Product Description

BitDefender Antivirus 2009 provides advanced protection against viruses, spyware, and identity theft.... without slowing down your PC. It?s jam-packed with features including: IM Encryption, for confidential chatting; Gamer Mode, for secure gaming at top speed; Laptop Mode, to prolong battery life; automatic hourly updates; FREE 24/7 support; and more! SMALL BOX.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5464 in Software
• Brand: Bitdefender, LLC
• Model: MB11011001EN-M2
• Released on: 2008-08-15
• Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows 2000, Windows XP
• Format: CD-ROM
• Dimensions: .25 pounds

Features

• Antivirus 2009 (1 Year/1 PC)

Customer Reviews

Fine when it works right.
I discovered that this software's effectiveness in keeping computers "clean" was highly rated by several software review websites. That gave me a lot of reassurance that I was making the right decision when I purchased this software.

However, I have had trouble with this product working properly since I first put it on my computer. It has at times shown me errors along with a "fix" button that does not work when I click it. And if it does have a problem, you don't get alerted with a message popping up on your screen... you have to be attentive enough to notice a change in the tiny BitDefender icon running in your task bar, such as the icon turning grey or displaying a "warning" symbol. One alarming incident for me occurred when BitDefender quit working (turned grey) without warning while I was doing online banking, and I only noticed it after I had been on my bank's website for a while. Who knows how long I was going through my accounts without any protection.

There are live staff people on hand to help you with any problems you are having with BitDefender if you go to the website. However, you have to find the proper link to get that help first. One of the frustrating things I encountered was a website asking you to download additional software and capture information into two separate files, presumably so that the BD staff could get a better idea of what was causing any problems you might be having. However, it didn't tell you where to send that information, nor did the staff person ask me for it when I contacted them for help. I have at this point reinstalled BD three times, and this third time perhaps might be the charm, because so far this time it's working very nicely.

Not quite up to the mark...
I have been using BitDefender for a couple of months now - here is a summary of my experience:

- Installation -
Appeared to install well enough, offering to uninstall my existing Symantec based anti-virus as it went in. The BitDefender installation is clearly fine, but it left a Symantic process, which now tells me that I have (Symantic) updates waiting every time I reboot!

- Effectiveness -
I keep a handful of infected files hanging around in order to test virus software; it detected them in storage, and a couple more on internet pages and emails - appears to work.

- Issues -
1. Performance: since installing, I have noticed that the machine I use comes to a stop every 10-15 minutes, presumably as BitDefender has been updating itself or performing some other housekeeping. I am confident this is related to the software because it stops being problematic when I go in to 'game mode'.
2. Blue screen: if I suspend the laptop for more than a day, then resume action, the BitDefender icon is grey: clicking it almost always causes a blue screen/reboot.

-- Conclusion --
Overall, this seems like an effective product for protecting the computer, but I have realised it is not worth the performance overhead. I am in the process of deciding its replacement, and will be removing it in the next couple of weeks.

-- UPDATE: July 2009 --
Before replacing the product, I took another look at that remaining Symantec process, and removed that remant; this resolved the freeze problem, so that has brought the machine back to useable status.
The tool still uses too much memory, and interferes a bit with downloadng eMail, but it is no longer on my 'to be replaced' list. Will re-evaluate when we get to license renewal!

Full protection with minimal impact on performance
I highly recommend this antivirus product: it works well, with miminal impact on system performance.
My laptop has a Pentium III clocked at less than 700MHz, so I'm always looking for anitvirus software that will fully protect my Windows XP SP3 system without dragging down performance.
BitDefender is the only antivirus protection I've used that will allow me to do useful work on my laptop while an anitvirus scan is running in the background. And the antivirus scans are effective at finding registry problems as well as viral infections.
The only complaint I have is that, like all Microsoft-approved antivirus software, BitDefender will whine that your system is at risk unless you leave the AutoUpdate feature turned on. Unlike the background antivirus scans, AutoUpdate can really slow down the system when it runs. Even worse, if the Update requires a reboot to be effective, a "Reboot Now?" dialog pops up in the middle of the screen when AutoUpdate has completed, which can be rather distracting if you're in the middle of some important work. Of course, you can turn AutoUpdate off if you don't want to be disturbed.
Overall, BitDefender's low-impact background antivirus scans make this product the best antivirus software for my laptop.