Antivirus Review: Bitdefender 9 Internet Security

In this time, more and more trojans, viruses, spywares, adwares, malwares are being writen everyday. Most unfortunately is that they are writen to target Windows Operating Systems which is the most commonly used operating system. So the question is, do we really need an antivirus?

The answer is most certainly yes. This is because, despite of all the security updates on Windows, it is still vulnerable. Sometimes its because of an unpatched system or from the mistakes of the user itself by clicking yes to anything they see on the internet.

Downloading cracks or keygens from certain websites also open yourself to danger especially if you do not have an antivirus. So now i'll review an antivirus which i've been using and am quite happy about it.

Previously, I was using Norton Antivirus. I started with the NAV5.1 then followed by the 2003, 2004 and the 2005 version. I changed them merely because it became outdated. Unfortunately, each newer version brings me more dismay as it still sometimes does not pick up certain viruses/trojans when I have manually scanned a file. In addition to that, every version seems to just slow down the PC startup even more. It reached a point where I was so fed up that I googled for antivirus reviews.

What came up was surprisingly spectacular. On one particular site, Norton was rated top 5 and it wasn't the top. The top spot was taken by an antivirus which i've not heard about called the Bitdefender. The site claimed that it does not take up much loading time and also claimed that its one of the cheapest AV around. So, I took up the challenge and downloaded their trial 15 day version.

A screenshot of BitDefender's Antivirus settings

There was this file which I got earlier where norton said it was clean but upon running it, installed spywares, viruses, trojans and others all over my PC. With bitdefender, I downloading that same file and it was stopped right there! Didn't even finish the download. It passively scans files which are being accessed or being read. Even when you open a folder, it will automatically run a quick scan over its contents.

What amazes me even more is the updates. Its autoupdate works by checking itself every 3 hours (changeable) and somehow every 3 hours there will be an update. Unlike norton which releases updates on a 3 day basis, this works in hours. That really surprised me.

In addition to that, the new version, Bitdefender 9 Internet Security comes with a Firewall and AntiSpyware modules. Though the AntiSpyware is new, it detects and prevents installation of spyware. However, it may not completely remove an already infected PC. For that you'll have to use another software.

In summary the pros of this Antivirus:

• Really fast loadup time. A lot faster than Norton
• Does not drain much system resources
• Auto updates really work!
• Keeps an already clean PC, clean
• Better scanning and detection of viruses/trojans/worms

The cons:

• Updates will minimize full screen games which can be annoying but it also acts as a timer to stop playing
• Does not remove spywares completely
• Firewall's popups are annoying

Thats it for now. Please feel free to comment or write about what you think