VPN always on at startup (Mac) I will not use VPN how to turn off completely?

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VPN always on at startup (Mac) I will not use VPN for now.

How to turn off completely, like that its not coming back at every restart?

Answers

  • Hello @Chacapamac and welcome to the Community!

    Simply disable the option, so that it will not run at boot and the app will still remain installed.

    Using this option, the VPN will not interfere with the functionality of your MAC.

    Disable steps:

    Open Bitdefender VPN - Press on the gear icon from the upper right corner - Select Settings - Turn off " Startup and Notifications" options. If, at any point, you would like to start using the VPN again, you can re-activate the shortcut from the following location: Libary/Bitdefender/Central/Modules/com.bitdefender.vpn/Bitdefender VPN.

    Let us know if the information was helpful.

    Best regards.

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • Thank You to answer my question
    I also find the way to uninstall VPN in the acrobat tutorial.
  • It's not helping. Despite the Turn off "Startup and Notifications" options, the VPN icon still shows up after every Mac restart.

    I don't want to uninstall the VPN, I just don't want the icon to appear.

  • I have the same issue. Despite the below, VPN starts up at login. This is very annoying to say the least.


  • Alexandru_BD
    Alexandru_BD admin
    edited July 2022

    Hello @Grodek, @SaM86,

    By the looks of it, I'm not excluding a bug here. The VPN should not run at startup, if the toggle for this is switched off. I'm looking into this and will get back to you.

    I just need to clarify something first: Before restarting, are you using a VPN connection, or you don't use it in general? I'm asking because the MAC has the option to reopen the windows when logging back in:

    Regards

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • UPDATE: we tested right now on 3 different OS and could not reproduce the issue. On macOS 10.15.7, 11.6.8 and 12.5, with the latest VPN available.

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • I am having this same issue:

    Up to date:

    Disabled Run at Startup:

    Not listed in Login Items:


    Reopen windows when logging back in: Disabled

  • Alexandru_BD
    Alexandru_BD admin
    edited July 2022

    Hi @CombatKevin,

    As we could not reproduce this behavior during our tests, I would recommend to contact the Support engineers for a more in depth investigation on the machine. What OS version are you using?

    You can get in touch with our engineers by choosing one of the contact methods available here:

    https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/help/

    Choose the e-mail option to raise a Support ticket and attach the above screenshots as well. You may also include the link for this thread, for the engineers to have a bit more context on the situation.

    Regards

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • Also, can you tell us if you have the latest VPN version 4.2.0.6 installed?

    Cheers

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • VPN installs automatically with Antivirus, but does not update with Antivirus anymore?

    I have an old version 4.1.2.6 ...

  • Gjoksi
    Gjoksi DEFENDER OF THE YEAR 2022 / DEFENDER OF THE MONTH ✭✭✭✭✭

    @CombatKevin @Grodek

    Hello.

    First, take screenshot(s) of the issue

    and create a log file on your MacOS device using BDProfiler, by following these steps:

    https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/1863/

    Next, contact Bitdefender Consumer Support by e-mail:

    https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/91918/bitdefender-websites-and-bitdefender-consumer-support-contacts

    with short description of the issue.

    After that, you will get an automated reply by the Bitdefender Customer Care Team, with your ticket number.

    Now, in reply to that automated reply, you can send the screenshot(s) you already took and the log file you already created in the first step.

    Since you are all done, just wait for the support engineers to investigate your issue and find a solution to fix the issue.

    Remember that the screenshot(s) and the log file will help a lot to the support engineers for better and faster investigation on your issue and finding a solution.

    You can also provide the ticket number here, so @Alexandru_BD or @Mike_BD can take a look at the ticket's status. Or you can PM them the ticket number.

    Regards.

  • Hi @Grodek,

    The VPN is automatically installed alongside your Bitdefender antivirus, because all customers that use one of our security suites also benefit from 200 Mb/day of free VPN encrypted traffic, therefore we need to install the app so the customer can utilize the full functionality of the product they chose.

    Regarding the updates, the VPN updates are separate from the ones carried out for the antivirus. This happens for several reasons. First, the two are separate services and are managed by different teams along with specific development paths. Whenever improvements or fixes are developed for either the antivirus or the VPN, they may not be synchronized and released at the same time, as each product has its own characteristics and requirements.

    My recommendation would be to update to the latest version and let us know if the situation persists afterwards.

    Regards

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • Here is the proof.

  • Gjoksi
    Gjoksi DEFENDER OF THE YEAR 2022 / DEFENDER OF THE MONTH ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Grodek

    You should send the "VPN.zip" file (the proof) and the "BDProfiler" file to the Bitdefender Consumer Support team.

    Best regards.

