Bitdefender CPU usage abnormally high

Bitdefender Total Security 2019 hogs my CPU. (Intel core i5-7600 running at 3.50GHz with 8Gb RAM, Windows 10, 5 internal hard drives - a mix of M2 and SSHDs.) It doesn't happen all the time, always just after start-up if I allow Bitdefender to do that (Protection > Antivirus > Settings > Shield > Advanced settings > Early boot scan ON), but if that setting is OFF then the problem will happen at a time of Bitdefender's choosing. It seems to hog the machine for 45 minutes until its scheduled scan is complete.

Switching on and off various features appears to make no difference to this behaviour.

The process name of the culprit is always bdservicehost (Bitdefender Virus Shield). When it is doing its worst, it hogs between 90% and 98% of the CPU and the machine grinds to a halt. Other work is almost pointless to attempt because there are no free CPU resources to deploy to that work. When it is not doing its intense scanning (I suppose), the machine is perfectly usable.

This is the only process on the machine that Task Manager reports as having a Very High Trend. I need a fix or else it gets uninstalled and you lose a customer. Happy Christmas!

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Alexandru_BD

Hello @909,

I have located your ticket with the Support Teams and I have noticed it has been escalated to Tier 3 technical. Kindly reply on the open case and the engineers will provide further assistance.

Best regards.

909

Thank you Alexandru_BD.

However, I have been given no access/link to the "open case". I have a case number, but I can only use it as a subject line in an email to your team---who NO LONGER REPLY!

This is why I get upset:

Tell me how this can be acceptable?

Alexandru_BD

Hello @909,

I've just received word that the engineers will prioritize the inquiry and you'll hear from them shortly.

Thank you for your patience and please accept our apologies for the delayed response.

I hope the situation is resolved in a swift and positive manner.

Spinks

Got this issue too ... also cant right click on items to run as administrator ... if i turn off virus protection i can ... just to qualify this, the only file i cant right click on is an nvidia driver to run the update. Other files are ok, downloaded twice but same each time, cant get the menu up to selectr run as administrator.

Papa-Gus

The number of victims and history of BD's lack of attention is astounding. Restarting the machine seems to temporarily reduce the occurrences of high CPU/RAM usage but who can seriously afford the time and effort to repeatedly reboot their machines throughout the day — I have work to do and deadlines to meet. Disconnecting external USB drives (reported by another user) might resolve the wasted resources, but what's the point... we need these devices protected. Contacting BitDefender's Technical Support is laughable as they have offered the same (useless) responses year after year with no fix in sight. The only reasonable explanation for BD's lack of response is the simple fact they are also using Bitdefender, causing THEIR equipment to be bogged down and in the same disrepair as their subscribers. Can't wait for my 2 year subscription to expire. Get with the program BD and stop wasting my time and money!

Alexandru_BD

Hello @Papa-Gus,

I'm sorry to hear this. Perhaps our engineers can help with the issue you have encountered. High CPU/RAM usage phenomenon has been reported on this forum previously by several members and in most cases, it was necessary for the technical representatives to perform remote sessions on the affected devices, to find the root cause. It is important to note that, such occurences are not affecting the mass of users and there can be various reasons behind this behavior.

Sometimes, depending on the system configuration and the active applications, the background scan might affect the computer performance. The system configuration and the applications differ from one computer to another, yet the mechanism is the same: there are applications or system processes that continuously access the resources and Bitdefender monitors this activity.

My recommendation would be to get in touch with the engineers for a more in-depth investigation.

Gjoksi

@Papa-Gus

Hello.

Did you try uninstalling the Bitdefender program using the Uninstall Tool:

https://www.bitdefender.com/links/uninstall_consumer_paid.html

It will completely remove the program.

Next, reinstall Bitdefender from your Bitdefender Central account and see if the issue has been resolved, as reinstalling the program usually solves the issues.

