How Do I Backup My Mac, When Bitdefender Blocks It?

Thank you for walking me through this. My issue is now in the hands of the techies. Hopefully this will be resolved soon. Btw my macOS is Monterey 12.5.1.

Felgercarb

Spopar, Do keep us in the loop! I'm having the SAME PROBLEM!

Thanks!!!!

Unfortunately, after receiving a response from tech support as follows, I am still unable to run a backup:

I have replied asking for further assistance which has just come in. The advice now is as follows. I will let you know if this works:

“I will mention it is expected behavior not to be able to complete a Time Machine backup while the Bitdefender Time Machine Protection module is enabled.

You can turn it off temporarily, complete the backup, then re-enable it.

To disable it, please open the Bitdefender antivirus program, go to Protection on the left side, go to the Anti-Ransomware tab, then turn off Time Machine Protection.”

I have done as suggested and disabled Time Machine Protection. Time Machine is currently backing up to my hard drive. The following is the message Re same I have just sent to tech support:

”Thank you for this suggestion, I think. I have done as you suggested and disabled Time Machine Protection and am currently running a backup to my hard drive.

Two questions:

Why, suddenly as of 3:33 pm yesterday have I been unable to maintain Time Machine Protection in order to run a backup?

Doesn’t this new occurrence leave my hard drive vulnerable since Time Machine runs backups automatically and in order to do so I must continue with disabled Time Machine Protection?

It seems to me there must have been some problem with your program which made this happen out of the blue. My third question is when will this problem be fixed?”

Hello everyone,

This is a known issue and has been acknowledged by the development teams who are pushing for a fix.

Thank you for your understanding.

Regards

I have the same issue running macOS 12.5.1 and Bitdefender 8.4.0.36

Any update on the status of this serious issue? At this time it is unclear whether this is a Bitdefender problem or attempts by a new virus to access my system.

Hi @Mac Guy,

It's a known issue and the devs are pushing for a resolution.

Thank you for your patience.

Regards

Cindi C

Hello, I hope this fix also works for Big Sur 11.6.8. Thanks.

any further updates on this?

Hello @Mac Guy,

The engineers and product teams are still working on this.

The troubleshooting process was very challenging and they ran into some blockers. This was not a walk in the park and multiple teams are involved in the task. I don't have an ETA at the moment, but an update on the progress was requested just yesterday.

Regards

a few weeks later and we're still looking for an update on this...

thanks!

this has been open for quite awhile, and of course updating to macOS 13 (Ventura) the problem still occurs.

any update on this? I'm bitdefender showing version 8.4.0.36

Hello @Mac Guy,

I'm afraid there are no news so far and currently the only available workaround would be to disable Time Machine protection, unfortunately. This behaviour is still undergoing repairs and we hope the developers can deploy a fix with the upcoming updates. We are not alone in this and the fix is not entirely under our control, it has some OS dependencies.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

In other words, does the standalone version of bitdefender properly handle the "time machine protection" conflict?

petervirdee11

Thank You for sharing the information over here ..

@Alexandru_BD, does the Time Machine protection feature of Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac fail to work properly when using the current version of Bitdefender Antivirus (9.2.0.12) on the current version of macOS (13.2)?

Alternatively, does this incompatibility only occur when using an older version of Bitdefender Antivirus (e.g., 8.4.0.36) on an older version of macOs (e.g., 13.0)?

Thank you.

I feel like a broken record... what's the progress on a fix for this?

Note that the original issue was reported in August of 2022, and it's now 5 months later without a fix, or even any comment regarding when we can expect this to be resolved?

So let me ask another question -- Is this a technical issue, or a licensing issue between Bitdefender and Netgear, because the issue does not occur on the latest standalone version of Bitdefender.

@Mac Guy, to confirm, are you saying that the Time Machine protection feature of Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac works properly when using the current version of Bitdefender Antivirus (9.2.0.12), based on your experience? Also, what version of macOS are you using?

Thank you for your assistance.

