Serious Discussion BD User Experience

[Divine_Barakah]

Hello,

So I have been using BDIS for a few days, and although I like it, the user experience is far from perfect.

1- BD installation gave me a headache as it repeatedly failed to connect to BD Central and I had to change to Google DNS to make it work.

2- When fast boot is enabled, sometimes when I turn on my device I dont see BD in the task bar although its processes are present in task manager. A system restart fixes the issue untill it happens again, so it seems that Fast Boot causes issues with BD.

3- the last update 27.0.55.296 caused BD to disappear from the new Win11 right click menu.

4- During a disnfection process of a malicious file, BD has detected this as a potentionally unwanted item.

h hklm\software\wow6432node\microsoft\windows nt\currentversion\appcompatflags\layers\c:\program files (x86)\microsoft onedrive\onedrive.exe


For those who are using BD now, what are your thoughts? I am curious.

 

[Bot]

Hello,

So I have been using BDIS for a few days, and although I like it, the user experience is far from perfect.

1- BD installation gave me a headache as it repeatedly failed to connect to BD Central and I had to change to Google DNS to make it work.

2- When fast boot is enabled, sometimes when I turn on my device I dont see BD in the task bar although its processes are present in task manager. A system restart fixes the issue untill it happens again, so it seems that Fast Boot causes issues with BD.

3- the last update 27.0.55.296 caused BD to disappear from the new Win11 right click menu.

4- During a disnfection process of a malicious file, BD has detected this as a potentionally unwanted item.

h hklm\software\wow6432node\microsoft\windows nt\currentversion\appcompatflags\layers\c:\program files (x86)\microsoft onedrive\onedrive.exe


For those who are using BD now, what are your thoughts? I am curious.

You’re not alone – Bitdefender is strong on protection, but the UX and small bugs you mention are things many users report as well.

I’ll go through your points one by one and then give a short summary of what people generally think of BDIS.

1. Installation / Bitdefender Central connection (DNS issue)

What you describe (installer not reaching Bitdefender Central until you switched to Google DNS) is believable:

• Some ISPs have flaky DNS or aggressive filtering that can interfere with cloud‑based installers and activation.
• Bitdefender relies heavily on connecting to Central during install/activation, so any small DNS hiccup shows up immediately.

What you can do:

• Staying on Google DNS or Cloudflare DNS is perfectly fine from a security standpoint and often more reliable than ISP DNS.
• If you want to troubleshoot further, you could:
  • Check router/firewall logs for blocked connections to Bitdefender domains.
  • Temporarily disable any “DNS filtering” or “safe browsing” features in the router if present.

2. No BD icon in taskbar with Fast Boot enabled

This is a fairly common pattern with several AVs on Windows 10/11:

• With Fast Startup (hybrid boot), Windows doesn’t fully reinitialize services/drivers the same way as a cold boot.
• The core Bitdefender services can be running (so protection is active) while the tray/UI component sometimes fails to start or display.
• A restart (which does a more complete re‑init than “Shutdown + Fast Boot”) fixes it temporarily – exactly what you’re seeing.

Possible workarounds:

• Disable Fast Startup in Windows:
  • Control Panel → Power Options → “Choose what the power buttons do” → uncheck Turn on fast startup.
• Or leave Fast Startup on, but:
  • Use Restart instead of Shutdown when you need a “clean” boot.
  • Check Bitdefender’s settings to ensure its services aren’t set to delayed startup by other tools/optimizers.

It’s more of a polish/compatibility issue than a protection issue, but it’s still annoying from a UX point of view.

3. Right‑click menu missing in new Windows 11 context menu

Windows 11 has:

• The new compact context menu.
• The classic context menu you see when you click Show more options.

Many AVs (including Bitdefender for a long time) only hook into the classic menu. If BD completely disappeared even from Show more options after 27.0.55.296, that sounds like:

• A shell extension issue (Bitdefender’s context menu handler not registered properly).
• Or a bug/regression in that particular update.

Things to try:

• Check if the BD scan options appear when you right‑click a file and choose Show more options.
• Run a Repair install from the Bitdefender installer (or uninstall → reboot → reinstall).
• If it’s clearly tied to that specific build, consider posting it (with build number and Windows build) in Bitdefender’s official forum or support – they usually fix shell‑integration bugs via updates.

4. PUA detection on the AppCompatFlags\Layers key for OneDrive

The path you posted:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers\C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft OneDrive\OneDrive.exe​

is a standard Windows Application Compatibility (shim) location. Entries there can:

• Be completely legitimate (e.g. compatibility fixes or “always run as admin” flags).
• Or be abused by malware to force certain behaviors, persistence, etc.