Regards.

tcpexpert

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/312996#Comment_312996

@GjoksiThis appears to have worked for me, thanks @Gjoksi.

Fordamist

I just removed every tiny bit of Bit-Defender ... didn't matter whether I was using a machine with 4, 8, 16gigs, usage was always at 100% ...except, when I opened Task Manager it dropped immediately.

None of my computers were useful, Bit-Defender was using all their power.

I've wondered if my computers were being used to mine Bit-Coins. I've never knowingly had a program that ran a computer 'fill-tilt' for hours, but stopped when Task Manager started.

I'm concerned that I have had one.

thb4x

I've had bitdefender for about 2 years now. It was installed on my computer by some software firm that my moms company worked with, at first I could manage all the settings myself and I would just turn it off because it was always getting in my way, but then without ever asking they locked it with an admin password. I didn't really bother with it anymore since then until a few days ago when I tried to run a midi keyboard and it wasn't working because of some RAM issue and when I opened up task manager I saw bitdefender using about 60% of my memory, I contacted the software service but they didn't let me uninstall because of some policy. so I decided to delete their administrator account, ran some uninstaller software, switched over to AVG and all the issues have stopped.

don't install bitdefender it's an expensive way to slow down your computer.

Radek. S

Hello. I can help you.

Bdservicehost is displayed while the scan is in progress.

The power registry will need to be modified.

Microsoft does not offer a normal switch option.

I'll attach the MP4 video file here because it's a bit complicated to set up.

But help should be guaranteed.

In any case, it's also a good idea to repaste your machine and do a clean install of Windows.

Please don't get mad at my english :)

Please note that each assembly may behave differently. It certainly helped me.

HIgh temperature registr turorial.zip

Gjoksi

@Radek. S

Hello.

Thanks for trying to help, but the high CPU usage issue should be solved with the latest build 26.0.25.86, which was released yesterday.

Regards.

Radek. S

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/315360#Comment_315360

Hello.

Unfortunately, I have to refute your statement. For my laptop the deep scan is a killer.

The temperatures were still at 105°C and I had to stop the deep scan.

I have a freshly applied quality paste and a clean install of Windows 11.

Once I used the registry edit everything was fine again.

And I was able to complete the scan, the whole process took around 13 minutes.

I don't think the problem is on Bitdefender's side.

I am attaching some screenshots from the scan.

Bitdefender 26.0.25.86

Microsoft Windows 11 Pro

10.0.22000 Build 22000

AMD Ryzen 7 5800H with Radeon Graphics, 3201 Mhz

GPU: rtx 3070 8GB

Bios:LENOVO GKCN57WW, 16.06.2022

16 GB RAM 3200

System: SSD Samsung 970

Scott

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/315379#Comment_315379

Hi @Radek. S

Try running a custom System Scan setting it for High Priority. Once you create the scan, you can just use it for your normal System scan as it scans all the same Target threat types and Scan Options as the normal System scan. See if that works or helps. The first scan is always the longest and most intense, then Bitdefender indexes the files to make follow-up scan quicker and less intense.

Below are my scan results using High Priority.

Kind regards,

Scott

Radek. S

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/315380#Comment_315380

Thanks for the quick advice.

When I made it a high priority, it is true that it was not so drastic, but the temperatures were still high.

I recorded the entire process with reduced CPU performance and default settings.

But I could reduce the performance of the CPU, it is necessary to make an intervention in the registry as I mentioned above. To display CPU power with toggle options.

Unfortunately, I don't have the opportunity to test this on another set.

It is true that i must reduce poerformance my AMD in other applications, so I think that the fault is not only in Bitdefender.

It must be really nerve-wracking for a regular user even with a weaker build.

I also recently bought a Bitdefender and I'm just testing everything, I haven't tried it's full potential and setup options yet.

Anyway, I'm happy to stick with Bitdefender.

Uploaded MP4 format.

Deep scan High priority without modify reg.zip

Deep scan High priority with Reg.zip

Scott

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/315385#Comment_315385

Nice job on the videos; you obviously know what you're doing, an advanced user :) :) I will review the 2nd video more to duplicate the settings you made in Windows Power Options/Advanced settings/processor power management, just for fun on my end :)

In general, Bitdefender over the years has had a history of a bit high CPU use during a system scan. That's why I only run it once or twice a month, and then run the quick scans weekly.

Radek. S

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/315395#Comment_315395

Thank you.:)

Hopefully this will help other users as well.

rjdbit12

I believe BitDefender is one of the best, if not the best AV available. However, there is a problem that is being overlooked. A BD scan will drive the CPU to 100% and keep it there for what I think is too long. When I began to research motherboard beeps during scans I learned that the CPU was overheating -severely. I was running an Intel i7 960 3.2 GHz with 24GB RAM. My system was old and I simply removed the side of the case and turned a house fan on the CPU. Even then, I had to use windows power settings to limit the CPU to 60% utilization during a scan (Control Panel, Power, Advanced power settings, Processor power management). This kept the CPU below 78 degrees C. As I said the system was old and it had a fair amount of dust accumulated.

I am fortunate to have been able to recently build out a very nice new system: It is an Asus ROG Strix X670E-F with 64GB 5200 memory. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X has 12 cores and 24 threads. Bit Defender pushed the CPU to 96% utilization. The Asus BIOS allows me to limit CPU resources based on temperature and I have it set to maximum 85 degrees C (or maybe 80, I'd have to reboot into the BIOS to check exactly), so it keeps the temperature down. In other words, even the best of systems are vulnerable to this level of demand on the computer.

I really don't know much, but it seems to me that BD needs to provide users with some method of throttling the resource demands that the BD AV scan places on computers. It seems to me that driving systems this way could easily damage computers whose owners have no idea what is happening during a scan. The BSOD is probably saving their systems.

Anyway, I really do like BD very much. But couldn't a product this good go one more step and provide a 'scan priority level' or something to throttle resource usage a little bit?

DontWantAUsername..

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/319888#Comment_319888

Re the above - is this a common theme? Did anyone post an answer anywhere, please?

This last couple of weeks my Windows 10 PC has been maxing out, at 100%, and every time I check - the culprit is Bitdefender. Driving me nuts.

BTayler

For those of you still having this problem, I'm running the latest version of Bitdefender, and the ONLY time I experience the problem is if I reboot (or start) my computer and have an active external drive plugged into a USB port. I'm just guessing, but I think Bitdefender is detecting the external drive on start-up, and immediately performing a full scan on the drive (for your protection). It took me a while, but then I realized this problem only occurred when I did a reboot with an active external USB drive attached. When I shut down, turned off the external drive, and powered up, no problem. And no, the problem does not happen again once the external drive is turned back on (or if powered through the USB port, plugged back in). Why Bitdefender doesn't immediately start a full scan on the external drive once it's started is a mystery to me, but it doesn't and there is no problem. (For which I am glad.)

I can understand why those who can't seem to fix this problem are frustrated. I would be as well. All I know is what my experience has been, and when working properly, Bitdefender is, for my money, the best program of its type anywhere. (And I owned an internet IT company for 16 years.)

I hope what I've shared is helpful to others.

DontWantAUsername..

Thanks for trying - but this isn't the case for me (nothing external connected).

I've had Bullguard for years (loved it) but Norton have bought them out (not so keen on them) so I moved to BitDefender and have no end of bother.

It really doesn't like my Adguard and I have to switch Adguard off when performing things like Google Image searches.

Since posting the above "someone" has updated and things have settled down (re the hard drive at 100%). I don't know if it's BitDefender as I can't find anywhere which shows me the date that updates came through.

To be honest I'm not loving the product. Sick of getting notifications of upgrades (to purchase) on both my PC and phone - even though I've turned everything off that I can find. How many more times can I say that I don't want VPN because I already have Nord....