  • AtomicRedStar
    edited August 2022

    I was just writing a similar entry to complain about Bitdefender VPN feeling like bloatware, but the uninstaller gives you the option of removing VPN. Probably the easiest thing to do.

  • Gjoksi
    Gjoksi DEFENDER OF THE YEAR 2022 / DEFENDER OF THE MONTH ✭✭✭✭✭

    @AtomicRedStar

    Hello.

    You can simply uninstall Bitdefender VPN on macOS, by following these steps:

    Regards.

  • AtomicRedStar
    edited August 2022

    @Gjoksi

    You're too quick, I was just editing my post as you responded. I just realized the uninstaller takes care of it. My apologies. Trust in humankind restored :)

  • Gjoksi
    Gjoksi DEFENDER OF THE YEAR 2022 / DEFENDER OF THE MONTH ✭✭✭✭✭
  • Mister Alexandru BD, you are at least a sneaky (put yourself any word here) . You knowingly mislead the users, Sir. You have the same idiotic Bitdefender VPN policy on Windows machines too, it's the same issue, SIR. This is not a bug ,this is a romanian feature, to steal and mislead.

    You toggle off the startup and the program writes itself in the startup folder, then you can go f. yourself if you are a normal pc user. This is not a bug, this is work for a good lawyer.

    As a buyer of your program I say to you, SHAME. Don't lie man, just help. Don't mislead people, give them options.

    Now, you lost a customer.

    .i.

  • Scott
    Scott Defender of the month mod
    edited September 2022

    @PJ

    @Alexandru_BD and @Mike_BD are some of the most humble and helpful Admins we've had on the forum for a while. They are only the mediators between the members here and the engineers...I would really cut him some slack!

    All Bitdefender Home Product User Guides:https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/user-guides/

  • Hi @PJ,

    I'm sorry that you have this opinion, but in reality it's really a bug, that setting should work as i have described in my comments above. The VPN development teams have already found the root cause and we'll fix it in the next period, via an automated update. At that time, we were unaware of the problem here. I hope the information is helpful.

    Have a good day.

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • I am extremely disappointed with how Bitdefender is handling the VPN situation. You must also know that the VPN tool keeps re-installing itself, even after complete uninstall. I uninstalled it know at least 4 times, and it does only take 1-2 days for it to re-install itself, maybe as part of the regular update.

    This is unacceptable as I bought an Antivirus Solution, not VPN. You should leave it up to your customers what they want to have and what not. It also impacts your main product (that I bought), the antivirus, negatively. I was satisfied with that part, but I will not buy Bitdefender again because of the VPN issue.

    Also it is taking your team too long to fix the first issue, that you cannot disable the starting of the VPN as the settings suggest. You were made aware of this by customers already in March '22, according to this thread.

    Please note that my above comments are based on dealing with this issue for 6 months now. At first it did not bother me, I disabled it in the settings, a couple of times. Then when this did not work I uninstalled the VPN. I wondered why it turned up again after a few days, but who cares, I uninstalled it again. But it keeps coming back, and this is what really annoys me.

  • Gjoksi
    Gjoksi DEFENDER OF THE YEAR 2022 / DEFENDER OF THE MONTH ✭✭✭✭✭
  • @Gjoksi

    We just need the VPN to NOT be installed automatically with Antivirus, and also NOT re-install itself after it was removed!

  • Just signed up to add a +1 to this issue.

    MacOS 12.6. Bitdefender VPN set to not launch at startup, however it continues to launch at startup.

  • Hi,

    Following up on this topic with a bit more insight.

    This was a bug where the antivirus was overwriting the VPN preference. It was by no means the intended behavior of the VPN. The issue was recently resolved by the developers and the fix was pushed with the upcoming update.

    The update has been already deployed, as the VPN teams have started the rollout for the entire userbase. However, it may take some time for the build to reach all machines and we estimate that, by the end of next week, the rollout should be completed, solving the automatic VPN install issue for everyone.

    Thank you for your patience throughout this process and we apologize for any inconvenience caused to you.

    Regards

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • @Alexandru_BD thanks for the update, that is an important step in the right direction. Will this also fix the issue that if the VPN was uninstalled (via Bitdefender Unistaller - Remove VPN only) it will be re-installed without notice by the background updater?

    Regards

  • Hi @KnightRider,

    This is still being worked on. We're currently investigating a scenario where the user has two or more devices sharing the same MAC address, as this would be the only scenario left where the reinstall could happen.

    Regards

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • Emile Snijders
    edited November 2022

    For what its worth :) Had problems with VPN connecting on an old Lenovo T450 Thinkpad (Win10). Tried all "fixes" in this thread but no success. (Note; VPN works on my other PC's :) ) Finally downloaded bitdefender_vpn.exe and re-installed it. Now it works flawlessly :)