is whats causing the issue. hopefully it gets fixed soon. its a weird problem. to hook up my xbox360 MC. i put my setting like the following and add the ip addresses for the devices or computers i want to be able to connect. of course this doesnt fix the parental control issue. to access the websites you must turn off the xbox, and restart the computer after. this put things back to normal. if you start MC again it blocks them until you repeat the steps before. hope this helps!

Please be patient. It is the holiday season and BD may not be running with a full staff.

Regards,

Hi and Happy New Year everyone !

No, I did not get offended that easily

Regarding your statement and allow me to quote:

- you would be amazed how many users are missing the scroll to see all Windows usernames however they come complaining that they have issues even with the Parental Control disabled. When you show them that the Parental Control was enabled for the User he or she was using ...

The reason why I asked for the screenshot was to see how many users you have listed and the status for each. Give me a little more credit will ya ?

The issue you encounter has a simple workaround until the permanent fix will be delivered via Automatic Updates module. I have enclosed the steps below. Follow them and the issue should be resolved.

- open BitDefender and switch it to Expert View from the Options button;

- go to Parental Control tab;

- ENABLE Parental Control for the username you are currently logged on;

- click on the Settings button for the Windows username you are currently using;

- turn OFF the Web Control then click on Close;

- turn off Parental Control;

- test to see if the issue is resolved.

Regarding the fact that the issue is resolved when you restart the PC is because you connect and try to see the pages through XBOX and not directly using the PC. Also you should add the IP of the XBOX under Firewall -> Devices tab so it will be recognized whenever you connect the XBOX.

Please let me know if the issue is resolved or persist even with the Web Control off.

Still blocks websites. i'm not viewing sites through the xbox. it only blocks sites when (or after) the xbox is being used as a media extender. i have always had the ip address unblocked.

I too have the same issue. Parental control is turned off for my account, but will block random pages. This occurs intermittently.

The way I have overcome has been to restart my computer.

I'm running Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit.

Very annoying. Please help!

Do you happen to use a Windows Media Extender?

I have the same problem and have already post something about it.

If you have a mediacenter extender , then an MXC1_computername user is created. This user doesn't appear in the parental control of bitdefender.

As soon as you browse the content of your computer with the XBOX 360 for instance. Bitdefender run as this specifice user under your session. I don't know why but it's a fact. I hope that bitdefender support can test that.

Regards

Yes I do. Maybe it is a coincidence, but it does seem to occur after I have used the xbox as a media extender.

I have set up BD 2011 at my fathers place, on his lap top, and he has no issues with parental controls blocking web pages. he does NOT have an xbox.

I have also logged a support query with them last week (25/1). I received an e-mail stating I will be contacted within 48hrs. I have not yet heard back form them.

Exactly my point. this issue is DEFINITELY Related to using an xbox as a media extender, then it blocks sites till you turn off the media extender and reboot the computer.

Bitdefender has been like this for YEARS and they STILL cant figure it out...... WHY WONT THEY FIX THIS... even if they do finally fix it, i highly doubt i will ever use their product again. it would take much convincing to make me stay with them. read this whole thread and it will tell you exactly why i feel this way about them.

It just happened again. Tech support contacted me via e-mail with some suggestions. i tried them and still no fix. I have written back to them with the outcomes and sent all the info he wanted and still no answer.

I have been a supporter of of his product for some time now. I now feel like they are not supporting me!!

I am starting to feel like I have been let down.

Wow...over 2 months of complaints about this problem on this thread and DANYDAN has only managed to chastise posters and offer a workaround that does not work. I am only testing BITDEFENDER and have experienced the exact same problem everybody else is. I have a WMC Extender and I get blocked to just about any old random sight when surfing the internet with my pc. Every browser I try gives similar results.

The worst thing a company can do is ignore it's customers. I would much rather hear from tech support that this is a known issue and we are working on it. Instead they give you a work around that doesn't work and leave you hanging when you tell them so. To completely ignore the thread because you don't have a resolution is poor customer service. You will not win any new customers with this approach. I feel sorry for the people who have purchased this already. I have 20 days more of testing and then I go to Norton as well. I do hope there is a resolution on the horizon. If there is or isn't...try communicating more with your consumers. An update would be nice. You will find them easier to deal with.

Thank you very much for this post... you understand exactly what is going on and hopefully what you said will stick in the minds of bitdefender employees. something tells me we are far from a solution....

Hello,

Let me get this right: everyone in here is having the Parental Control blocked website issue and everyone is having this error when using the XBOX to surf the Internet ? Are there any other situations when the websites are being blocked and NOT using the XBOX / Windows media extender ?

@Kram: may I have the ticket ID of the email you have open with us?

DanyDan,

No we are not using the xbox to surf the web. we are using the xbox as a media extender and if you use windows media center to view movies or music or anything, then go back to the computer and try to surf the web, thats when the sites get blocked.

The only way to fix it so far is to turn off the xbox and then restart the computer. but if you use media center on the xbox again, it starts blocking again until a reboot. this is really frustrating if my wife or anyone else is watching a movie in the other room, then i cant be on my computer and surf to known safe sites (newegg.com).

We have the parental controls disabled and it states the sites are being blocked by the parental controls. you can see how this gets frustrating.

