BitDefender 2008

	Overall Rating
	Ease of Use
	Effectiveness
	Updates
	Feature Set
	Ease of Installation
	Help/Support

Ease of Use:

Softwin has covered all of the bases with BitDefender. This comprehensive product has an attractive, easy–to–use design that is consistent throughout the software and the manufacturer’s website. Because it is simple to use and updates itself automatically, you can install it on your system, then practically forget it’s there—an ideal solution for any user.

BitDefender creates a small window called the “File Zone” on your desktop that indicates how many files the program has scanned in the past few minutes. You can also drag and drop files into the File Zone for an immediate scan. The program prepares a report of each completed scan so you know exactly what your files do or do not contain and you can instruct BitDefender to disinfect or remove any infected files or messages.

You can also customize BitDefender’s security settings for features such as AntiVirus, Firewall, Antispam, Antispyware and Parental Control.

Effectiveness:

BitDefender’s customizable settings make the program effective for a variety of users. For example, if you receive legitimate commercial email, you can set BitDefender’s spam filters to allow specific or all emails.

Virus Bulletin rated BitDefender a VB100%, the highest honor for anti–virus software.

The VB 100% logo is awarded to anti–virus products that detect all current “in the wild” viruses during both on–demand and on–access scanning in Virus Bulletin’s comparative tests.

Additionally, BitDefender passed the ICSA 2007—a similar test that certifies the software can detect viruses, prevent virus replication, and doesn’t generate false positives.

Updates:

The live update feature checks for product and virus definition updates at either a user–defined interval, manually or default (every hour). When you do a manual check for updates, you can decide which updates to install. When the software automatically checks for updates, it can update the files immediately or at a specified time that you can determine during setup.

Feature Set:

BitDefender uses the ICSA Labs certified scanning engines, so you can feel secure about their virus protection.

The program creates a summary log of events that shows the last definitions updates, details on any virus the software encounters, the last time you ran a scan, definitions number and more. And new in 2008, Bitdefender has added a Gamer Feature so it won't tax your memory during intense gaming.

BitDefender’s startup guard will tell you if a program is trying to load itself upon start up so you can choose to allow it or not. This software suite also comes with adware and spyware detectors. Though we recommend using an antispyware scanner, as they are designed specifically for this purpose, it is nice to have two programs working towards a common goal, to keep your computer clean.

Ease of Installation:

This product is easy to download from their website.

Help/Support:

When you purchase BitDefender you also receive one year of virus signature and scan engine updates. The manufacturer offers qualified technical support live via the Internet and telephone.

There is also an online database with answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) and they have an email address–they answered our email within 6 hours. An online forum is located at http://forum.bitdefender.com/.

Summary:

BitDefender is easy to use, simple to install, has a great feature set and at $24.95, it won’t break your bank account. Anyone who spends time on the Internet knows the importance of anti–virus software; BitDefender will keep your computer virus–free and running smoothly.

BitDefender Product Details

Features:

The purpose of the antivirus module is to ensure detection and removal of all viruses in the wild. BitDefender Antivirus uses robust scan engines certified by ICSA Labs, Virus Bulletin, Checkmark, CheckVir and TÜV.

IMPROVED Proactive Detection

B–HAVE (Behavioral Heuristic Analyzer in Virtual Environments) emulates a virtual computer–inside–a–computer where pieces of software are run in order to check for potential malware behavior. This BitDefender proprietary technology represents a new security layer that keeps the operating system safe from unknown viruses by detecting malicious pieces of code for which signatures have not yet been released.

Permanent Antivirus Protection

The new and improved BitDefender scanning engines will scan and disinfect infected files on access, minimizing data loss. Infected documents can now be recovered instead of being deleted.

NEW Rootkit Detection and Removal

A new BitDefender module looks for rootkits (malicious programs designed to control victim computers, while staying hidden) and removes them on detection.

NEW Web Scanning

Web traffic is now filtered in real–time even before reaching your browser, providing a safe and enjoyable web experience.

Peer–2–Peer and IM Applications Protection

Filters against viruses that spread via instant messaging and file sharing software applications.

Full E–mail Protection

BitDefender runs on the POP3/SMTP protocol level, filtering incoming and outgoing e–mail messages, regardless of the e–mail client used (Outlook™, Outlook Express™, The Bat!™, Netscape®, etc.), without any additional configuration.

Antispyware

BitDefender monitors and prevents potential spyware threats in real–time, before they can damage your system. By making use of a comprehensive database of spyware signatures, it will keep your computer spyware–free.

Real–Time Antispyware

BitDefender monitors dozens of potential “hotspots” in your system where spyware might act, and also checks any changes made to your system and software. Known spyware threats are also blocked in real–time.

Spyware Scanning and Cleaning

BitDefender can scan your entire system, or just part of it, for known spyware threats. The scan uses a constantly updated spyware signature database.

NEW Privacy Protection

The privacy guard monitors HTTP (web) and SMTP (mail) traffic flowing out of your computer for what might be personal information –such as credit card numbers, Social Security numbers and other user–defined strings (e.g. bits of passwords).

Anti-Dialer

A configurable anti–dialer prevents malicious applications from running up a huge telephone bill at your expense.

Cookie Control

The antispyware component filters incoming and outgoing cookie type files, keeping your identity and preferences confidential when you’re browsing the Internet.

Active Content Control

Proactively blocks any potentially malicious application such as: ActiveX, Java Applets or Java Scripts type codes.

More Features:

IMPROVED Deployment and Use

A setup wizard starts immediately after installation, helping users select the most appropriate update settings, implementing a scanning schedule and providing a quick path to the registration and activation of the product.

IMPROVED User Experience

BitDefender has redesigned the user experience, placing emphasis on ease of use and clutter avoidance. As a result, many BitDefender v10 modules require significantly less user interaction, through the convenient use of automation and machine learning.

Hourly Updates

Your copy of BitDefender will be updated 24 times a day over the Internet, directly or through a Proxy Server. The product is able to repair itself, if necessary, by downloading the damaged or missing files from BitDefender servers.

24/7 Support

Offered online by qualified support representatives and by accessing an online database with answers to Frequently Asked Questions.

Rescue CD

BitDefender Antivirus v10 is delivered on a bootable CD. This CD can be used to analyze/repair/disinfect a compromised system which cannot be started.

System Requirements:

Pentium II 350 MHz or higher processor Minimum 128 MB of RAM Memory (256 MB recommended) Minimum 60 MB available hard disk space

Operating Environment:

Windows 2000/*XP/ *VISTA / IE 5.5 (+)

*not compatible with XP Pro 64 Bit or VISTA 64 Bit

Screenshots: