About this item

A versatile security suite offering great protection in a package that’s easy to use and reasonably priced. Read our Bitdefender Internet Security Review.

Bitdefender is one of the most effective security suites around. In AV-Test’s tests, it achieved a perfect % score for malware protection, and dropped only a few marks for AV Comparatives. While this doesn’t quite match Norton ’s flawless record, Bitdefender did better than Norton in the false-positive test, making only a single mistake across all tests and the suite is nimble too. with a creditable 94% rating for system performance.

Bitdefender will appeal if you’re the sort who likes lots of features and options to play with. The customisable dashboard gives access to a selection of core features, and the Protection and Privacy panes offer plenty more to explore. The sheer number of things to click on might seem daunting at first, hut everything is laid out in front of you in a way that makes it easy to grasp the features on offer and find what you&#;re looking for.

As you&#;d expect, the Protection pane includes options for launching and configuring various types of scan, as well as settings for web based and behavioural protection. It’s also here that you’ll find Bitdefender’s own firewall: by default, this runs quietly in the background, relying on its own intelligence to decide what should be allowed to access the internet and what should be blocked, but you can review its decisions, set up your own rules and even enforce different behaviours for different networks. There&#;s also a Vulnerability Scan tool that warns you about missing updates for Windows and applications, and highlights weak passwords and insecure networks.

Unusually, Bitdefender offers not one but two modules aimed at defeating ransomware. The first, Safe Files, does the same thing as Windows 10’s Protected Folders component, blocking untrusted apps from writing to selected folders. But it’s partnered by a novel Ransomware Remediation feature, which automatically takes temporary backups of vulnerable files, ready for instant restoration if needed. It’s a reassuring belt-and braces approach.

One last protection feature that’s worth highlighting is the Bitdefender Rescue Environment. Many security suites let you create a bootable rescue CD or flash drive, but Bitdefender goes a step further and automatically sets up a minimal rescue environment on your hard disk. If you fear your PC has been compromised, it takes just a few clicks to reboot and fully scan your system from outside of Windows.

Switching to the Privacy pane exposes a miscellany of features, including Bitdefender’s locked-down Safepay browser. You probably won’t want to use this hardened app as your everyday browser, so we like the way you can set it to pop up only when you visit a banking or shopping site. You don’t need to buy the whole suite to get Safepay, though: It’s available as a free standalone download.

Similarly, the bundled VPN service (provided by Hotspot Shield) doesn&#;t add a huge amount of value to the package. Your exit node is automatically chosen for you, and throughput is limited to just M B per day. That, of course, is because Bitdefender wants you to pay to unlock unlimited data, but to be fair it’s not badly priced at £ a year for full access to servers in 27 different countries.

ABOVE The interface puts all of the available tools and features within easy reach

“A novel Ransomware Remediation feature takes backups of vulnerable files, ready for instant restoration if needed”

The final major feature is the parental controls, which are among this month’s best. Once you’ve remotely pushed the agent onto your child’s computer, you can monitor and approve the apps and websites they’re accessing, as well as enforcing screen time schedules and total usage limits. Install the app on their Android phone and you can also keep an eye on their contacts and track their location from the Bitdefender website.

A third program pane, headed Utilities, suggests that there might be even more to the suite, but clicking on it brings up an advert for Bitdefender Total Security Multi­Device, which adds cross-platform protection and a few extra system tools. It will cost you £ for five devices, but we don’t think it’s worth it as the extra tools only do the same jobs as free alternatives.

On the subject of price, if you buy direct from Bitdefender (the price above is from the PC Pro store, which is £  cheaper) then it automatically renews your subscription at a higher price if you allow it to roll into a second year. However, it sends warnings and you can opt out of recurrent billing at the point of purchase.

Either way. this is a superb security suite one that&#;s effective and loaded with features, yet at the same time lightweight and easy to use. Competing packages have their strengths, but as a one-stop all-rounder. Bitdefender can’t be beaten.

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Bitdefender has fought to make its product better known in a tight market, and it appears to be succeeding. The company continues to expand the number of consumer-facing AV tools it offers, which now includes Antivirus Plus, Internet Security, Total Security, Premium Security, and even a Family Pack offer, among others. If you’re looking for an option that balances features and pricing, Total Security is the option you’ll want to explore.

Total Security package offers up a large suite of features, many of which are dedicated to covering security threats many users may not actually realize exist. The heart of the program is its real-time antivirus protection. We’ve praised Bitdefender for its real-time protection in the past, most recently in our review of their budget-friendly Antivirus Plus software. The big question market for buyers is whether its Total Security version lives up to or exceeds the same standard as the other options available from the company and whether what it does offer makes sense for the price.

Minimum system requirements – will it run on your device?

Even if your computer is a few years old, there’s a good chance Bitdefender Total Security will meet the minimum requirements.

To run the program, you’ll need the following system specs:

• Operating system: Windows 7 w/ SP1 Windows 10
• Memory (RAM): 2 GB
• Available free hard disk space: GB free space

If for some reason you’re still using Windows XP or below, you will not be able to get Total Security running on your system. Additionally, if you’re only barely meeting the suggested requirements you may notice issues with system lag, especially when running the AV tool.

You may also find that Bitdefender Total Security is not ideal for some lower-end netbooks running Windows The latest version of Bitdefender nearly doubles the RAM and hard disk space requirements of the version.

Most newer systems (those purchased within the past years) should have no problem more than meeting even the recommended system requirements.

Bitdefender Total Security sign-up process

The sign-up process is one of the early ways to measure a software company, especially in the antivirus realm. Many AV software companies have notably shady businesses practices when it comes to selling their AV tools.

We’ve seen a fair number of tactics that are woefully consumer-unfriendly, such as sneaking in addon services and hiding the fact that the service is subscription-based. From experience, we like to take a look at how the company handles purchasing and signup to get a good feel for its overall trustworthiness.

For a software company to pass the smell test here, it needs to avoid as much as possible all of the following business practices:

• Attempting to sell a large number of addon services at checkout
• Making users click through several pages of additional addon services before getting to the final checkout page
• Automatically selecting addon services prior to checkout
• Automatically signing up customers for automatic subscription renewal, or making it difficult to deselect auto renewal before purchasing

Bitdefender doesn’t do a terrible job on this angle, but it’s far from the best we’ve seen. On the initial sign-up page, Bitdefender places you automatically at the cheapest-possible service package for Total Security: One year and up to 5 devices:

This is actually a good practice. Instead of trying to force users into the more expensive options first, the company presents their lowest-cost option on the page. If you want to up your service to two or three years and cover more devices, you can do so quite easily. You’re just not pushed into the costlier option at the outset.

