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More…BitDefender Internet Security 2008 ($40 for one PC, $50 for three PCs) pairs shining success with disappointing failure. It outperformed every other suite in crucial malware detection tests, unmasked every rootkit sample, and finished second among the eight suites evaluated for our "All-in-One Security Suites: Tried and Tested" roundup on a separate spyware and adware detection test.
BitDefender Internet Security
PCWorld Rating, November 15, 2007
6 User Reviews Add your own »
$44.95 - $44.97
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BitDefender Internet Security 2008
Internet Security Review, by Erik Larkin November 29, 2007
But this stellar performance behind the scenes was seriously marred by an unpleasant user experience. From aggravations with the initial installation to difficulties with warning pop-ups, BitDefender's flaws are hard to brush off.
BitDefender did extremely well when subjected to AV-Test.org's 674,589 inactive malware samples, detecting 98 percent of them. It also did the best job of detecting new, unknown malware in heuristics tests, with a 29 percent catch rate using one-month-old signatures. And it also tied for first with Kaspersky Internet Security 7.0 for the fastest response (0 to 2 hours) to malware outbreaks.
The suite detected all six inactive rootkit samples, though its efforts to disinfect one of them (Vanquish) crashed our test computer. BitDefender caught 97 percent of inactive spyware and adware samples, too, but it was our test group's second-worst offender at flagging false positives--though its 0.06 percent rate for false positives lies within an acceptable range.
As an infection remover, BitDefender didn't hold up as well. It successfully sanitized the files related to four out of five infections, but it completely failed to remove changes to the Windows Registry. Though they pose less danger of serious harm to your system than malware files, altered Registry entries can interfere with the smooth running of your PC.
BitDefender's firewall successfully masked a protected PC against outside scans, but it displayed needless warnings when the Firefox Web browser tried to access the Internet. That program should be on any firewall's list of known (and approved) applications.
The suite offers a good array of secondary features, including antiphishing, parental controls, antispam, and data privacy. But these extras need polish. The browser-based antiphishing tool didn't block any sites until I enabled the feature's heuristic detection, which is off by default. When I enabled parental control for other users, I wasn't prompted to set a program password--but if you fail to do so and you set up your kids' accounts with administrator rights, they'll be able to turn off the parental controls.
The antispam features currently tie into Outlook and Outlook Express only; a few other suites tie into Windows Mail and Thunderbird as well. The suite's Identity Control data privacy features requires that you manually enter any data (such as credit card numbers) that you want to prevent from being sent out on the Internet. Though that practice is fairly standard among suites, BitDefender pushes you to create the definitions on first use, and it's not easy to figure out how to bypass this step.
BitDefender's warning pop-ups did a poor job of guiding us through the steps of removing a detected e-mail worm (Warezov). The pop-up alert had options for ignoring, quarantining, or deleting the file. But perhaps because ther malware was lurking inside a .zip file, the security suite's default option was to ignore the infection. Choosing to quarantine the archive failed, but rather than alerting me to the failure. the program just popped up the same window without the quarantine option. Choosing delete finally worked.
Unlike every other suite we tested, BitDefender doesn't provide contextual help links that take you straight to the parental control help section if you click 'Help' while changing those settings, for example. Also, BitDefender asked again for the program registration code and registration information when we logged on as another user on the same PC. The company acknowledged that this is a program bug it intends to fix.
If BitDefender's interface and warnings were anywhere near as good as its virus detection engine, the suite would be easy to recommend. But its confusing pop-ups, program bugs, and high false positive rate make it best suited to a user who has strong technical skills and can at times make the right security choices without guidance from the software.
Erik Larkin
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User Reviews
Average User Reviews for BitDefender Internet Security
3 Reviews Add your own »
- Latest User Reviews 3 reviews
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Reviewed by: PCShawn
Duration of ownership: 2 Months
Strengths: Anti-virus engine rocks!
Weaknesses: Anti-phishing needs work. Internet Explorer does a better job at identifying phishing websites!
Overall: Found a hidden Trojan that NIS 2008 failed to detect. Continuously updates the software. Technical support doesn't get back to you when there's an issue even after you have an incident number. Firewall disables itself during virus scan. Microsoft Outlook plugin doesn't work. Has to re-initialize if you attempt to use the spam wizard. Would still choose this over NIS 2008 for the virus detection and privacy control feature.
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Reviewed by: kpruppel
Duration of ownership: 2 Years
Strengths: Unobtrusive and fast, as an app of this category should be.
Weaknesses: It checks for updates often (which I suppose is good, after all), but it freezes the system until it is done, usually 10-15 seconds. This is minor, tho.
Overall: It got very high ratings from that German review board (which I forget right now), so I gave it a try. It has not disappointed. They added active anti-spy support for free. It auto-updates periodically throughout the day, which, as I said earlier, is reassuring. I remember the days when Norton only updated on Thursdays! (What about a new virus on Friday, right?) It stopped 2 emails in 2 years, so I know it's there, doing its job. Otherwise, it is so unobtrusive, which I think is what I like the most about it. After all, I have to trust that it does a good job (being highly rated, plus no problems on my machine in 2 years), but that I hardly know it is there makes that a terrific combination of qualities. And it's very inexpensive, purchased online.
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Reviewed by: mydogbuster
Duration of ownership: 1 Month
Strengths: easy to install, good price, does what it's supposed to do
Weaknesses: not in many stores, still testing for technical issues
Overall: i bought this after my symantec expired on the advice of a friend (he is a self-described 'geek'. lol!). i had a little trouble finding it in stores. the company sells it online, but i like to have the physical cd's for everything. i finally did find it and for much cheaper than i thought. the store i got it from had buy one year, get one free (not sure if that is just in the u.s. or not). it was really easy to install and very fast. i only have it on one pc so far, though the license allows for two pc's to be covered. the product visuals look very scientific (symantec is kind of stupid-easy looking), but it was actually not confusing at all. i am not the most computer savvy, but i also don't need to be talked down to! the software did a scan once i loaded it and it discvered an attack that my old antivirus did not find. i looked it up later and this was a very bad one, i guess. the bitdefender stuff cleaned my pc right away. i don't have any complaints so far and it seems to be working without annoying me (i hate hate hate when i get a bunch of notifications while i am trying to do other things).
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User Reviews From Around the Web
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Reviewed by: whatuphomey
Strengths: Lots of definition updates, comprehensive package
Weaknesses: None
Overall: This is a good product...it offers pretty much all of what you need for protecting a PC on the internet. Seems to be easy on system resources. The updates of definitions is very frequent, which is good considering the pace of new viruses. I'd recommend this product.
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Reviewed by: Jackdan10
Strengths: Constant updates and free tech support. It has a decent firewall.
Weaknesses: Not anything major.
Overall: I didn't experience any slowing down of my computer (as an other reviewer did). I like the fact that the CD is bootable.Overall, it doesn't seem much better (or worse) than most other internet security suites.
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Reviewed by: woodsley
Strengths: do a basic job
Weaknesses: slow down the computer
Overall: This software basically does the same task with the other equivalent software (e.g. McAfee or Norton). It cannot prevent all spywares or viruses as expected. The software also slows down your computer.
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