This has all been stated many times before in this thread, so i dont know why i have to repeat myself over and over. just READ it... and i mean actually read the thread and now just skim it and you can see exactly what the problem is, and what causes it. what is lacking here is a solution from bitdefender.

Everyone here has confirmed that it blocks sites and they DO use the xbox as a media extender. This is the definite cause... now FIX IT!!!!

I too am now experiancing the same problem once my xbox360 was linked up as a media extender for streaming movie from my computer to my tv, bitdefender parental control (although deactivated) is blocking websites. This problem was clearly stated in the first 3 posts back on December 5, and now on Feb 16th still no answer and worse yet on Feb 14th still no understanding from Bitdeffender on what the problem is although stated clearly several times. I too have been a loyal client but seeing this thread make me wonder why seeing loyalty is only going one way.

Hello,

To everyone having the issue with the website being blocked by Parental Control when using a Windows Media Extender please provide me with the following file so we can finish the fix and launch it:

1. Goto the following location considering BitDefender installed on the default partition C:

C:\Program Files\BitDefender\BitDefender 2011

2. Locate the file pcontrol.XML;

3. Copy the file on your Desktop;

4. Restart the PC;

5. Connect the Media Extender;

6. Go to the same location and copy the file pcontrol.XML again, this time on a different location and with a different name ( i.e. pcontrol_media_extender_connected.XML );

NOTE: the two pcontrol.XML files should not be the same as a new username is created when the media extender is connected so make sure you do NOT overwrite the file when you copy it for the second time.

7. Create an archive with the two XML files and upload it HERE

butor: Thanks for the valuable information on the new Windows user being created when you connect the Media Extender - I don't have an XBOX so can't reproduce the issue on my end.

@Kram: reply sent to ticket ID: 201101251009903.

I am waiting for the two XML files before and after you connect the media extender (before and after a page is blocked).

Thank you for your support and patience, we are working on a fix for this issue and, as soon as it will be ready I will let everyone know via both email and forum.

Regards,

well when i tried to use that site the parental controls blocked it... lol so i'll just put them here....

Edit: maybe this link will work also...

http://www.sendspace.com/file/6wmp74

/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=7590" data-fileid="7590" rel="">pcontrol_media_extender_connected.xml

/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=7591" data-fileid="7591" rel="">pcontrol.xml

I too have this problem. I will PM the requested info ASAP.

Hello,

I have finished most of the tests and I can finally come with a workaround, as follows:

Follow the steps below and let me know if the issue persist:

1. Restart the PC in Windows Safe Mode as explained below;

2. Locate the following file:

pcontrol.XML - default location if BitDefender is installed on the C drive:

C:\Program Files\BitDefender\BitDefender 2011

3. Open the file using Notepad so you can edit it;

4. Edit from pcontrol.xml the following line:

<profile user="default_restricted_user" disabled="0">
<pc_status>1</pc_status>

TO:

<profile user="default_restricted_user" disabled="0">
<pc_status>0</pc_status>

5. Save the file then restart the PC in normal mode;

6. Test to see if the pages are still blocked or the issue is now resolved.

You can also edit the XML files using the following freeware software called NotePad++:

Click HERE to download NotePad++

[how to start Windows in Safe Mode]

If Windows is the only operating system installed on your computer, booting into Safe Mode with these instructions:

* If the computer is running, shut down Windows, and then turn off the power

* Wait 30 seconds, and then turn the computer on.

* Start tapping the F8 key. The Windows Advanced Options Menu appears. If you begin tapping the F8 key too soon, some computers display a "keyboard error" message. To resolve this, restart the computer and try again.

* Ensure that the Safe mode option is selected.

* Press Enter. The computer then begins to start in Safe mode.

* When you are finished with all troubleshooting, close all programs and restart the computer as you normally would.

Kram: sent you the same instructions via email.

nicholass817: If you have the exact same issue, send me via PM the XML files and also try the above proposed workaround and let me know if the issue is resolved or still persist.

Best regards,

Did exactly as stated. changed it from a 1 to a 0. and still no change. still blocking sites. i checked after i booted back in and with the xbox on. the pcontrol.xml still says it was changed to a 0.

proposed solution is inaffective. as it it doesnt work. as it nothing changed. as in it still blocks websites when the media extender is active.

try again.

@ Dan: hey Dan any news/information as to a resolution on this one??

@Dan has there been any resolution to this problem yet?

I too have this same issue. Everything was working great with BitDefender TS 2011 until last night when I hooked up WMC Extender to the xbox360. Since then I can not open certain website due to "parental blocking". Exact same as issues listed above.

Has a fix been found for this issue yet? This thread has been talking about this problem for some time now.

Running:

Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit

BD TS 2011

Xbox 360 WMC Extender

@skturner: we are into the 4th month (open since 5th Dec 2010) now and BD have not come up with a solution.

i really doubt they will even fix it before my subscription ends... lol and thats still another 4 or 5 months away... i'm tempted to just switch now... this is RIDICULOUS! NEVER have i been treated like this from any company... a known issue with no fix!?! for this long? the more i read this and see more people with the same issue... the more ###### i get... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!? get to together..... " />" /> " />

as you can see my frustration is taking the best of me...