Since our last review of the service, Bitdefender has reduced the amount of upselling it tries to do at checkout. Previously, it attempted to push nearly a dozen different add-ons at checkout. Now, it only suggests its VPN:

The bigger issue is with subscription auto-renewal. What we like here is that the company doesn’t hide the fact that auto renewal is in place. You can easily see the word for it couched under the software purchase on the right:

However, Bitdefender starts with auto-renewal on by default. And the color choice for the link is purposefully designed to make it less obvious. You’ll need to click the gray “auto-renewal” link and turn off auto-renewal if you don’t want that option by default.

With all of those factors working together, we can’t completely rail against Bitdefender for the sign-up process. It’s fast, doesn’t push you through multiple addon service pages, and is comparatively clear on what you’re getting at checkout. Still, auto-renewal could be more visible and not pre-selected.

Installation and setup

After signing up for service, Bitdefender will let you download the program from the Bitdefender Central account. The entire setup process, from downloading the program to the final installation, takes around 5 minutes of your time.

From there, you’ll install the downloader program, which completes the full installation process. Once completed, you won’t need to sign in. The downloaded file has your account information included, so it will automatically connect to your account and register the device in your Bitdefender Central account settings.

Compatibility

Although the regular installation process is fairly smooth, you may run into some software complications if you have any other software installed that directly conflicts with Total Security. For example, I already had parental monitoring software installed on my machine. However, when I tried to install Bitdefender Total Security, I got an “Application Compatibility Check” warning, and a message telling me that I needed to delete my current parental monitor in order to finish the installation.

The likely reason I got this message is that Bitdefender Total Security comes with its own parental monitoring software. In some cases, certain software can’t exist in the same parts of an operating system and run without conflicts. Software conflicts are pretty rare these days, but they can happen, especially in the case of AV tools. Still, this appears to be one of those situations. Other software tools that come with Total Security, such as the VPN, can easily coexist with other VPN applications without causing conflicts — you just can’t run multiple VPNs at the same time.

Depending on what other security programs you have installed, you might also run into software conflicts. If you find you’re particularly tied to the conflicting software you currently have installed, keeping Total Security might be a make-or-break decision. During testing, I found I could successfully re-install the parental software after installing Bitdefender’s Antivirus Plus , but that was not the case with Total Security. As I’m fairly tied to the parental monitor I already have, keeping Total Security on my system simply wasn’t an option in the long run. That likely won’t be the case for everyone, however.

Interface

It’s hard to get around a lousy interface with any software you use. If you have to stumble your way through, trying and failing to find what you need, a terrible user experience usually results in dropping the software for a better option.

Thankfully, Bitdefender appears to have put a lot of care and attention into its Total Security UI. The interface is easily navigable, with distinct sections that make finding the various features fairly easy:

The left side of the interface can be used to shift between the different feature categories (Protection, Privacy, Tools), while each feature section places the most important features on “View Features”:

Outside of the core feature categories, you can also access Notifications, Settings, and User Guides. Bitdefender even includes some basic information on your device installation statuses at the bottom. You can identify how many devices you have covered and can click to add another device (which quickly brings up your Bitdefender Central account on a web browser).

There are some nifty quick keys in the tool as well. If you right-click on the Bitdefender icon in your system tray, you can perform a full scan without having to open the main app window, for example. You can also toggle the app widget from the system tray.

The only issues users might find with the app is easily understanding what all of the features actually do. However, the User Guide section in the interface should help clear up any confusion pretty quickly.

Security and privacy features

If you’re going for a Total Security purchase, you’ll be well served by the vast number of features Bitdefender packs into the software package. As Total Security is the company’s premier security service for consumers, almost everything you can think of (and likely more) is included.

For starters, Bitdefender Total Security comes with all of the following tools and features:

• Real-time antivirus monitor
• Antivirus scanning tools (quick, full, custom, and scheduled scans)
• Autopilot mode
• Vulnerability scan
• App protection
• File protection
• Web protection (black and whitelisting)
• Anti-spam
• Firewall
• Advanced threat defense
• Ransomware protection
• Rescue environment
• Wi-Fi security advisor
• Protected folders
• Application access
• Safepay (secure web browser)
• VPN
• File shredder
• Password manager (Bitdefender Wallet)
• File vault
• Webcam protection
• Parental monitor
• System optimizer
• Anti-theft
• Disk cleanup

Given we try to provide a holistic review, we gave at least a few minutes and some space to as many features as possible. However, we did not test a few features, such as the ransomware protection, due to the difficulty in testing them in a generalized review.

Real-time threat protection

Total Security utilizes a fairly aggressive real-time antivirus tool. Although Bitdefender includes over a dozen different tools with Total Security, the real-time monitor is perhaps the best selling point for this software. Additionally, this is the same real-time monitor you’ll find used across Bitdefender’s other consumer antivirus applications. As such, the results we found when testing Antivirus Plus were the same with Total Security.

Test #1: EICAR test viruses

I first tested Total Security’s real-time protection against the EICAR test viruses. These viruses are designed to mimic real viruses without actually risking any real infection of a machine. There are four versions of this virus available, and we put each of them to the test: a “.com” file, a “.txt” file, a “.zip” file, and a double zipped file. Picking up these test viruses should be simple for any effective AV tool.

Results:

Total Security performed exceptionally well on this test. Other AV tools we’ve tested have failed to properly identify the EICAR test viruses. Bitdefender’s tool, however, easily blocked them with a percent precision.

Surprisingly, Bitdefender’s real-time monitor not only quarantines files, it actually completely blocks the downloads altogether. This is a step that is not completely common with other AV tools, which often allow the download to go through first and then quarantine a file after identifying it. Total Security, however, can identify if a file is potentially malicious in the web browser, and block the download from happening.

Test #2: Live virus samples

The EICAR test viruses are not always the best measure of an AV tool, however, given they are only test viruses. To up the ante a bit, we like to also test real virus samples against the AV tool’s main features.

Bitdefender has been well-regarded in many real-world protection tests, including AV-Comparatives’ test. In their test, Bitdefender’s tool found percent of the viruses tested out of live samples. We only tested a small number, but given the tool’s success with over , it was a safe assumption that five viruses would be a simple matter.

