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Rating charts of the industry’s best Internet security software are only complete with Bitdefender’s solution represented, otherwise an inalienable component is unjustifiably torn off to ruin the true concept of the competition. A little over a decade of the Company’s malware combating endeavors is not the longest we’ve seen, but the achievements and the recognition gained are more than commendable.
Bitdefender Internet Security 2017 is a cyber monster-truck on a digital highway crammed up with challenges, threats and dangers. Following a ‘Do your thing, protected’ principle, which implies the ease and efficiency of foiling computer menaces, it was made to literally smash viruses you stumble upon, and provide all-embracing protection against the online side of cybercrime: phishing scams, spam, hacker attacks, social networking fraud, and more of the unfortunate facets of the present-day threat landscape. Even more, the updated software accommodates tools to remotely handle unauthorized physical access to all the other devices protected by Bitdefender; prevents ransomware assaults targeting the customer’s personal data; provides secure browsing environment for financial transactions; advises on Wi-Fi security; includes extensively customizable parental control; delivers a rigid two-way Firewall; enables shredding sensitive files beyond recovery; and allows tuning your machine’s performance to ensure silent security without lags.
The solution being reviewed uses an antivirus technology consistently recognized as #1 by the world’s most reputable evaluation labs. In particular, Bitdefender boasts AV-Comparatives ‘Advanced+’ awards in multiple lab tests, including real-world protection, performance, proactive malware detection and removal. More distinctions include PC Mag’s Editors’ Choice, AV-TEST’s Top Product, VB100, and favorable references in numerous reviews, including ours.
For those hesitating to pay the relatively high price of $59.99 right away (1-year license for up to 3 machines), Bitdefender provides the option of installing a free 30-day trial to check out the effectiveness of the product, with a subsequent opportunity to upgrade to the full version if so desired. The stub installer you initially download is there to make sure you are getting the latest build available and the whole process runs smooth. The setup went hassle-free and implied a minimum of action on our end. Once installed, Bitdefender Internet Security 2017 works in the Autopilot mode, which means you won’t have to do any excessive configuring or decision-making as the software does it all for you.
At this point, you can explore the Security Widget providing quick access to a few essentials of protection, such as events, antivirus settings, firewall configuration; and allowing you to drag-and-drop individual files you want scanned. While some users’ feedback about this desktop widget is not too favorable, underscoring its clumsiness, we find it quite handy and informative.
Even a quick glance at the interface suffices to realize that it’s streamlined and easy to understand. The large buttons linking to the primary features are convenient and perfectly accord with Windows 10 style, being particularly good for touch screens, too. Appropriate user awareness is contributed by the prominent security status area at the top, with colors varying for different levels of current safety. The main screen’s top section is also occupied by the Autopilot component. The left-hand sidebar includes vertically lined-up icons for the following modules: Protection, Privacy, Activity, Account Info, Notifications, Settings, and Support. Depending on the section selected in the sidebar (Protection or Privacy), the action buttons in the central part of the GUI will include Quick Scan, Vulnerability Scan, Safepay, and Parental Advisor. Each one opens up into a more detailed page for customization and task assigning.
With the default settings unaltered, Bitdefender’s impact on system productivity turned out somewhat tangible – not that the PC was freezing or performing generally slow, but CPU consumption would hump over 90% once in a while during the scan or update tasks, and Windows boot times increased conspicuously. This issue is bypassable when the Bitdefender Photon feature comes into play. We found scanning with Bitdefender not to be lengthy for an application as powerful as that. On the other hand, though, cleanup of an infected computer is typically a time-consuming process. This nuance set aside, the usability benchmark is fairly good: the setup causes no trouble, the interface is wonderfully balanced and comprehensive, and system performance is only affected within reasonable bounds.
The toolkit hard-coded into Bitdefender Internet Security 2017 covers all facets you might possibly need protected when performing routine activities, and actually provides even more than that. You additionally get the all-new ransomware protection, far-reaching privacy and social networking protection, reliable defense when visiting e-commerce websites, and the Wi-Fi security feature. Plus, the suite offers some options for improving the way your computer operates by delivering a number of performance enhancement opportunities.
In terms of protection, Bitdefender is in close competition with the industry’s flagship suites, which is certainly not by chance. Not only is it equipped with one of the most complete feature sets across the board, but the software is also extremely reliable when it comes to actually detecting and eliminating the bad stuff. This has been verified by multiple labs whose reputation is indisputable.
An extremely helpful feature of Bitdefender Internet Security 2017 is ransomware protection. Ransom Trojans are highly dangerous because they encrypt one’s personal files and extort a payment for decryption. The risk of data loss is aggravated by the fact that InfoSec masterminds haven’t yet come up with an efficient method to get the data back after such an assault. The new Bitdefender defaults to protecting such folders as Documents, Pictures, as well as sync directories like Google Drive. The user can add more data repositories manually.
In AV-Comparatives’ Real-World Protection Test as of December 2016, the software showed 99.9% protection rate, gaining the ‘Advanced+’ rating, which we already mentioned in this review. Furthermore, Bitdefender didn’t fail to pass a single VB100 certification since 2010. According to the latest evaluation by AV-TEST, the product scored 6.0 out of 6.0 by the protection benchmark. Therefore, no doubt this suite will match and probably exceed your expectations while guarding you from viruses, spyware, spam, and identity theft attempts.
Bitdefender help is wonderfully structured and organized. It has it all: the FAQs, online knowledgebase, comprehensive User’s Guide, the Forum, online chat, and worldwide telephone support. Frankly, with the abundance of self-help options and their immaculate informative value, the need to reach customer service agents directly is not a likely probability here. And yet, live support is responsive and professional. All in all, we really admire the help emphasis and effort Bitdefender takes.
Consistently high lab results by all determinative criteria, overarching feature set, and unfailing dedication to the customer – these are the prominent facts that make Bitdefender Internet Security one of the flagship applications in its niche. Remarkably enough, all controls are made amazingly simple despite the inner sophistication this utility bears. As a wrap up, Bitdefender Internet Security 2017 provides hassle-free silent protection of premium quality, now covering ransomware assaults.
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View Comments
I've been a user of Bitdefender IS for several years now, and my experience has been generally positive, and similar to your scores. But problems do arise, and that's when the weak link shows.
Sadly, the company's tech support almost always lets it down. It's an enormously frustrating experience, one that I've found very hard indeed to get a straight, consistent or prompt answer from. I'd put the "Support" score at three and a half stars, at best.
thanks for your honest evaluation