GrumpyGirl

Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/320861#Comment_320861

I am using bitdefender with adguard and everything is working perfectly.

Regards

Gjoksi

@DontWantAUsername..

Hello.

Open your Bitdefender program and go to:

1. Settings -> General and disable "Special offers" and "Recommendation notifications" (for the "Password Manager" notification)

2. Protection -> Antivirus -> Settings -> Scan flash drives and select "Autoscan" or "Disabled", do not select "Ask every time" (for the "USB Immunizer Recommendation" notification)

3. Protection -> Antivirus -> Settings -> Scan CD & DVD and select "Autoscan" or "Disabled", do not select "Ask every time" (for the "CD/DVD Recommendation" notification)

4. Privacy -> Safepay -> Settings and disable "Safepay notifications"

5. Privacy -> Video & Audio Protection -> Settings and disable "Notify when allowed applications connect to the webcam", "Notify when an application tries to access the microphone" and "Notify when browsers access the microphone"

6. Utilities -> Profiles -> Settings and disable "Activate profiles automatically" (for the Profile notification)

After doing that, in the future no pop-up notifications will be displayed in the lower right corner of your screen.

REMEMBER: When a threat is detected, a pop-up notification will be displayed in the lower right corner of your screen and you can't disable those pop-up notifications.

Next, as an option to fully disable the Bitdefender alerts and pop-ups, open your Bitdefender program, go to Utilities -> Profiles -> Settings and enable/activate "Work Profile" or "Game Profile".

When "Work Profile" or "Game Profile" is enabled/activated, all Bitdefender alerts and pop-ups are disabled.

Finally, as for the Bitdefender VPN pop-ups, you can simply uninstall Bitdefender VPN from your device by following the steps provided here (just select "Bitdefender VPN"):

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/2791/

open the Bitdefender VPN program, go to Settings -> Notifications and disable "Allow notifications".

It is recommended that you also review the privacy preferences set in your Bitdefender Central account:

1. On any internet-connected device launch a web browser, visit https://central.bitdefender.com and sign in to your Bitdefender Central account.

2. Click on your username in the top right corner and select "Bitdefender Account" in the menu. This option will launch in a new browser tab.

3. Access the "Data & Privacy" tab, then click on the "Privacy preferences" section.

4. Uncheck both boxes to stop promotional messages:

- Receive in product insights regarding threats, news, and offers.

- Receive insights regarding threats, news, and offers via email.

Regards.

majorpain

Having this issue for some time now, but it only happens on boot and after 2~3minutes it goes to 0% CPU usage. After reading someone here, I rebooted and tested removing the USB flash drive I always have connected, with task manager open, as soon as I removed the Flash drive, CPU usage went to 0%. I also have Special Offers, Scan DVD/USB disabled. Flash drive is a Sandisk 128GB USB 3.1 filled with huge mp4&mkv files.

As a side note, I have been using Bitdefender since they exist, I just cant recommend a more complete and efficient security solution than Bitdefender, and I actually recommend it to everyone I know.

Djelibebbi

I have a brand new laptop started first time last night. Bitdefender process is sucking up 100% of CPU and disabling anything else from happening. It took me an hour just to kill the processes

This cannot be a feature and it is very discouraging to find this is a three year old bug with no fix in place.

I have uninstalled, will try reinstall after I have installed everything else I need on the laptop but that is a black magic solution. If it cannot behave consistently then this is simply bad software. At a minimum there should be a way to throttle the CPU usage. It is a shame, I use bd across 8 other devices, but a computer with no CPU is just a doorstop. Please fix!

Xenders

Same , its use 44% of my cpu on a i9 , my computer was so long.... no change after many restart i dont have usb flash or disk , even if i shut down the réal time protection ....no way ....iv juste desinstall completely an now my computer works fine ...so goodby ....refund......