Results:

Total Security met my expectation in this test as well. It was able to identify the live virus samples I tested. Four of the viruses were immediately quarantined, while the fifth got taken care of pretty quickly after it hit my machine:

The real-time monitor also gives an overall risk assessment of the different viruses that landed on your machine, allowing you to make a decision regarding each quarantined virus:

In the case where Bitdefender is unsure of the risk of a file, it gives you the option to quarantine or delete it. Either way, the program won’t let you proceed until you’ve made some sort of decision one way or another on a suspicious file.

Against both real and test viruses, Bitdefender’s Total Security lived up to its lab-tested results.

On-demand scanning

Considering how aggressive Bitdefender’s real-time monitor is, it’s somewhat unlikely that a virus will actually make it onto your system with the AV tool installed. Still, on the off chance that the real-time monitor fails, you’ll need effective virus removal. Total Security’s AV scanning tool is among its primary features and one that has also been awarded by AV-Comparatives in the past. Our question going in, of course, is whether it’s effective in a real-world test from a consumer perspective.

The scanning tool is designed to run in the background and to have as minimal an impact on your system as possible. You’ll also find a few scanning options that are fairly industry-standard at this point: Quick Scan, Full Scan, Scheduled Scan, and Custom Scan.

We looked into what kind of impact the scanning tool has on your system while running each scan and whether it was effective at picking up both real and test viruses.

Test #1: System impact

I ran the system impact tests on a clean system. Each test looked at CPU usage, memory usage, scan time, and the total number of scanned items. Note that scanning on an infected system might produce different results, and scanning on a lower-powered system will likely also produce different results.

Total Security’s results looked good on this test. Each scan was fast, and even the full system scan, which took around 17 minutes, was comparatively fast.

Test #2: Sample viruses

For the sample viruses test, I used the same EICAR test viruses as with the real-time monitor test. To get these properly installed on my system, I had to completely turn off Total Security, given how aggressively the real-time monitor seemed to be blocking download attempts of suspected viruses. As we’ve already discovered, Bitdefender easily blocks access to the EICAR test viruses.

If you turn off the software’s main protection, it will consider your computer “At Risk”:

In fact, the only way to effectively download the EICAR test viruses was to delete Total Security off of my system completely, as it appears to have protective measures in place that you cannot turn off from the settings menu.

Results:

With the test viruses installed, I re-installed Total Security and ran the quick scan. Quick scan did not reveal the test viruses, which was an indication that that scan does not check the downloads folder.

A full system scan, however, did locate, quarantine, and delete all four of the EICAR test viruses.

Total Antivirus easily passed this test after it both quarantined and deleted the EICAR test viruses.

Test #2: Live virus samples

A new set of live viruses were installed on my machine for this test. As with the EICAR test viruses, I needed to remove Total Security in order to download the viruses to my machine. After the viruses were loaded onto my machine, I then attempted to re-install Total Security and run the virus scans.

Results:

Unfortunately, I could not successfully re-install Total Security onto my computer after I installed the viruses. The installation process completely froze, which is a common problem when trying to install an AV tool on an infected machine. Many viruses block antivirus software downloads and installations as a means to protect themselves from removal. This appeared to be the case.

The result here was that I was not able to successfully determine how well Total Security could remove viruses on an infected machine. That said, however, this is not necessarily a negative comment on Total Security.

As shown above, the tool is incredibly good at keeping viruses away from your machine. And given the effectiveness of the real-time scanning tool, it’s easy to believe that the virus scanner, if unblocked, would work as well.

Should you find yourself in a situation where you can’t install an AV tool because of a malicious program, running your computer in Safe Mode is a good idea. From there, you may want to try to run an antivirus removal tool from an external drive. You can check out our guide on malware removal for more information. For Bitdefender, you can’t run the Total Antivirus tool from a flash drive, but you cancreate a rescue DVD or flash drive.

Web Protection

For anyone who spends a fair amount of time browsing the internet, Total Security’s Web Protection is likely going to be a valuable tool. Web Security is designed to scan websites for potentially malicious activity and provide you with warnings in case you land on a website that might have malware or phishing attempts.

You’ll find Web Protection turned on by default, but you can turn it off in the settings. Web Protection will produce a warning message in your web browser if you run across a potentially malicious website:

From the warning page, you can choose to proceed or whitelist the page if you believe it was erroneously targeted. Otherwise, you can move away from the page as fast as your fingers can take you.

Unfortunately, the Web Protection filter is not perfect. I was still able to access some websites that were known to carry malicious links, made available through the website www.abbottbuilders.com.au Some of the sites listed there produced warnings, others did not. This showed that Web Protection is good, but should not be fully relied upon to protect you from bad actors on websites.

Firewall

A feature unique to Total Security, Bitdefender also includes an additional firewall option for your computer. A firewall is a protective measure that filters your incoming and outgoing traffic for suspicious activity. It’s intended to automatically block any malicious activity.

Your operating system already includes its own built-in firewall. Built-in firewalls are good, but not great. As such, an additional firewall option is not a bad idea. Bitdefender’s firewall specifically targets applications installed on your machine that try to access the internet. What it’s looking for are apps that might be malicious or acting maliciously.

Assuming that your real-time monitor is working, there’s a small chance that a bad program will get through. However, it is possible that an older program could be pushed an update that makes it start acting maliciously. If that’s the case, the additional firewall will help block it.

Using Bitdefender’s Total Security Firewall, you can look into all of the programs accessing the internet and fiddle with the rules for those applications if anything looks fishy.

Antispam

A Total Security feature, Antispam is designed to help users eliminate spam from their emails. If you primarily use a web-based email service, such as Google, you’re not likely going to need the Antispam tool. However, if you use Outlook, Antispam may be a great tool to use.

After adding email addresses or domain names to a spammers list, you can save the list to an antispam module. From there, you can load up the module in Exchange. This is a quick and easy way to manage spammers for Exchange, particularly given Outlook’s less-than-user-friendly interface and settings.

Webcam Protection

Do you currently have tape over your computer webcam? This simple trick is one most security professionals recommend. Even Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg takes this simple security measure. Why? Because webcam hacking is a real thing, and something many people don’t realize is an actual security risk.

We’ve provided some recommendations on how to secure your webcam, but additional measures may be needed. That can include Total Security’s Webcam Protection tool.

This tool allows you to add only specific programs to the webcam’s permission list. Doing so significantly reduces the risk of unknown programs or malware from accessing your webcam without your knowledge or permission.

For example, if you only want Skype to access your webcam, you can make it so only Skype has permission. Any other program that tries to load up your webcam will fail.

On this end, Bitdefender’s thoughtful approach is a good tool to have in your security repertoire.

Safe Files

Protecting your private files and folders is a necessity, especially given how ransomware works. Total Security includes a Safe Files tool that lets you cordon off some of your files and folders, protecting them from ransomware attacks.

Some files are protected by default through this feature, but you can add additional files and folders as well.

Once protected, only specific apps can access the folders in question. What this tool does not do is password protect your folders. Instead, it limits the access rights from other programs, a simple yet effective way to prevent unknown programs from gaining access and encrypting those files.

File Shredder

If you plan to get rid of your computer in the future, either by gifting it to someone or selling it, you’ll need a file shredder. Total Security comes with a file shredder installed that does exactly what it sounds like: shreds your files for good.

Simply deleting files and emptying your system trash can does not actually delete files. A compressed version of those files still exists and can be recovered. File shredder completely scrambles that data so it can never be recovered.

Bitdefender VPN

Perhaps one of the more disappointing features included with Bitdefender Total Security is the VPN service. This is one option that we do not recommend for a few reasons.

First, despite Total Security being the premier product for consumers that Bitdefender sells, it does not include a full VPN. Instead, you need to purchase the VPN separate for a separate subscription fee.

Next is the problem with how little you can get out of the free VPN. Bitdefender offers a few megabytes of data transfer per day, but it’s not nearly enough to actually be useful. Even running a speed test or two will max out your data limit with the free VPN.

Additionally, the free VPN limits where you can connect. Most paid VPN and even free VPN services allow you to connect to at least a handful of servers in various international locations. Bitdefender’s included VPN pigeonholes you into a single VPN server of their choice. If you want more options, you’ll need to buy the full service.

Finally, there’s the problem with who Bitdefender is getting their VPN service from.

In its FAQs section, Bitdefender explains that it uses a third-party service to purchase VPN space, that service being Hotspot Shield. In our review of Hotspot Shield, we scored the VPN service rather poorly for several reasons. While it does unblock some streaming services, like Netflix, and includes a kill switch, it does not effectively protect user privacy. There are also a limited number of servers available through the service, alongside the fact that it may redirect user connections to third-party advertisers.

Should you need a VPN service, the one Bitdefender provides is going to be a no-go. The AV tool already has a large handful of quality security features. This, unfortunately, is not one of them.

Password Manager (Bitdefender Wallet)

To their credit, Bitdefender tried to solve one of the more nagging issues for those who spend a lot of time online. The more websites you sign up to, the more passwords you need to remember. Total Security includes a password manager, known as Bitdefender Wallet, that lets you save passwords and access those passwords across any device where Bitdefender Wallet is installed.

Is this program really necessary for most people? Not really. If you’re an Apple user, Keychain already covers your devices. And if you use most any web browser, such as Firefox or Chrome, you already have access to those built-in password managers.

Where you may find some value in Bitdefender Wallet is in a few features that don’t exist with most built-in password managers. You can access Bitdefender Wallet and its saved passwords across devices with different operating systems and browsers, so you aren’t tied to just using Chrome or just Apple products, for example. Wallet also has a unique feature that locks your computer if you’ve been away from it too long, a good measure if you’re in a public place.

Additionally, Password Manager can assess the strength of your passwords for you and lets you change those passwords on the spot if you’re using weak ones. And thankfully, you can download your saved passwords from other password managers, such as Chrome or Firefox, making it play nice with your other password management tools.

Wallet also lets you store program license keys, an unusual and attractive feature for those who purchase a lot of valuable applications.

See also:Best Password Managers &#; Free & Paid

Parental Advisor

The tool that caused a software conflict with my initial program installation, Parental Advisor is designed to help monitor your devices and make them more kid-friendly.

For any device receiving coverage under Parental Advisor, Bitdefender looks for the following:

• Sites your child is visiting
• Site access patterns (“interests”)
• Time spent online
• Behavior on social media

To use this tool, you first create a child profile in your Bitdefender Central account settings:

From there, you choose which device you want to be monitored, and which profile on that device should be monitored. This option is valuable, given you may have multiple user profiles on a single computer.

From there, you’ll need to add the device and download the Parental Advisor to the selected device, given Parental Advisor is actually a separate program and not actually part of Total Security’s main software suite.

Once installed and active (which may require a system restart) you’ll be able to see all of your child’s monitored activity through Bitdefender Central. From there, you can turn monitoring on or off, gain insight on how much time is spent on specific applications, limit access to specific websites, monitor your child’s location (for Android devices only), or set usage times that automatically block device usage at certain times.

The parental advisor is indeed a powerful tool for those with children, and it does work well.

However, it may create a conflict with your existing parental software, so that is something to consider before installing Total Security, as the program does not give you the option to run other parental software concurrently, even if you don’t plan to use Bitdefender’s parental monitoring tool.

Other Total Security tools and features

While we did not test all of Total Security’s privacy and security tools, those we did test were fairly functional. With the exception of Bitdefender’s VPN, which we don’t recommend, the Total Security brings to the table an impressive suite of features that cover most of your privacy and security needs to a great degree.

Effectiveness as a security solution

Total Security is Bitdefender’s top antivirus tool for consumers. As its highest-priced and most fully-featured option, it may be a bit more loaded than what your average user is going to need. However, as a security tool, it’s hard not to recommend Total Security.

The big question here is: why choose Total Security over a cheaper option, such as Antivirus Plus? There are three key reasons:

• More protected devices per account
• Access to the Parental Advisor
• Access to the added Firewall

It’s unfortunate for consumers that Bitdefender doesn’t include the Parental Advisor and Fire Wall standard on its other options, but it is what it is. Total Security  more than makes up for the cost if you’re looking to cover an entire household of devices and computers. And if you really do need access to quality parental monitoring software for your mobile phones and computers, their Parental Advisor tool is top notch, even if it creates software conflicts with other tools.

Those aspects aside, the power behind Total Security’s real-time monitor is a selling point for the tool all by itself. If that’s all you need, Antivirus Plus is probably a better option. But if you are in the market for an all-inclusive software package that covers every conceivable security and privacy need, Total Security will work well for you.

Bitdefender review verdict

Bitdefender is often lauded by independent testing labs for its security tools. After putting Total Security to the test, with an emphasis on its virus scanning and removal tools, it’s safe to say that Total Security is one of the best programs available on the market for consumers. The price for this one might be a tough bullet to bite for some users.

If you’re in the market for something to protect a larger number of devices and you absolutely need multiple types of security protections, Total Security should be on your shortlist.

