Off topic: Has anyone been using Bitdefender Antivirus?
Thread poster: Mr. Satan (X)
Mr. Satan (X)
Mr. Satan (X)
English to Indonesian
Jan 27, 2021

Windows Defender has been performing very poorly in my old PC. Everything is painfully slow. Curious if anyone here has any experience with Bitdefender. I'm mainly concerned about BSOD and I really really don't have the time to troubleshoot that kind of problem.

Also, does it play nice with other security software? Anti-exploit software to be exact.

Any feedback is appreciated. Thank you in advance.


 
Michael Beijer
Michael Beijer  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:27
Member (2009)
Dutch to English
+ ...
BitDefender Total Security+ Malwarebytes = a solid combo Jan 27, 2021

I have been happily using BitDefender Total Security for several years now. I always use it in combination with Malwarebytes (https://www.malwarebytes.com/).

Michael


ahartje
 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 12:27
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Novian Jan 27, 2021

Novian Cahyadi wrote:
Windows Defender has been performing very poorly in my old PC. Everything is painfully slow. Curious if anyone here has any experience with Bitdefender.


No, but compare how much they slow down the computer according to independent tests (on average it seems that Windows Defender is faster):

Bitdefender:

https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/windows-10/december-2020/bitdefender-internet-security-25.0-204907/

bitdefender

Windows Defender:

https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/windows-10/december-2020/microsoft-defender-4.18-204917/

defender

[Edited at 2021-01-27 21:05 GMT]


 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 11:27
Danish to English
+ ...
Webroot Jan 27, 2021

I tried Windows Defender recently on Windows 10 on a laptop with an i7 CPU, and its performance was a disaster. Whenever my backup software, Acronis, started, I was afraid the laptop would overheat due to the insane CPU consumption by Defender.

I deactivated it and reinstalled Webroot SecureAnywhere, which I'd been happily using for many years without any problems.

I've never tried BitDefender.


 
Mr. Satan (X)
Mr. Satan (X)
English to Indonesian
TOPIC STARTER
Replies Jan 28, 2021

@Michael Beijer
That's a good start. Thanks for the tip.

@Samuel Murray
That's supposed to be the case, but in reality I seem to get worse performance than the other AVs. It has always been bearable before, but these last it seems to be getting slower. Like, the difference between turning it on and off feels quite significant.

The only reason I'm holding on to it, is because I never have a single BSOD in the last 5 years since I started using it. All the oth
... See more
@Michael Beijer
That's a good start. Thanks for the tip.

@Samuel Murray
That's supposed to be the case, but in reality I seem to get worse performance than the other AVs. It has always been bearable before, but these last it seems to be getting slower. Like, the difference between turning it on and off feels quite significant.

The only reason I'm holding on to it, is because I never have a single BSOD in the last 5 years since I started using it. All the other AVs I've tried ran faster, but they gave me at least one BSOD. I don't recall I've ever tried Bitdefender, that's why I asked.

@Thomas T. Frost
Ah, Webroot. I haven't heard that name for quite a while. Glad they're still in business.
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Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:27
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
Got to suck it and see I'm afraid Jan 28, 2021

Novian Cahyadi wrote:
Windows Defender has been performing very poorly in my old PC.

Unfortunately I had a similar problem to this with BitDefender - a noticeable slowing of my system.
I think all you can do is try it and see. It may be that with BD you don't have the same problem you have with Defender, in which case your problem is solved, but I think impossible to be sure in advance. And there's an element of subjectivity as well, IMO.

At around the same time I had this problem, I read an article by a security specialist arguing that anti-virus software presents its own, additional attack surface that can be compromised by bad actors, and that using Defender alone offered a smaller attack surface, making it less vulnerable, and providing a solution that is sufficient for most.

I took this to heart, and over time I have gone from a system that was stuffed to the gills with anti-malware and anti-virus software to one that uses only Windows Defender. It's been several years now and I have had zero problems.

However, I think I have had virus problems only two or three times in my entire computing life, so maybe it's something to do with my pattern of usage...?

Dan


Mr. Satan (X)
 
Philippe Etienne
Philippe Etienne  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 12:27
Member
English to French
Yes Jan 28, 2021

I used BitDefender Antivirus Plus for years and years, it's quiet and frugal with PC resources.
I stopped using it when I upgraded to Win10 last year (on a Ryzen 5/RAM 16 GB) thinking that the built-in security features could do the job as well. I don't have any problem with Windows Defender either.

Philippe


Mr. Satan (X)
 
Mr. Satan (X)
Mr. Satan (X)
English to Indonesian
TOPIC STARTER
Replies #2 Jan 28, 2021

@Dan Lucas
I could've tested it in a VM if I still had my Windows 7 installation disc. I... kinda lost it. I don't want to use my Windows 8 disc because I'm afraid that it'll cancel out my Windows activation in the host system.

You're right about attack surface reduction. That's basically why I have been using Windows' built-in tools for security since the last 5+ years. Everything has been working as I want them to be, except Defender which to me feels like it's getting worse
... See more
@Dan Lucas
I could've tested it in a VM if I still had my Windows 7 installation disc. I... kinda lost it. I don't want to use my Windows 8 disc because I'm afraid that it'll cancel out my Windows activation in the host system.

You're right about attack surface reduction. That's basically why I have been using Windows' built-in tools for security since the last 5+ years. Everything has been working as I want them to be, except Defender which to me feels like it's getting worse. Thunderbird now opens in about 30 seconds, for example. It opens up relatively fast with it disabled.

To be fair, I don't even need a real-time antivirus scanner since I have exploit protection plus some hardening tricks applied. I'm seriously considering to just disabling Defender altogether and use on-demand scanners. Might have to resort on that.

@Philippe Etienne
It is a powerful antivirus. The exploit protection is the best you can get. Would love to upgrade to Windows 10 as well and start messing around with it, if only my GPU wasn't busted.

[Edited at 2021-01-28 19:05 GMT]
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Has anyone been using Bitdefender Antivirus?






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