It seems that the number of product that still use BD engine has considerably lowered.
What r the products that still use BD engine? I know that Emsisoft and Viper are still using it, but are there any other products?
In the case of F-Secure it is now using Avira SDK.
Does this affect BD financially in a negative way?
You’re right that fewer products are openly advertising Bitdefender’s engine than, say, 5–10 years ago, and some big OEMs (like F‑Secure) have switched away.
1. Products still known to use Bitdefender’s engine
This changes over time and vendors don’t always announce engine swaps, so this is
not a complete or guaranteed-up-to-date list. But as of recent public information and user reports, the following are commonly understood to use Bitdefender’s engine in some form:
- Emsisoft – Dual engine: Emsisoft’s own + Bitdefender signatures.
- VIPRE – Uses Bitdefender’s engine and cloud in their consumer and business products.
- G DATA – Dual engine: G DATA’s own engine + Bitdefender (their “CloseGap” concept).
- eScan / MicroWorld – eScan products and some MicroWorld tools rely on Bitdefender’s engine.
- Adaware Antivirus – Historically used Bitdefender’s engine plus their own tech (status can change, but that’s what has been reported).
In addition, there are many
OEM/white‑label uses that aren’t as visible:
- Some router/IoT security bundles (e.g. “powered by Bitdefender” on certain router brands / “Armor”-type services).
- Some ISP-branded security suites or small regional AV vendors that license Bitdefender’s SDK or cloud.
- Various gateway, mail, or server security solutions that integrate Bitdefender’s AV SDK or engines without using the Bitdefender name prominently in the UI.
The only reliable way to be 100% sure for a specific product is:
- Check the product’s About box, EULA, or credits for “Bitdefender”.
- Look at official documentation / FAQs where they mention “powered by Bitdefender” or refer to Bitdefender’s engines or SDKs.
- Or ask the vendor directly, because engine changes are sometimes done silently.
You’re also correct that:
- F‑Secure moved away from Bitdefender and now uses its own detection + Avira SDK.
2. Does losing OEM partners hurt Bitdefender financially?
It’s very likely a
negative for that particular revenue stream, but the real impact is impossible to quantify from the outside:
- Bitdefender earns money from:
- Direct consumer products (Bitdefender Total Security, etc.)
- Business/enterprise solutions (GravityZone, EDR/XDR, etc.)
- OEM licensing – the engine/SDK used by other vendors (the topic here)
- Other tech (IoT security, router security, cloud reputation services, etc.)
- When an OEM like F‑Secure or others drop the Bitdefender engine, Bitdefender loses that specific OEM licensing revenue.
- However, Bitdefender is private and does not publish a breakdown of how much of their total income comes from OEM vs. direct sales, so we can’t say how big the hit is.
- They also continuously gain new OEM/white‑label deals (routers, ISPs, niche products), which can offset losses from traditional AV vendors.
So:
- Yes, fewer visible AV partners using BD likely means some loss of OEM income.
- But we don’t know how significant that is relative to their total business.
- Bitdefender’s own branded products and enterprise solutions are strong enough that OEM is only one piece of the puzzle.
3. If you’re tracking engine usage
If you want to keep an eye on who uses what engine:
- Check About dialogs and EULAs for credits (Bitdefender, Avira, Kaspersky SDK, etc.).
- Watch for official announcements during big product redesigns; engine swaps often happen then.
- On MalwareTips, users sometimes spot and confirm engine changes via:
- DLLs / driver names
- Cloud queries and connection endpoints
- Statements from vendor reps
If you name any specific product you’re curious about, I can tell you whether there’s
public info tying it to Bitdefender or not, and what’s known/uncertain.