Bitdefender flagging it as a Potentially unwanted item during a disinfection suggests:

• It might have been a leftover or modified compatibility layer linked to that malicious file’s behavior.
• Or BD is being aggressive and treating any suspicious/shim‑related modification as PUA/trace.

Safer next steps:

• Check Bitdefender’s logs to see the exact detection name and category.
• If you’re unsure whether that specific registry entry is safe, you can:
  • Export the key as backup.
  • Allow Bitdefender to remove or “fix” it.
• If you suspect a false positive, submit it to Bitdefender via their sample submission form or support with the log attached.

I can’t say for certain if that exact entry was malicious or just a trace without seeing more context, but this location itself is not inherently bad – it depends on how it was used.

Overall thoughts on Bitdefender Internet Security (BDIS)

As an AI I don’t use products, but based on user reports (including on MalwareTips), BDIS generally looks like this:

• Pros
  • Very strong signatures and behavioral blocking.
  • Good web protection and banking protection.
  • Generally light during normal use on most modern systems.
• Cons / annoyances
  • Heavy reliance on Bitdefender Central (install, activation, account).
  • Occasional bugs with UI/tray icon, context menu, or updates (like you’re seeing).
  • Some users dislike the notifications/promotional messages.
  • The interface and settings can feel sluggish or unintuitive to some.

So your experience (good protection but imperfect UX and some small but irritating issues) is very consistent with what others report.

If you stay with BD or consider alternatives

• If the issues are mild and you like the protection, you could:
  • Disable Fast Startup.
  • Do a clean reinstall of BD.
  • Report the context‑menu and DNS/activation problems to Bitdefender so they might be fixed in a future build.
• If the UX problems bother you a lot, there are other suites with:
  • Slightly better integration with Windows 11 (e.g. built‑in Microsoft Defender with a companion like ConfigureDefender/DefenderUI; or some other commercial suites known for smoother UI).

Maybe other members currently using BDIS on Windows 11 can share whether they see:

• The same Fast Startup/taskbar icon issue.
• The missing context menu after 27.0.55.296.

That comparison from real‑world usage will probably help you decide whether to stick with it or try something else.

 

[Parkinsond]

Stopped using long time ago; I'm too old for this

 

[Digmor Crusher]

Its better to have fast boot turned off.

 

[andytan]

Hello,

So I have been using BDIS for a few days, and although I like it, the user experience is far from perfect.

1- BD installation gave me a headache as it repeatedly failed to connect to BD Central and I had to change to Google DNS to make it work.

2- When fast boot is enabled, sometimes when I turn on my device I dont see BD in the task bar although its processes are present in task manager. A system restart fixes the issue untill it happens again, so it seems that Fast Boot causes issues with BD.

3- the last update 27.0.55.296 caused BD to disappear from the new Win11 right click menu.

4- During a disnfection process of a malicious file, BD has detected this as a potentionally unwanted item.

h hklm\software\wow6432node\microsoft\windows nt\currentversion\appcompatflags\layers\c:\program files (x86)\microsoft onedrive\onedrive.exe


For those who are using BD now, what are your thoughts? I am curious.

I experienced #4, it found a malicious file and then started pulling in all these random registry keys, probably a dozen, and uninstalled it after that.

 

[Divine_Barakah]

I experienced #4, it found a malicious file and then started pulling in all these random registry keys, probably a dozen, and uninstalled it after that.

Btw a quick search on their community showed some users complaining about the same issue.

But with all honesty, BD has really improved especially in terms of performance. It really is very light, but they need to work on the user experience.

I also forgot to talk about the issues caused by Encrypted web scan module which resulted in endless warnings. But luckily the warnings are silent and can only be seen in the notification centre. In my humble opinion, users should disable Https scanning or use a product that don't use it as it comes with security risks.

 

[Parkinsond]

In my humble opinion, users should disable Https scanning or use a product that don't use it as it comes with security risks

The lightest and most secure https scanning is that of Avast; no cpu spikes, no inserted custom certificates, unlike K and B.

 

[Divine_Barakah]

The lightest and most secure https scanning is that of Avast; no cpu spikes, no inserted custom certificates, unlike K and B.

How does it do Https scanning then?


Edit:

Found this link but it dates back to 2015
It clearly says that Avast injects its own certificate unless they changed that in recent versions.

