Day 10 of the Ghacks Giveaway. We are still going strong and are already way beyond our expectations. All Giveaways so far have seen a great participation and we were able to hand out lots of licenses to commercial software.
Today it is BitDefender time here at Ghacks. The guys at BitDefender are donating one copy of Total Security 2009, two copies of Internet Security 2009 and another two copies of Antivirus 2009. One of the first questions that comes to mind is about the differences between those products. We would like to address them briefly in the beginning and concentrate afterwards on BitDefender Total Security 2009 as it makes use of all features including those of the two other products.
BitDefender Antivirus 2009 is a antivirus software program that combines a signature based and heuristic approach. It also incorporates protection against phishing, identity theft and provides instant messaging encryption.
Bitdefender Internet Security 2009 adds a firewall, parental controls and a file vault on top of that.
BitDefender Total Security 2009 finally introduces a backup module and a system cleaner in addition to all the features of the other two clients.
The choice of product depends obviously on the needs of the user. A user with a working software firewall might be inclined to pass on the two security suites that add a firewall to his system while someone without any protection might be inclined to grab the top product.
All three software programs can be downloaded as trial versions to make sure that they are compatible with the system’s software and hardware. This is also an excellent way of verifying that you can handle the software and do not encounter to many difficulties during usage. As an example, a software firewall that would throw cryptic error messages at the user might be the dream of every computer freak but a regular user would surely be swamped.
The installation requires a reboot of the system in the end. One of the first windows that a user will come in contact with is the Configuration Wizard which will walk the user through the steps to configure the product accordingly. Experts can skip the wizard but need to configure the modules manually in the main interface then.
The wizard will – among other things – update the product over the Internet and perform an antivirus scan on the system to make sure that it has not been infected already with a computer virus. It does not take to long on the other hand even if you read thoroughly.
The Bitdefender firewall is quite adaptive and let me connect with various programs to the Internet without bringing up “Do you want to allow” messages. Email and web browsers for example where working without difficulties right of the box.
The main interface is divided into a basic and advanced view. The basic view has been designed for inexperienced users while the advanced view provides access to in depth statistics and settings that would frustrate the inexperienced users.
The Dashboard is the central hub of the software program. It displays statistics and provides a quick overview of so called System Information. This gives access to to all kind of system related settings like startup items, services, hosts or processes.
The different modules of the security software are easily accessible on the menu on the left side. A click on the antispam module loads the settings of that module giving the user options to disable or enable the module, to change the level of protection or to manage whitelists and blacklists.
The layout of most modules is similar to the one above. Every module can be disabled and configured separately. One interesting module is the Vulnerability module that will query Windows Updates for updates and patches and makes it possible to install them directly in BitDefender.
The same menu will also check a few applications, in this case Skype and Firefox, for updates with options to download and install them automatically as well.
The program has been designed very carefully with the user in mind. The two modes make it a great choice for all kinds of users and the protections are extensive.
BitDefender has also created a community called Malware City which provides information and tips not only for BitDefender users but for everyone.
You can win one copy of BitDefender Total Security 2009, two copies of BitDefender Internet Security 2009 and another two copies of BitDefender Antivirus 2009 if you reply in the comments. Let us know what software you are currently running to protect your computer system.
Related Articles:
Bitdefender Total Security 2012 Review and GiveawayGhacks Christmas Giveaway: Kaspersky Internet Security 2009
Ghacks Christmas Giveaway: Cyberlink Software
AVG Internet Security 2011 Review And Giveaway [Ghacks Christmas Giveaway]
360Amigo System Speedup Review And Giveaway [Ghacks Christmas Giveaway]
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I need anti-virus for my system…will i be lucky atleast this time.
I like BitDefender and this will be a good stocking stuffer.
It would be nice to get a copy :-)
Great security software.hope i win
My wife just got a new laptop from her company. BitDefender would be a nice add to her laptop :D
BTW: this Christmas Giveaway by gHacks is so f***ing great!
Currently using mcAfee would prefer bit defender :)
I used BitDefender before, and it didn’t let me down.
I like BitDefender, but now i’m using AVG Antivirus and Comodo Firewall. Simply, because it’s free.
I would like to have have bitdefender as it is fasst and on of the best antivrus on the market. Thanks
I would love to have bitdefender as i heard from reviews it is very good antivrus on the market. Right now i am runing norton 2009 15 days trial with a hack reset.Thanks Martin
I’m currently not running anything except Windows Firewall… Please HELP ME! =)
Hi, I am using Comodo Internet Security, Avira Antivirus and also Webroot SpySweeper to protect my Dell. I have had a trial version of Bitdefender Total Security on this machine and I loved it but alas, I had to remove it after a month.
would like to win this :)
I use AVG Free I have used Agnitum outpost as well but it doesn’t seem to play well with vista
I use Norton Internet Security 2009. It was very slow before, but 2009 is not bad, really.
Anyway, I like BitDefender, too :)
Bitdefender honestly is way beyond Norton…
I have been using it for a while and i really must say, Norton is just a resources hog, without very impressive results…
I REALLY NEED A GOOD SECURITY SYSTEM.
MY OS MAYBE RISK NOW.
THANKS GHACKS.
Only AVG Free at the moment.
count me in :D
Throw me in for this one. Been dying to try out BitDefender for a while :p
I use ESET N0D32. I did try out BitDefender before & the experience wasn’t the best. :(
wow this is really cool. i just ask my gf to use bitdefender free edition. who know if i can give her licenced version.
It sounds good to me!
I currently use Bitdefender 2009, with the license about to expire. Very good all round internet security solution
I’m currently using NOD32 antivirus on my private notebook and Avast on my office PC.
I also have 2 additional PCs at home. One of them has McAfee internet security installed. I got a license for it from my internet provider, which will be valid until the end of agreement. Not a bad deal in fact. ;)
The 2nd PC uses free AVG antivirus. Something that is annoying in AVG, is the fact, it does not recognize all threats. I had a few situations, my system was infected. As a contrary, it hasn’t hapened for NOD32 yet, although I’ve been using it for more then 2 years.
I’m not able to judge McAfee, as I’ve been using it for less than a month.
I’ll skip this one thanks.This software is full of bugs.And i do mean full.Firefox will crush from pfishing toolbar,scan will stop,game mode won’t work,has a conflict with media player classic,best of all it is likely that you’ll have problems uninstalling it so i suggest for those who don’t belive me to download their uninstall tool also.
BitDefender… Does it defend my bits?
sounds good. I am using CA at the minute as anti-virus and zone alarm for firewall as I like to control what’s going online. have just disabled windows defender as I was getting worrying security errors and i think this was the cause. generally change package each year to get a good deal.
@ak I’m sorry that BD caused you troubles, but from the problems you have listed there none of them are unsolved at the moment. If it still causes trouble it may be because it hasn’t been updated or there are conflicts that aren’t related 100% to BD.
If you have problems there is always a free support line open 24/7. Or you could just ask for advices on our forum.
P.S.
I’m not subscribing to the contest, I’m working at BitDefender and I sure would like to hear what you have to say about our product. :)
McAfee