Visit Bitdefender

Download Bitdefender Internet Security (bit) Latest Version

Bitdefender is one of my favorite antiviruses in It has all of the cybersecurity protections most users need to stay % safe, it’s super easy to use across all devices and operating systems, and it’s cheaper than most competing brands.

During all of my tests, Bitdefender had perfect results against all types of malware samples, and thanks to its cloud-based virus engine, it didn’t slow down my computer even during full system scans. It also has some of the best web protections on the market, detecting more fake and risky sites than both built-in protections from Chrome, Firefox, or Edge, and anti-phishing protections from other antiviruses.

In addition to high-end malware and web protections, Bitdefender also has more security features than almost all other brands, and all of its extras work as promised and are very simple to find and use. Bitdefender has:

• Advanced ransomware protection.
• System optimization.
• Secure web browser for safe online payments.
• Password manager.
• VPN (virtual private network).
• Parental controls.
• Webcam and microphone protection.
• Anti-theft protection for Windows and Android.
• And a lot more…

Most of Bitdefender’s features work great — the system optimization tools cleared up a lot of space on my PC and improved my device’s performance, the VPN is comparable in speed and performance to standalone VPNs, and the parental controls are highly customizable and even include location tracking and geofencing. I also think it’s amazing that Bitdefender’s anti-theft protection works on Windows devices – most competitors like McAfee and Avira offer anti-theft on mobile devices only.

But as much as I like Bitdefender, I can’t say it’s without flaws. Its password manager may be too basic for some users — it doesn’t have a desktop app, and it’s lacking features like emergency access and password sharing. The mobile security app for iOS is also very limited, providing only web protection, simple email breach monitoring, and a limited VPN. And the VPN that comes bundled with most of Bitdefender’s plans only lets you use MB data per day, which is barely enough for web browsing. That said, the VPN with unlimited data is available on Bitdefender’s top-tier Premium Security plan (or you can get it as an add-on to any of the other plans).

And even if you upgrade to the most expensive plan with the unlimited VPN (and coverage for up to 10 devices), Bitdefender still offers an excellent value (and it’s still cheaper than most brands with fewer features).

Overall, Bitdefender is one of the best internet security products around. It’s got unbeatable malware protection, provides lots of really good features, it’s easy to use, and it offers affordable plans for all budgets. And all of Bitdefender’s packages come with a risk-free day money-back guarantee, so there’s no risk in trying it out.

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Bitdefender Full Review

Bitdefender provides cutting-edge internet security for a great value.

Its cloud-based scanner uses machine learning along with traditional signature-based scanning to provide % malware detection.

It also provides excellent web protections, a fast VPN, comprehensive system tune-up, a secure browser, and some of the best parental controls on the market today (along with several more useful additional protections).

Alongside free versions for Windows and Mac, Bitdefender offers several premium plans — Antivirus Plus is a good entry-level antivirus for users looking to protect 1 Windows PC, Internet Security adds coverage for up to 3 Windows PCs and is a great mid-range option for families, Total Security is an excellent value for users looking to protect up to 5 Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices, and Premium Security is the best-value package for those who want all of Bitdefender’s features plus the VPN with no limitations.

There’s a day money-back guarantee on all of Bitdefender’s plans.

Bitdefender Security Features

Virus/Vulnerability Scan

Bitdefender’s antivirus scanner is both thorough and lightweight. It uses a huge malware directory and machine learning to detect both known and emerging malware. And because most of the malware scanning takes place in the cloud, Bitdefender’s antivirus engine takes up a fraction of CPU and disk space during scans.

Bitdefender offers 4 types of scans:

• Quick Scan. A lightweight scan of core system files and temporary files where viruses are often stored.
• System Scan. An in-depth analysis and scan of the entire system for malware and vulnerabilities.
• Custom Scan. Scanning in any system location where there might be potential threats.
• Vulnerability Scan. Scanning for privacy risks in application settings as well as critical software updates.

I tested Bitdefender’s virus scanner by hiding nearly 1, malware samples throughout my virtual Windows computer, including viruses, worms, trojans, adware, spyware, rootkits, ransomware, cryptojackers, and keyloggers — once my system was fully infected with malware, I performed a full system scan.

Bitdefender’s full system scan took just under 1 hour to complete — this is comparable to top competitors such as Norton and Avira whose scans take around 45 minutes to complete.

However, unlike most competitors, Bitdefender has a minimal impact on system performance. I didn’t notice any slowdown on my system throughout the entire scanning process — even other premium competitors like TotalAV cause some slowdown during full system scans.

Bitdefender also lets users schedule scans — you can choose between several scheduling options, including at system startup, daily, weekly, and monthly. However, users can only schedule custom scans — Norton, Avira, and TotalAV all provide easy, one-click scan scheduling for all types of scans.

Overall, Bitdefender’s malware scanner is one of the best on the market — it’s fast, it doesn’t cause slowdowns, and it has perfect malware detection rates. If you’re looking for a lightweight, powerful antivirus scanner, Bitdefender is an excellent choice.

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Real-Time Protection

Bitdefender’s real-time protection (Bitdefender Shield) actively scans every file and email attachment the moment you access them. Bitdefender Shield’s default settings include the following scans:

• Potentially unwanted applications. Software that hides inside other applications (usually bundled freeware).
• Network shares. Issues in remote networks on your device.
• Boot sectors. Issues that may change the boot sequence.
• Only new and modified files. Threats that may hide in new and changed files.
• Keyloggers. Malware that captures keystrokes.

While Bitdefender Shield’s default protections are good enough for most users, advanced users can customize real-time settings to also include applications, scripts, and archives. Advanced users can also choose to exclude any of the options mentioned above.

For my testing, I downloaded around infected .exe samples, .txt files, and .rar files (compressed folders), and I also ran network-based attacks from my Android and another PC.

Bitdefender’s real-time protection blocked every single malware file before I could download it. But Bitdefender Shield didn’t merely interrupt my downloads — it wouldn’t even allow me to start them, greying out the “Save File” button.

Overall, I’m really impressed by Bitdefender’s real-time protection. Some competitors provide similar real-time malware detection rates, but Bitdefender provides the best customization options on the market for its real-time scanner.

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Anti-Phishing/Web Protection

Whenever you visit a website, Bitdefender’s anti-phishing protection compares it against a regularly updated database of millions of dangerous, blacklisted sites. If there’s a match, Bitdefender blocks access to the site.

I tested Bitdefender’s anti-phishing protection with a huge directory of phishing sites — Bitdefender blocked all of the fake websites I tried to access. Chrome, Firefox, and even third-party anti-phishing tools from competitors like Panda and Kaspersky failed to detect as many suspicious sites as Bitdefender.