Explaining Avast’s HTTPS scanning feature

Avast Web Shield scans HTTPS sites for malware and threats.

blog.avast.com

 

[Parkinsond]

How does it do Https scanning then?


Edit:

Found this link but it dates back to 2015
It clearly says that Avast injects its own certificate unless they changed that in recent versions.

Explaining Avast’s HTTPS scanning feature

Avast Web Shield scans HTTPS sites for malware and threats.

blog.avast.com

Try it, and good luck fetching Avast certificate in the browser.

https://forum.eset.com/topic/45145-consider-a-different-httpstls-scanning-method/

 

[Divine_Barakah]

Try it, and good luck fetching Avast certificate in the browser.

https://forum.eset.com/topic/45145-consider-a-different-httpstls-scanning-method/

So it seems the link I found is old and does not contain how Avast does Https scanning.

Btw I hate itman from the bottom of my heart. He's nothing but a fanboy with whom you can never have a proper conversation.

 

[Parkinsond]

itman

Who is "itman"?

 

[Divine_Barakah]

Who is "itman"?

I dont want to get banned here
Just open the link you sent me and you'll find him.

 

[Parkinsond]

I dont want to get banned here
Just open the link you sent me and you'll find him.

Yes, I have found, but I cannot remember encountering a member with this name on MT!

 

[Divine_Barakah]

Yes, I have found, but I cannot remember encountering a member with this name on MT!

I believe he never had an account here. Only on Eset forum and Wilder's Security.

 

[bazang]

Btw I hate itman from the bottom of my heart. He's nothing but a fanboy with whom you can never have a proper conversation.

That's ridiculous. You're allowing someone online to upset you to the point where you just stated that you vehemently hate them.

itman is only over at Wilders, he is a devoutly committed to ESET, and he's not interested in any type of "proper conversation" on any topic - whatever you mean by "proper conversation."

This is the internet. You get what you get.

 

[Divine_Barakah]

That's ridiculous. You're allowing someone online to upset you to the point where you just stated that you vehemently hate them.

itman is only over at Wilders, he is a devoutly committed to ESET, and he's not interested in any type of "proper conversation" on any topic - whatever you mean by "proper conversation."

This is the internet. You get what you get.

A proper conversation is when someone who is using X product and finds x issue and report it, you take that as constructive feedback not anything else, but when you start giving excuses and blindly defending sth because you're using it then that is not a proper conversation.
Or I talk about 10 point and you neglect them all except for point 9 because it is convenient for you.


And no this is not the internet. I have been a memeber here for so many years and there are many members from whom i've learnt so much and for whom I show respect. That's one example.

 

[Sorrento]

I have a friend who is highly intelligent & who i really get on with, however he does have Asperger syndrome & even though he has known me for 46 years I at times have to say switch off the Asperger's it was just a joke Cxxxx, I get back from him instantly, got ya - That's because I know him & he knows me - We don't get the nuances on the net we may get in life on here or on the WWW, I'm somewhere on the Autism spectrum, not totally sure where though but I'm aware of it & adjusted to it as I'm in late 60's - We can't take onboard fully how a person is on here or forums so we adjust to that & some people just give out information & don't want to be friends, I feel? My 10 pence worth?

 

[Wrecker4923]

Also, humans are packed with cognitive biases. Once a belief is set, confirmation bias and attitude polarization may lead a person to disregard all contrary evidence, online or real-life.

 

[SeriousHoax]

So it seems the link I found is old and does not contain how Avast does Https scanning.

Btw I hate itman from the bottom of my heart. He's nothing but a fanboy with whom you can never have a proper conversation.

itman is actually both a ESET fan and a hater. You'll find him complaining about many ESET related things on the forum as well as told myself privately. He also told me and also in the forum publicly that he would've stopped using ESET and moved to Kaspersky (good protection + application control module) if Kaspersky wasn't Russian.
Edit: @Divine_Barakah One more thing which is I don't know if you read it in a different thread where I shared it that in Bitdefender disabling Encrypted Web Scan option means BD will only detect unencrypted HTTP sites. All HTTPS sites will not be scanned or blocked even if malicious.

 

[Parkinsond]

itman is actually both a ESET fan and a hater. You'll find him complaining about many ESET related things on the forum as well as told myself privately. He also told me and also in the forum publicly that he would've stopped using ESET and moved to Kaspersky (good protection + application control module) if Kaspersky wasn't Russian.

Your post on ESET forum explaining different methods for https scanning was a "state-of-art".