Hello,

Progress is being made and the fix is forecasted for Q2, 2023. We don't know the exact date, as there are several dependencies and it's difficult to estimate when the testing phase will be completed. I know this is not what everyone expects to hear and we owe you an apology, but it's the latest update we have..

Regards

To Pleonasm: my understanding is that the problem w/ Time Machine does not occur on Bitdefender Antivirus (9.2.0.12)

Also, I'm running latest macOS 13.2 (Ventura) with Mac Studio (Apple M1 Ultra).

@Alexandru_BD, thank you for the update. Your comment that “Progress is being made and the fix is forecasted for Q2, 2023” implies that the Time Machine protection problem has not yet been solved, and the issue exists even when using the current version of Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac (9.2.0.12). Is that correct?

@Mac Guy, thank you sharing your (encouraging) experience with Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac (9.2.0.12) on macOS 13.2.

Pleonasm, there are long threads on this problem (and others), and you may have misunderstood what I said (because it was probably earlier on this long thread or other threads on this topic).

First, my version of Bitdefender is the latest version on the Netgear track (8.4.0.36), but this version has the Time Machine problem with Ventura (if you enable Time Machine protection within the Bitdefender app you cannot connect to a Time Machine backup disk due to a Bitdefender error). Also, if you have Apple chipset (M1/M2), Bitdefender runs in compatibility mode on these devices.

My understanding is the standalone version of Bitdefender (9.2.0.12) does not have the Time Machine issue, and it also runs native on Apple chipsets.

But you cannot get the 9.x version of Bitdefender with a license to the Netgear Armor product (Netgear Armor uses the 8.x product). Netgear Armor is the "premium" add-on product that protects your LAN network (for an extra price) with the Netgear Orbi wireless routers. There is some issue (technical or licensing) that precludes use of the 9.x Bitdefender product with the Netgear Armor infrastructure. Or else there is some reason (again either technical or licensing) such that version 8.x of the product cannot be fixed to work with Time Machine.

Hope this clarifies things for you.

Thank you, Mac Guy, for the detailed explanation for all of us. I, like you, have the Netgear Armor associated with my Negear Orbi routers. Since I raised the question regarding Time Machine protection back in August, I have followed the thread and your helpful responses as others faced the same issue we do. I look forward to the resolution we are promised.

@Mac Guy, thank you for the explanation.

Your description of the situation with NETGEAR Armor is consistent with my own understanding. As a subscriber to Armor myself, I am aware of the challenges reported by users in this forum as well as in the NETGEAR Community. Because I am dubious that the problem will be resolved soon, my plan is to purchase a license for Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac directly from Bitdefender. In that way, I will have access to the current version (9.2.0.12) of the product rather than the older version (8.4.0.36) provided by NETGEAR, which is reported to exhibit the Time Machine protection problem.

That plan is based on the (yet unverified) assumption by Bitdefender that the Time Machine protection problem is absent from the current version of Antivirus (9.2.0.12) – which, if true, will confirm your understanding that “the standalone version of Bitdefender (9.2.0.12) does not have the Time Machine issue.”

Concerning your comment that “if you enable Time Machine protection within the Bitdefender app you cannot connect to a Time Machine backup disk due to a Bitdefender error,” is the occurrence of the error immediate and obvious? It would be disappointing to unexpectedly discover that your Time Machine backup is out-of-date when you need to restore files….

Again, thank you for your contributions to this discussion.

P.S.: I can confirm that Antivirus (9.2.0.12) is a universal binary (i.e., runs natively on Apple silicon).

@Spopar, can you please elaborate on your comment, “I look forward to the resolution we are promised”? Has Bitdefender promised to fix the Time Machine protection problem in the old version of Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac (8.4.0.36)? Has NETGEAR promised that they will provide the current version of Antivirus (9.2.0.12) to subscribers of the Armor service?

Thank you.

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/320514#Comment_320514

@Pleonasm

Check out this comment:

Regards.