What’s more, Bitdefender features a convenient notification screen, so you can see what websites it has blocked and why. This makes it easy to permanently add a false positive to Bitdefender’s exception list. Whitelisting sites can be done in one click, whereas other antiviruses such as Norton require you to dig through settings and advanced protocols to whitelist safe sites. However, keep in mind that you should only whitelist sites if you are absolutely certain that they’re legitimate and don’t contain malware.

Bitdefender’s web protection also prevents you from accessing a webpage that contains downloadable malware — it also checks search results for dangerous sites, scans encrypted websites, and checks sites for fraudulent content.

Overall, Bitdefender provides exceptional anti-phishing protection as well as protection against a wide range of other web-based threats. In addition to blocking more phishing sites than most competitors, Bitdefender also makes it easy to whitelist websites and adjust web protection settings.

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System Optimization

Bitdefender’s OneClick Optimizer is a basic but useful tool for freeing up disk space on your computer. It scans your system and removes unnecessary files from your device — but it’s pretty minimal when compared to competitors like Avira (which offers a startup optimizer, game booster, driver updater, and battery usage manager).

Bitdefender basically removes a variety of junk files, including:

• Temporary system files.
• Windows junk files.
• Recycle bin files.
• Broken registry items.
• Browser history.

I ran the scan with no other applications running in the background, and it only took around 2 minutes to complete.

Bitdefender managed to free up a total of GB from my PC, which is really good. Some competitors that have a better assortment of system tune-up tools weren’t as effective at making room on my disk! However, I would recommend that most users double-check the scanned “junk” files by clicking View details before proceeding to delete them.

However, Bitdefender’s tuneup tool has some annoying limitations — for example:

Before clicking “Optimize,” Bitdefender recommended that I review the issues it had flagged. But Bitdefender didn’t let me view the details about those issues. For example, it flagged one broken software location in my registry options, yet it wouldn’t let me see the file name or date. This was frustrating because I wanted to know what I was deleting, not just the location of the file in question.

I’d also like to see more features included in Bitdefeder’s system tuneup tool. For example, TotalAV’s built-in optimization includes a startup manager, an application uninstaller, and a duplicate file finder.

That said, after running Bitdefender’s one-click optimization, I noticed a speed increase on my PC. This simple one-click method for freeing up space does have some limitations, and it’s missing some features that competitors provide. But overall, it’s very convenient and does a good job.

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Secure Web Browser (SafePay)

Bitdefender’s secure web browser, SafePay, is a great way to keep hackers from stealing your personal information when making online transactions.

Here are the main benefits of using SafePay:

• Prevents hackers from remotely accessing your desktop.
• Stops you from taking snapshots of your screen.
• Utilizes Bitdefender’s password manager to protect your passwords.
• Emulates a virtual keyboard to prevent keystroke tracking.
• Turns on built-in VPN protection ( MB daily limit).

I wanted to show off SafePay’s protections, but I couldn’t capture any screenshots due to its built-in screenshot-blocker, which is great — if you can’t screen-capture your browser, then neither can intrusive hackers!

I tested SafePay with my PayPal account. Apart from being unable to use any of my screen capture tools, I was even unable to copy-paste my password or 2FA codes while using SafePay! The virtual keyboard popped up the moment I was asked to enter my login details, keeping keyloggers from recording my password or personal info.

However, pages loaded pretty slowly, and I couldn’t stream HD video with SafePay — it’s definitely not designed to replace your web browser. But for anyone that does business online, SafePay is a really good privacy enhancement tool.

If you’re looking to protect your information as much as possible during online transactions, SafePay is a really good addition to Bitdefender’s already impressive web protection toolkit.

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Password Manager

Bitdefender’s password manager is simple and secure — but it’s not as good as dedicated password managers like Dashlane or 1Password. Bitdefender doesn’t provide features like two-factor authentication (2FA) or password sharing. However, it does provide the essential functions of a password manager, such as:

• High-level encryption.
• Multi-device sync.
• Password generator.
• Unlimited password storage.
• Payment information storage.
• Auto-save and auto-fill.
• Password vault auditing.

Bitdefender’s password manager comes free with Bitdefender Premium Security, but lower-tier Bitdefender plans come with a day free trial of the password manager, after which you’ll have to pay an additional yearly fee.

To access the password manager, you need to install Bitdefender’s password manager extension (available for Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari, and Brave). There’s also an Android and iOS app, but there isn’t a desktop version.

Bitdefender still offers the My Wallets features for Windows desktop users, which is a basic password vault with auto-fill capabilities and a password generator. But the My Wallets feature doesn’t offer the range of features or cross-platform compatibility included with Bitdefender’s password manager.

Bitdefender’s password manager lets you store passwords, identities (personal information, addresses, and phone numbers), credit cards and bank accounts, email credentials, license keys and logins for software, and Wi-Fi passwords.

The auto-fill and auto-save functions worked well during my tests. By default, Bitdefender auto-filled my details without requiring any clicks, but also I had the option to disable this and manually click to auto-fill my details. The auto-save feature offered to save my login credentials whenever I logged into new sites.

Bitdefender also has a pretty good password generator that enables users to generate passwords up to 32 characters long. This is good, but top password managers like LastPass can generate passwords that are up to 99 characters long.

But what I liked most was Bitdefender’s password vault auditing tool (named Security report), which gives users an easy-to-understand overview of their password security. It checks for weak, old, reused, and leaked passwords. While I would like to see Bitdefender include active dark web monitoring to continuously scan for leaked login credentials, like Dashlane does, I still like the simplicity of Bitdefender’s Security report feature.

Overall, Bitdefender’s password manager is intuitive and easy to set up, but it’s not quite as good as standalone password managers like 1Password, Dashlane, LastPass, or Keeper, all of which offer a wide range of additional tools, like password sharing, password auditing, dark web monitoring, 2FA, biometric logins, and much more for a similar price. That said, if you get Bitdefender’s password manager as part of the Premium Security plan, it is a decent easy-to-use option for users that don’t really need an advanced password manager app.

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Bitdefender VPN

Bitdefender’s VPN is powered by Hotspot Shield, one of the more popular VPN providers on the market. However, Bitdefender’s VPN has a much smaller server network and it doesn’t provide the same level of functionality as Hotspot Shield. That said, Bitdefender’s VPN covers all of the basics — it uses unbreakable bit AES encryption, has a no-logs policy, and comes with a kill switch.

