In August 2005, I purchased the antivirus application BitDefender as a one-year subscription (it earned a Best Buy in your March 2006 roundup). Six months later I started receiving warnings that my subscription had expired. I called the customer service number and was told to uninstall and then reload the software. The warning still appeared. I sent two e-mail messages describing my problem but got no answers. Four more phone calls to tech support led to a recording each time. I have received neither responses to my e-mail nor any returned phone calls. Currently I have no antivirus protection on my laptop.

William Kelly, Lower Gwynedd, Pennsylvania

On Your Side responds: This wasn't the only letter we received alerting us to BitDefender's slow response time, which may be due in part to the fact that the vendor is based in Romania. In the United States, BitDefender has only two tech support people, but the company says that it is expanding its U.S. staff and adding an 800 number. If the U.S. lines are busy, calls will be redirected to English-speaking tech support representatives in Romania. In the meantime, BitDefender recommends accessing its live chat for technical support.

Kelly did get his problem fixed over the phone, ten days after his original call; the company extended his subscription to compensate him for the delay.

Amber Bouman is an editorial assistant for PC World. E-mail her at onyourside@pcworld.com.