BitDefender Free - General Impression

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Ray Redbad

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Lots of users can't get it to work...
Well, with 20 years in the field, I've noticed lots of users can't get lots of things to work. And Comodo is more than generously represented in that arena. ;)
 
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yigido

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Well, with 20 years in the field, I've noticed lots of users can't get lots of things to work. And Comodo is more than generously represented in that arena. ;)
Good point, thanks god there are some people who think like me :)
 
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hjlbx

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Well, with 20 years in the field, I've noticed lots of users can't get lots of things to work. And Comodo is more than generously represented in that arena. ;)

That's one of the primary reasons BD and Comodo products are not particularly popular here at MT. Typical MT member gravitates towards Emsisoft, ESET and Kaspersky.

Hee, hee... Kasper doesn't perform the greatest on my system.

If you check my posts - even though I might relate my own bad experience with a soft - I routinely encourage users to try out various softs - and choose among those that work reliably on their specific systems and work best for them personally.
 
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Deleted member 2913

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BD free is good product, if it works on your specific system. Lots of users can't get it to work...
Yes, its a good product if its works on your system. Currently I manage 4 relatives Win 7 64 laptop with Bd free installed for past 1 year. No probs & infections yet. So if its works on your system then definitely the best free AV with excellent protection & without bloats in my opinion.
 
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Ray Redbad

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not particularly popular here at MT.
That's a focus too narrow and a notably invalid justification for disparaging a product. One just needs to lurk the developers' own forums to find "lots of users (who) can't get...things to work."

Three years ago, the first thing I installed on a new Windows7x64 i7-3770K system I built was Emsisoft AM, version 7 if I recall correctly. I had been using EAM on several XP and Vista systems over some years.

Every time a signatures update occurred, it locked up - a hard restart was the only out. After several days with their support, which included a re-install of Windows, I got a refund.

Count me as a lots-of-users.

BTW, that system has since been running 12+ hours a day (in sleep when I am) without a hiccup.

For me, end of discussion. Carry on!
 
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hjlbx

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I stand behind my statements as they represent my own experience with the product(s).

Bitdefender is a good product - if one can get it to work on their system.

;)
 
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hjlbx

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One just needs to lurk the developers' own forums to find "lots of users (who) can't get...things to work."

Proof-positive that a product has issues... or no, it means something else ?

I have no hard statistics, but from what I see, BD products have a higher incidence of user disappointment than what is typical.
 
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Rolo

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Jun 14, 2015
857
If AV Companies that offer, both free and paid solutions, which one do you think offers the most protection and latest technologies – the paid one.
I don't agree; I see paid versions offering a bunch of non-security-related fluff. Firewall? Fluff--Windows already has one.
I ran BD free for a bit and it worked fine (though I never tested it against anything).
I ran BDTS2015 (giveaway) and it was a piece of garbage rife with bugs that quite commonly disabled all security (not just BD) and all updating (incl. Windows) 24/7.

"It costs more therefore it must be better" is a foolish premise.

I have listened to a few members on this forum, experts in the industry who are totally aware of the difference between the two.
Who are these experts and what did they find? (Mass media and commercial testors-for-hire aren't 'experts in the industry')

Bitdefender free offers the bare basic’s in-terms-of protection, really, who keeps there computer on 24/7, plus it can take a considerable amount of time to detect malware, crypto ransomware would have a field day.
My wife & I keep our computers on 24/7. I've had at least one computer on since around 1990 (no, not the same computer!). I find it odd that people turn off their computers. (But what do I know; I find it odd people still have televisions and still watch commercials.)

Let's look at the brochures:
A. http://www.bitdefender.com/media/ht...PRINGMIX2015&icid=HPB_NA_SPRINGMIX2015#tbComp
B. http://www.bitdefender.com/solutions/free.html

Free version:
Real-time shield (protects from external files), Active Virus Control (heuristics, sig, cloud scanner), Intrusion Detection System (outbound firewall), B-Have (BB), HTTP Scanning, Anti-rootkit, Early Boot Scanning, Auto-Scan. What. Else. Is. Left?

Usurper version (beyond what's free):
Work/Game/Movie profiles that change a bunch of system settings it has no business touching and breaks Windows Update, any process monitor (ProcessLasso, Prio, etc.), and adds bloat and fundamentally alters my computer in a way that I don't want
Safe Shopping and Banking (password manager/crappy browser)
Privacy and Online Identity Protection (crappy browser)
Kids Protection (more scope creep..are you really going to use BD to 'protect' your children..or your baby goats?)

For $60/yr I get absolutely nothing of value and a broken system. This is why they need PC Mag, AV-* (who get a share of the profit), rudely-motivated Best Buy salesman touting their wares.

One uses Bitdefender for its engine, nothing else.