Most of Bitdefender’s plans come with a free version of this VPN, but it’s not very good. Bitdefender’s free VPN picks a random server based on your location, and it only includes MB of browsing per day — barely enough to watch a single YouTube video.

However, users that upgrade to Bitdefender’s Premium Security plan or opt for a separate VPN subscription get unlimited browsing data as well as access to 30 servers around the world. And Bitdefender’s premium VPN has some of the best speeds of any antivirus’s VPN on the market — it’s even faster than some standalone competitors.

Here’s a comparison of my internet connection before and after activating Bitdefender’s VPN on a local US server:

As you can see, there wasn’t a noticeable difference in internet speed. This is especially good when compared to VPNs from companies like Panda, which can cut your download speed in half and send your PING skyrocketing!

Unfortunately, Bitdefender’s VPN isn’t a good choice for users interested in streaming.During my tests, all popular streaming services like Netflix noticed that I was using a VPN and wouldn’t let me access their content libraries. If you’re looking for a good streaming VPN, I recommend ExpressVPN.

On the other hand, Bitdefender is really good for torrenting — you can even set the VPN to auto-connect whenever you start a peer-to-peer sharing app. This is in complete contrast with McAfee, which doesn’t even let you turn on its VPN if you have a torrenting client installed on your PC.

Overall, I like Bitdefender’s premium VPN. While it doesn’t have a lot of the features that standalone VPNs provide, Bitdefender still provides surprisingly fast connection speeds and good encrypted browsing for users that want to increase their internet security.

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Parental Control

Bitdefender’s parental control app is available as a separate download for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.

I tested the parental control app on my PC and Android. To set up Bitdefender’s parental control app, I navigated to the Privacy tab in the desktop app, and then I clicked on Configure under Parental Advisor. This took me to Bitdefender’s online portal, Bitdefender Central, where I first had to add a child. Next, I had to install the Bitdefender parental control app on the device my child would be using — I had to give the app all sorts of permissions on the mobile device, but this didn’t take me longer than a couple of minutes.

Next, I had to customize the parental app’s settings. In Bitdefender Central, I could:

• Set daily device limits (not available on iOS).
• Set device usage schedules.
• Manage (allow and block) apps.
• Whitelist and blacklist specific sites or categories of sites (not available for iOS).
• View location and set safe and restricted areas (available only on Android and iOS).
• View the latest phone contacts added to the contact list (available only on Android and iOS devices).

After configuring all of the settings, I tested the app with a friend. My friend tried visiting dozens of websites that belonged to the blacklisted categories, and Bitdefender’s parental control app blocked her from accessing each of those websites. The only thing I dislike about Bitdefender’s website filtering is that there’s no way for your child to ask for access to a specific website via the app.

All of the other features inside Bitdefender’s parental app worked perfectly — I could see how much time my friend was spending on her mobile phone, view which apps she accessed, and accurately track her location. I was impressed that I could ask my friend to send me a notification when she arrived safely at a specified location — this isn’t something that most competing antiviruses with parental controls offer!

I also really like that Bitdefender allows geo-fencing, so you can get alerts if your child leaves a predetermined safe area.

Overall, Bitdefender’s parental controls provide some of the best protections of any parental control app out there — parents who want to make sure that their kids are as safe as possible, both online and in the real world, will find a lot of value in Bitdefender’s parental control app.

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Webcam Security & Microphone Protection

Bitdefender’s webcam and microphone security protections stop hackers from covertly watching you through your device’s webcam and listening into your private conversations.

In my tests, Bitdefender monitored all of the apps that attempted to access my laptop’s webcam and microphone and notified me of any suspicious or unauthorized access attempts. A notification was displayed on my screen every time an access attempt was made, enabling me to either allow or deny access.

I like how I could customize access to my webcam and mic by enabling access for apps I consider safe, like Zoom and Slack. But I could also completely block any access attempts made by my web browser, and I was also able to block access to my webcam and mic entirely, so no apps could access these features.

My only issue is that the webcam and microphone protections are only available for Windows devices, so I couldn’t use them on my Mac.

Overall, I really like Bitdefender’s webcam and microphone protections. They’re very easy to set up, there are useful customization options, and the popup notifications make it easy to see which apps are making access attempts.

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Ransomware Remediation

Bitdefender’s Ransomware Remediation is designed to automatically protect your files when it detects ransomware running on your system. This feature is supposed to prevent any file encryption attempts and enable you to restore files encrypted by ransomware attacks.

I ran some isolated ransomware simulations, and while the Ransomware Remediation was effective in most cases, it didn’t seem to correctly restore a handful of files in other instances.

When clicking on the Restored Files button, I could see a list of all files that had supposedly been recovered, including video clips, photos, and other files, and I was able to access almost all restored files with all of the original information intact. However, a couple of files weren’t restored correctly, which was a little concerning.

Despite a few missed files, I think this feature is very useful. While I would like to see Ransomware Remediation correctly restore all files, almost all of my files were restored correctly, which is impressive, especially considering this feature is not something that many other antiviruses offer.

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Profiles

Bitdefender’s Profiles feature (Windows only) allows users to customize their experience with the software and optimize their PC’s performance depending on why they’re using their PC.

For instance, if you’re working, you can switch on Work Profile to reduce system slowdowns and enhance email protections. Or if you’re gaming, you can choose Game Mode, which improves system performance and reduces notifications while you’re gaming. You can also adjust the settings within each profile to suit your preferences.

Here’s the full list of profiles to choose from:

• Work Profile — Enhances email protections and reduces system slowdowns.
• Movie Profile — Stops pop-up notifications and minimizes background processes.
• Game Profile — Optimizes system performance while you’re gaming.
• Public Wi-Fi Profile — Activiates protections to keep you safe on public Wi-Fi hotspots.
• Battery Mode Profile — Changes software settings to improve laptop battery life.

You can set up Bitdefender so it changes your profile depending on the apps you’re using, but you can also switch between profiles manually.

I really like the Profiles feature — it’s easy to use and significantly improved my performance while using CPU-intensive programs like Adobe Illustrator for work. I also tested this feature while I watched Netflix on my laptop, and I didn’t experience any interruptions or system slowdowns.

While some antiviruses offer similar tools, like Norton’s gaming mode (which also improves system performance while gaming), I’m a huge fan of the range of profile options offered by Bitdefender and how easy it is to adjust each profile.

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Identity Theft Protection

I think Bitdefender has one of the most useful identity theft protection packages on the market in , but they’re only available as standalone purchases. Bitdefender offers a multi-layered approach to digital identity protection, monitoring data breaches and dark web forums, scanning social media for impersonator accounts, and even providing live credit reporting monitoring for US users.

