Bitdefender sets new standards when it comes to customer support for antivirus software solutions. Their help center offers a vast library of tutorials and articles, while their hotline and live chat services are intuitively user-friendly.
The desktop dashboard is well-organized and customizable, displaying key features under Protection, Privacy and Utilities tabs – the latter of which contains a tune-up tool for cleaning disks and files of junk files.
Features
Bitdefender Free Antivirus provides real-time and on-demand malware scanning, web protection and blocks phishing attacks; can protect multiple devices with one license; can scan external hard drives and USBs for threats; is compatible with Windows, macOS and Linux operating systems. One of the easiest antivirus programs to use, Bitdefender provides one-click scanning as well as regular updates automatically without interrupting you, detect vulnerabilities without alerting you and even fix them without prompting a notification; it even comes equipped with its own password manager; however I prefer premium password managers such as NordPass or Keeper as these.
Automatic Junk File Clean-Up feature. Ideal for PCs with limited disk space. Also scan and delete registry entries/privacy settings that could reduce performance issues.
Bitdefender offers another useful feature with their early boot scanning technology, which starts scanning as soon as all critical services have been loaded and saves valuable time by preventing viruses from infiltrating your system during startup. Furthermore, its knowledge base boasts articles and videos which go deeper than most competitors do.
Bitdefender offers protection from identity theft by monitoring suspicious changes and isolating them, working together with its antispam, firewall and ransomware remediation technologies. Furthermore, its encrypted web page check feature identifies threats while blocking online scams while its traffic light browser add-on can track trackers to display safe search results with green checkmarks for safe search results.
Bitdefender Antivirus Free’s user interface is intuitive and features large buttons that are easily accessible, an attractive layout and comprehensive toolbar; plus it supports up to three devices at the same time via Bitdefender Central online portal – offering ransomware remediation, vulnerability scanning and firewall functionality among many other features. The software even comes equipped with additional paid versions which offer even more advanced features like ransomware remediation.
Installation
Installation is relatively quick and painless, with a small window appearing on your screen that offers you the choice to download and install Bitdefender. In addition, Bitdefender may give a couple of initial recommendations, including activating remediation to guard against ransomware attacks (although please be aware that this doesn’t guarantee protection if one does occur).
As soon as your installation program has finished, a notification will appear letting you know it is installing Bitdefender Security onto your device. If you own multiple computers or mobile phones, an opportunity will present itself for selecting which ones should receive installation; an indicator will display how far along it has gone in this process.
As soon as you’re asked to agree to the subscription agreement, if you fail to do so you won’t be able to use Bitdefender on any devices of your choosing. Also be mindful of the ‘Product reports’ box located at the bottom-left – by default it is set up so it will send data regarding threats spotted on your computer back to their servers; to prevent this from happening simply make sure this checkbox is unchecked.
As soon as your installation completes, you will be asked to create a password for the administrator account if necessary and then taken directly to the Bitdefender interface. Its intuitive software suite organizes features into three distinct areas – Protection, Privacy and Utilities. Real-time threat detection, firewall monitoring and ransomware countermeasures fall under Protection while tools such as Safepay browser and built-in VPN provide privacy online; while Utilities provide optimization tools and profile management.
Once installed and configured, Bitdefender gives you the flexibility to run both full-system scans as well as faster Smart Scan. In addition, its Dashboard offers quick actions and displays your current status, settings, and notifications – giving you quick actions and showing what actions need taking immediately. In case you switch computers midway through your subscription period, if applicable any remaining days on one subscription can be transferred over to another without losing out completely – an added touch that is optional yet makes sense!
Pricing
Bitdefender stands out among antivirus solutions as one of the more feature-packed solutions, boasting impressive detection rates for malware scanners and web protection, along with additional features (system tuneup, VPN access, parental controls and anti-theft) that work effectively. Unfortunately, however, certain of these extra features require premium subscription plans in order to unlock them.
Bitdefender offers six unique plans, each offering different security features. While the free plan provides solid protection, some features may be important for certain users such as network threat prevention, usage profiles, VPN connection and password manager capabilities – for these and more features we suggest family or small business plans as these may provide better coverage.
Antivirus Plus is the basic plan, offering protection on Windows and Android devices and can be installed onto up to three devices simultaneously. This plan includes all of Bitdefender’s malware scanner and online protections but excludes device optimization features or parental controls that come with more expensive plans.
Internet Security is our next-highest priced option and works across Windows, Mac OSX, iOS and Android devices. This plan features device optimization and parental controls found in higher priced plans as well as firewall protection against ransomware remediation as well as good phishing protection; making it our go-to plan when it comes to price point.
For an advanced set of security features, we suggest considering the Total Security plan. It includes everything in our other plans plus VPN with unlimited data usage and password manager features as well as an anti-theft feature to lock and wipe data on stolen devices.
Bitdefender offers 30-day money back guarantees on its premium plans if there is any cause for return, making a refund process typically straightforward and effortless. Contact their support team either by email or phone to initiate one, and get back your money in no time at all.
Overall
Bitdefender Free Antivirus is an efficient malware scanner with impressive detection rates and an extensive feature set. Malware definitions are updated automatically, running quietly in the background without impacting system performance and making navigation and use easy for both novices and experts alike. With its user-friendly interface and clear directions for use, this antivirus provides everything needed for successful protection.
Bitdefender Free Antivirus comes equipped with more than just malware protection; its suite of tools includes password manager, VPN, anti-tracker and app that blocks ads. Furthermore, this program features mobile security app to scan and secure Android devices from malware; web protection toggle for Chrome, Firefox, Opera Brave; it even blocks malicious links in emails; as well as remote wiping capability or GPS location options if stolen devices become lost or misplaced.
Bitdefender offers its basic suite of features for free, while premium subscriptions give access to additional tools. These subscriptions provide advanced firewall protection, anti-ransomware detection and parental controls as well as file shredding and system optimization tools – plus bonus SafePay browser and Premium VPN service with 200MB daily data cap!
The default Bitdefender dashboard categorizes its suite’s features into three main areas: Protection, Privacy, and Utilities. Protection covers features like malware scanner and real-time scanning while Privacy offers tools to secure online data such as password manager VPN anti theft tools password managers password managers password managers VPN anti theft tool Finally Utilities contain system optimizer and profile management tool
Our first System Scan took 43 minutes and 21 seconds, taking into account 1,382,009 files. However, subsequent scans became significantly faster as the application learned what files to look for and which to avoid. Furthermore, its individual folder and file analysis capabilities are among the fastest available, taking only 2:01 per 170,568 files to analyze – quite remarkable when you consider that its additional features require time and computing power to run effectively.