Heck, I'd probably put it on clients' machines if I had any (just moved, goin' to school, kinda busy) since Avast free blows up in a year without following instructions (and if users followed instructions, they wouldn't get malware) and Qihoo has too many FPs for me to recommend it to 'normals'. heh, and if they managed to get malware, I could always point to PC Mag, etc. and say, "See, they're the best! It's those <insert scapegoat-of-the-day here>!"
 
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Pat MacKnife

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Jul 14, 2015
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Nice review about BitDefender free edition, i use it also on my computer, keep up the good work ;)
 
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Ray Redbad

Thread author
Intrusion Detection System (outbound firewall)
Not quite. While BD implements their "HIPS User-Mode module" library (fwlibrary.dll) from Internet Security as an Intrusion Detection System, the outbound firewall, a construct of fixed allow-or-block rules, on your Windows system is still Windows Firewall. As described on their Web site, the scanning "access (to) the Internet" for "when...apps behave in a suspect manner" provides an enhancement to existing allowed firewall rules.

Otherwise, your assessment of BD Free is spot on, dismissing its current Windows 10 compatibility issue.

Cheers.
 
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Ray Redbad

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I stopped in to see if there were any comments about BD Free and Windows 10. A recent posting in Farcebook on Bitdefender's page indicates it's not compatible.

On my test system, HTTP filtering (malicious & phishing URLs) isn't working and the firewall core library (for the IDS library) doesn't seem to be initializing. On the other hand, it quarantines bad stuff during Web downloads and AVC terminates bad behavior (and allows me to create an exception for my AVC false positive test app, an ancient Win98 drive utility). No crashes or hangs otherwise. And the GUI renders without issue. I didn't dig any deeper than that.

Disclaimer: my test system is a clean install (wiped drive) of Windows 10 Pro (from an ISO) and BD Free. I don't know what happens when a running BD Free installed 7 or 8 system is upgraded to 10.

Of course, BD needs to roll out an upgrade. Or deliver a public "no support" statement for Windows 10 as well as an end-of-life timeline for XP thru 8.1 development and support. Either one, ASAP.

Anyone having emotional or ethical issues with either their Windows 10 free upgrade or Bitdefender Free should demand a refund. :D
 
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Pat MacKnife

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Ray you are right, BD free isn't working properly on Win 10 and detection is very weak.... i have seen a recent posting to about BD free not compatible so i stopped using BD free and made a switch to Panda Free :)

PS: can't adjust my signature in here...
 

Rohugh

Level 2
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Jul 11, 2014
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I stopped in to see if there were any comments about BD Free and Windows 10. A recent posting in Farcebook on Bitdefender's page indicates it's not compatible.

Of course, BD needs to roll out an upgrade. Or deliver a public "no support" statement for Windows 10 as well as an end-of-life timeline for XP thru 8.1 development and support. Either one, ASAP.
Bitdefender has stated that the Free version is not fully compatible and although it will load on Windows 10 it may (will) not work properly.

http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=59163&view=findpost&p=234571

http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=59225&view=findpost&p=234570
 

Pat MacKnife

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Jul 14, 2015
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BD free is not compatible, webscanning isn't working anymore . detection much lower
I uninstalled it two weeks ago, Bitdefender staff say to use one of their paid products, yeah right o_O i thold them this is no option and that i will use another free AV ....
 
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jamescv7

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Mar 15, 2011
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For some reason, the development phase for BD Free is totally isolated from their main flagships which unlikely happened on other products who produce free version too.
 
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Ray Redbad

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FYI:
The Active Virus Control libraries avcuf32.dll and avcuf64.dll injectors were background updated recently to the latest v3.112293.6311.

AVC is the BD flagship product (free only in BD Free), a persistent and complex rules and heuristic behavior monitor injected into every running process upon the startup of the process. (This differs from other developers' injection BBs that inject only into SYSTEM.)

AVC is not the "Bitdefender engine" which is bdcore.dll and has been v11.0.1.12 for quite some time in BD's premium products and should be* in all the other "Bitdefender engine" products out there, free or paid. And yeah, that's the version in BD Free.

Components for network IDS/HIPS, sandboxing and the Gonzales cloud services remain as is.

Signatures and rules (Core and AVC) continue to update with regularity (every 1.5 hours average). System wide URL filtering viability is maintained reliably via BD's global Nimbus network.

Cheers.

*If your "Bitdefender engine" product is earlier than 11.0.1.12... :(
 
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kev216

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Aug 6, 2014
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It's funny how it's almost un-downloadable from their website in Belgium :(
I honestly like their engine and I would love the free version.
I always had to use a VPN to download it. It is annoying, but you can indeed also download it from somewhere else as already mentioned if you don't want to do that.
Greetings also from Belgium!
I'm from Belgium too, so I had the same problem in the past :)
 
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