Battle BitDefender Total Security vs. 360 Total Security

Noxx

Level 3
Thread author
Verified
Jul 13, 2016
123
MT is presently doing a BitDefender Total Security giveaway, so I figured this might be a good time to see where the community presently stands on BitDefender Total Security, and how it might compare to a product that isn't compared very often -- 360 Total Security. Both have a lot that stands out from their competition. BitDefender boasting one of the best signature databases in the business, 360 boasting one of the best cloud-based detection technologies in the business. It should however be emphasized that while 360 does have its own malware protection, 360 does have optional BitDefender/Avira signatures, though I can't see myself using 360 without them. Both BDTS and 360, from my experience, are light for the amount of protection they provide. Some have argued including Der. Reisende that 360 can get ridiculously heavy once you add Avira and BD signatures, and I've made similar observations.

From what I've seen, BitDefender did use sandbox technology, but it doesn't appear to be very well advertised, or is no longer used. If anyone has used/is using BitDefender's sandbox, I'd be curious to know how you felt/feel about it, is it effective, or not, and how it compares to 360 which does advertise its sandbox. One other aspect that may prove to be a con for 360 Total Security is its lack of a firewall. They do however recommend that you install GlassWire, but it doesn't come with 360, and therefore I don't consider them one and the same for comparison purposes. Even then, I consider Glasswire more of a network monitor than a firewall. Both come with shopping protection, and I can personally attest to the effectiveness of BD on this point as I've used it on and off in my browsers for some time. I don't personally give much credence to 360's shopping protection for reasons that will be made clear.

One major complaint that needs to be brought up, is how 360 Total Security is very lenient with Chinese PUA/PUPS. Der. Reisende illuminated this issue in his review of 360. It makes me wonder if they'll let PUA/PUPS slide, would they be prepared to let Chinese malware slip through? It's annoying because this isn't even about China, I would be opposed to any corporation in any nation doing this. I'm not aware of BitDefender partaking in this kind of activity, and if there's evidence to the contrary, that might be something important for you all to bring up if you choose to do so. BD and 360 in terms of their UI are even, in my opinion. Easy to find things, but I do find the UI response moderate performance wise. I'm very picky about quick UI/browser surfing. Still, I find both BD and 360 above average in this department.

In terms of ransomware, I've not known BitDefender for excelling in this department, at least not in recent years. If that's changed with their latest 2016 lineup, then it'd be helpful if someone could weigh in on that reality. In regards to 360, they actually do surprisingly well from the videos I've seen, as well as from personal reviews here on the MT forum (enter Der. Reisende again). This I believe really puts 360 at an advantage, especially considering how much of a threat ransomware has become in recent years.

Both are pretty good products, and one could argue that 360 is the better option because it's free and comes with a lot considering it's free. Unfortunately, there are a few things that will always have me paint 360 as a fringe element of the AV market. That being the whitelisting of potentially dangerous PUPS/PUA's, their privacy policy which is very specific in that they reserve the right to save all of your data (some bizarrely personal), all presumably justified for the sake of data sales to make a profit from their otherwise $0 price tag. I don't mind if you want to make money, but I'm not keen on threatening the integrity of my system and my most precious personal info over a $0 price tag. I'd rather just pay Bitdefender's flat fee than have my data sold.

Again, the lack of a firewall is just too big of a "no" for me, because I love to be able to customize my firewall rules, and I can't do that with 360. I can forgive BitDefender's lack of a good sandbox, because at least I can use Sandboxie, ReHIPS or some other product as supplemental protection. But I feel like any product that brands itself on "total" security should have a firewall, and BitDefender at least has one.

On a final note, I have to give more credence to the product that relies more heavily on its own malware protection, whereas 360 is a little more reliant on signatures of BitDefender itself (and Avira). In the end, if you aren't concerned about matters of privacy, whitelisted pua/pups, or lack of a firewall, 360 is still a very formidable, if not one of the best free security products there is. My vote goes to BitDefender, with reservations. Disagree/agree with me? I'm always open to being proven wrong, and I look forward to reading your comments.
 
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jamescv7

Level 85
Verified
Honorary Member
Mar 15, 2011
13,070
Qihoo indeed a good alternative suite product, however still some issues should fix there; compare to Bitdefender where even though performance bugs may present but majority are considered minor.

When it comes on protection wise; honestly 3 engines combined will definitely helpful no matter what circumstances. [Qihoo]
 

Noxx

Level 3
Thread author
Verified
Jul 13, 2016
123
Qihoo indeed a good alternative suite product, however still some issues should fix there; compare to Bitdefender where even though performance bugs may present but majority are considered minor.

When it comes on protection wise; honestly 3 engines combined will definitely helpful no matter what circumstances. [Qihoo]

I heard at one point BitDefender had some pretty bad bugs, I'm not sure if they've been fixed or not, but that was really the only bad things I ever heard about it and why people avoided it at all.
 
D

Deleted member 2913

Bitdefender is far superior compared to 360. So Bd has an edge all the way

But I dont recommend any. You may give a try to Bd on your system & see its performance. One of the thing I dont like about Bd is it sometimes deletes the detected files instead of quarantining. And its age old ghost traffic bug, hope its completely fixed now, dont know?
 

_CyberGhosT_

Level 53
Verified
Honorary Member
Top Poster
Content Creator
Well-known
Aug 2, 2015
4,286
Agreed @yesnoo
qihoo can not hold a candle to Bitdefender by way of quality detection, signature base, ect, ect.
These two are not even in the same class as security software goes. Bitdefender has a long and well established
reputation for quality protection and top notch engine, while qihoo is mired in shady business practices and average quality software. I am very surprised people are still willing to install
qihoo seeing all the controversy surrounding their practices over the past year or two.
Great post Noxx, Thanks.
 

Niente

Level 2
Verified
Jul 24, 2016
43
Bitdefender is far superior compared to 360. So Bd has an edge all the way

But I dont recommend any. You may give a try to Bd on your system & see its performance. One of the thing I dont like about Bd is it sometimes deletes the detected files instead of quarantining. And its age old ghost traffic bug, hope its completely fixed now, dont know?

What alternative do you propose? :)

Thanks in advance!
 

giants8058

Level 4
Verified
Jan 26, 2016
150
I would choose neither since Bitdefender has always been buggy on my system (system lockups during updates for example) and as for 360 Total Security, I don't trust any AV/software company based in China due to the communist government and their control over pretty much all of their industries. But if I had to choose one, it would be BD.
 

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