I was really impressed that Bitdefender can track up to pieces of personally identifying information (PII), including addresses, social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, email addresses, phone numbers, and more.

The main Digital Identity Monitor page on Bitdefender’s online dashboard lists these tabs:

• Digital footprint.
• Data breaches.
• Impersonation check.
• Data brokers.
• Education.
• Event history.

I especially like that Bitdefender offers an option to remove your data from data broker lists (data brokers collect personal information on you and sell your file to advertisers and marketing teams) — Norton also offers this option with its identity theft protections. Bitdefender can remove your information from top data brokers like BeenVerified, White Pages, PrivateEye, and Spokeo.

For US users, Bitdefender has also added a live credit report monitoring system with two tiers of protection. Like TotalAV and Norton, Bitdefender monitors the major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax) for any financial activity involving your information. This can include loan applications, mortgages, rental agreements, and more.

Bitdefender’s identity theft protections are available as a standalone purchase.

Bitdefender’s Identity Theft Protection Standard monitors 1 of the 3 credit bureaus and provides live alerts and assistance in the event of identity theft. But upgrading to the Identity Theft Protection Premium plan provides a $2M insurance policy, tracks USPS change of address filings, court proceedings, tracking across all 3 credit bureaus, and up to $50K in ransomware and malware insurance.

Overall, Bitdefender’s identity theft protections are among the best on the market. They track as many as pieces of PII, provide live monitoring and assistance, and add a comprehensive credit monitoring service for US users.

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Anti-Theft Protection

Bitdefender’s anti-theft feature performed really well during my testing — I’d say it’s actually one of the best anti-theft features on the market.

However, it’s currently only available for Windows and Android devices, and I’d like to see Bitdefender offer support for Mac and iOS too.Lookout offers good anti-theft features for iOS, but Apple’s built-in anti-theft features are currently the best option for MacBook users.

Bitdefender’s anti-theft dashboard is accessible via the Utilities tab on the Bitdefender desktop interface, which will then take you to Bitdefender Central. From there, you can choose to locate your device, make your device sound an alert, lock your device, or wipe all of the data on your device to stop it from being stolen.

I tested it on my Android smartphone, and it was surprisingly easy to set up. All I had to do was download the Bitdefender app, sign into my account, and activate the anti-theft features by pressing TURN ON when prompted.

I first tested the location tracking feature. It was able to locate my device with pinpoint accuracy via the anti-theft dashboard — a dot appeared on the map showing that my phone was located at my exact location on my street. I was able to do the same via the Android app, as well as adjust all other anti-theft settings.

I also tested the alert feature, which sounded an incredibly loud and distressing scream noise, and the remote lock function, which locked my device and required me to input the lock code created during setup to access my device. However, while the lock code was useful on my HP laptop (which doesn’t have a passcode), when I tested the lock feature on my Android, it only required me to input my device’s PIN code.

Overall, I’m very impressed by Bitdefender’s anti-theft tools. They’re very easy to set up, they can accurately detect lost devices, and the added extras such as remote device locking and data wiping help to improve user security. I would like to see Bitdefender extend its anti-theft features beyond Windows and Android devices (support for Mac and iOS would be great), but I think most users would find the anti-theft features incredibly useful.

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Additional Features

Bitdefender is one of the most feature-rich internet security suites on the market in , and the features I previously described are just a small part of its entire offering.

Bitdefender also has:

• Firewall — Adjusts network settings based on whether you’re connecting to a dynamic network, a home/office network, or a public network. There’s also a “Stealth mode” that makes your device invisible.
• Wi-Fi protection — Analyzes Wi-Fi networks and routers for potential threats.
• Anti-tracking protection — Prevents web trackers from collecting your data for advertising and other purposes.
• File shredder — Permanently deletes files or folders.

The anti-tracking protection is a nice addition, as it enhances your online privacy. But I think the most useful extra feature is the file shredder. I have thousands of files on my system that I no longer need, but some of them contain sensitive information. Using Bitdefender’s file shredder, I’m able to permanently delete them, making it impossible for hackers to recover them using file recovery software (deleting them normally would make sensitive files easy to recover with the right technology).

Overall, Bitdefender has a truly impressive range of features — if you’re looking for an antivirus that has almost all of the internet security tools you can think of, Bitdefender won’t disappoint you!

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Bitdefender Plans and Pricing

Bitdefender offers several payment plans that cover 1– devices, but only Total Security and Premium Security work across all operating systems (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS). However, Bitdefender’s business package, GravityZone Premium, also supports Linux systems.

Most of the plans include a limited VPN (Premium Security is the only plan that comes with the unlimited VPN), but Bitdefender’s premium VPN is also available at checkout, and it costs less than most competing standalone VPNs.

Bitdefender offers both a free Windows plan and a free Mac plan, though both are very limited compared to the premium versions. That said, all of Bitdefender’s plans are affordable and include a risk-free money-back guarantee for 30 days.

Here’s a quick overview of all of Bitdefender’s plans:

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Bitdefender Free Antivirus for Windows — Basic Free Plan for Windows

Bitdefender offers a free Windows-only antivirus plan, but it’s very limited compared to the premium version. It still includes Bitdefender’s advanced anti-malware engine and online threat protection, but not much else.

The anti-malware engine and online protections run exactly the same as the premium versions of Bitdefender, but it doesn’t include Rescue Environment, which enables you to remove advanced malware, like rootkits.

To access all extra security features, such as network threat prevention, Ransomware Remediation (restore files corrupted by ransomware), Safepay, and the VPN, you’ll need to upgrade to one of Bitdefender’s premium plans.

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Bitdefender Virus Scanner for Mac — Basic Free Plan for Mac

Bitdefender offers a free version of its software for macOS, but it’s very basic — it’s only an on-demand virus scanner that lets you scan your Mac for viruses and malware.

Bitdefender’s free Mac version uses the same advanced anti-malware engine as the premium version — which earned Bitdefender a spot on our best free Mac antiviruses of But it doesn’t have real-time protection, meaning it’s only good for removing existing malware, and not for protecting against future infections.

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Bitdefender Antivirus Plus — Basic Paid Plan (Windows Only)

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus includes real-time malware defense and web protection, as well as:

• Multi-layer ransomware protection.
• Secure browser for online finances.
• Password manager.
• Wi-Fi protection.
• VPN ( MB daily data).
• Anti-tracking protection.
• User profiles (including gaming mode).
• File shredder.