***Comment edited by @Gjoksi

Greetings @Pleonasm:

First of all, the Time Machine issue occurs the first time you attempt to perform a backup -- you get an error from within Time Machine something to the effect that "we couldn't complete the backup" and/or "cannot connect to the backup disk", and Bitdefender as well complains about this in a similar manner. So nothing that I've seen so far results in corrupted backups. HOWEVER, the error is not intuitively obvious to someone who is not Mac-savvy -- it ends up that my wife didn't realize that she wasn't getting Time Machine backups until I checked with her when I first noticed the issue on my Mac.

The one thing I don't have any information on is whether the standalone version of Bitdefender (9.x) integrates with Netgear Armor (as installed on iOS) and the version of Bitdefender that is installed on macOS. In particular, if an issue is found I now get notified on my iPhone that an issue has occurred, but I then need to check the Bitdefender web interface on macOS to get details on the issue and what action (if any) has occurred (such as blocking a web page or deleting an email attachment).

So the key question is confirmation from anyone (including Netgear and/or Bitdefender support personnel) how Netgear Armor (and the router) interacts with the standalone version (9.x) of Bitdefender. If in fact this works, then I would be really, really &^%&(^%&*^ with both Netgear and Bitdefender for not releasing this version to those of us who have complained about this issue for many months!

Comments anyone?

Hello, @Mac Guy. I may be able to provide some insight on “whether the standalone version of Bitdefender (9.x) integrates with Netgear Armor (as installed on iOS) and the version of Bitdefender that is installed on macOS.” In my limited experience, NEGEAR Armor, as viewed on the NETGEAR Nighthawk app (2.23.0.67) on iOS (16.3), does not recognize the fact that Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac (9.2.0.12) is installed on my iMac (M1, macOS 13.2). The Nighthawk app displays an option to install Bitdefender Security on the iMac, even though it is already present.

P.S.: Thank you for the note about when the Time Machine protection error appears, using Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac (8.4.0.36). I will setup Time Machine on my iMac within a few days, and report back the results with Antivirus (9.2.0.12).

@Alexandru_BD, can you kindly clarify your prior post, and definitively say whether the Time Machine protection problem exists when using the current version of Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac (9.2.0.12)? It would be helpful to know the official Bitdefender perspective on this point.

Thank you.

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

Hello @Pleonasm,

Sorry, I must have missed this question before. I confirm the Time Machine issue is not present in the 9.2.0.12 version. Since you are using Netgear as well, before purchasing Antivirus for Mac to use it until the problem gets solved, I would advise to discuss this move with one of our Support engineers, so they can advise on the best solution to run both Antivirus for Mac and Netgear in this separate configuration for a while. I think this can be achieved and could be a good workaround until the fix arrives.

You can submit your inquiry to them by choosing one of the contact channels available at the link below:

I recommend this because surely some adjustments are required, to move your Mac devices from the Netgear subscription to the "standalone" Antivirus for Mac that you wish to purchase, and since the issue has been ongoing for some time and you are also a Netgear subscriber, maybe you can negociate a discount for the new purchase 🙂

Regards

Thank you, @Alexandru_BD, for your helpful and gracious response.

FYI: I have been using Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac (9.2.0.12) on an iMac (M1, macOS 13.2) for several days, and have not observed any interference between the Antivirus Time Machine protection feature and the operation of Time Machine itself.

hello @Alexandru_BD

I following your recommendation and reached out to the support team, but they are not willing to provide any discount on a standalone license of Bitdefender.

Thanks anyways for your help, but I now am looking to see whether alternative products would be more suitable to my needs.

@Mac Guy

Hang on @Mac Guy, I'll see what I can do.

There was obviously a misunderstanding there, I've checked the ticket just now.

EDIT:

I have asked one of our Commercial Leads to get back to you on that open case. You will hear from them soon and they'll help you with a custom discount for this. Simply tell them for how many MAC devices you need the license and they will get you covered.

Let me know how it goes.

Thank you for your patience and I'm truly sorry for the inconvenience.

Regards