“BitDefender Antivirus Pro 2011” plus 1 more

BitDefender Antivirus Pro 2011

Posted: 16 Aug 2010 03:21 PM PDT

Specifications

Type: Business, Personal, Professional
OS Compatibility: Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 7
Tech Support: Live chat, phone, email, knowledge base.

Like most security vendors, BitDefender offers both a standalone antivirus utility and a full-blown all-out security suite. With its abundance of bonus features BitDefender Antivirus Pro 2011 ($39.95 direct for three licenses) offers security protection at a level usually found only in a full suite, and its user interface is the most flexible I've seen. But, in tests of its core competency, it didn't score as well as last year's edition.

Have It Your Way
BitDefender offers three very different views for its user interface: basic, intermediate, and expert. Those who just want unobtrusive protection can choose the basic view. Intermediate view gives access to more features and settings, while expert view exposes every detail of the program's operation. In any of the views, you can choose which features will show up in the easy-access list of tools on the main dashboard page.

Customization starts during installation; you choose your initial view and make selections for your set of tools. During installation you'll register the product, create an online account, and optionally perform initial configuration for the product's network-based remote management. It takes a little time and attention, but, when installation is complete, the product is personalized to your taste and ready to spring into action.

In testing last year's BitDefender suite, I had tons of trouble installing on malware-infested systems. The company successfully addressed that problem with a quick scan for active malware at the beginning of installation. On all but one of my infested test systems the preinstall scan found and removed threats. After a required reboot, installation continued automatically.

Decent Results from the Labs
Both West Coast Labs and ICSA Labs certify BitDefender for virus detection and removal. West Coast offers additional checkmark certification for detection of Trojans and Spyware, but unlike Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2011 ($59.95 direct, ) and Webroot AntiVirus with Spy Sweeper 2011 ($39.99 direct, ) BitDefender did not attain the new Checkmark Platinum certification. BitDefender hasn't fared as well with Virus Bulletin—it failed four of the last ten Windows-based VB100 tests, including the most recent one.

In the most recent test of on-demand malware cleanup by AV-Comparatives.org BitDefender rated ADVANCED+, the highest rating, with very few false positives. It also rated ADVANCED+ with few false positives in their latest proactive non-signature test. BitDefender rated ADVANCED in a special dynamic protection test last year; only Norton Internet Security 2010 ($69.99 direct, ) and Kaspersky attained the top ADVANCED+ rating.

AV-Test.org also ran a special real-world test last year, checking a dozen products over 60 days. BitDefender came in second-lowest both for malware detection and actual blocking in this test. The top three slots in both detection and blocking were shared among Norton, Kaspersky, and PC Tools Internet Security 2010 ($49.95 direct, ). Overall, BitDefender does well in lab tests, but it lacks the stellar reputation earned by Kaspersky.

Uneven Malware Removal
As noted, the preinstall scan found threats on all but one of my thirteen malware-infested test systems. It found and cleaned traces of over half the malware samples. The product installed without incident on all the systems, and I launched full scans. In a couple cases, BitDefender reported that the full scan alone couldn't complete its cleanup and suggested that I run the BitDefender Rescue CD. I downloaded and burned the Rescue CD, then used it to boot the problem systems. The attractive boot-time scanner did its job quickly; afterward a full scan ran to completion.

By default, BitDefender runs a full scan as soon as installation is complete. The first full scan on my standard clean test system took 30 minutes, slightly longer than average. However, BitDefender's ability to avoid redundant scanning of known safe files brought the time for subsequent scans down to just over five minutes. It automatically runs a full scan any time the system has been idle for half an hour. You can also launch a fast cloud-based quickscan any time you suspect the possibility of active malware—this is the same scan that runs during installation.

BitDefender detected 77 percent of the malware threats infesting my test systems, slightly below average and way below the 89 percent detection rate attained by Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 2010 ($39.95 direct, ). It didn't thoroughly remove everything it found, winding up with 6.3 of 10 possible points for malware removal. Spyware Doctor and Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware 1.46 (Free, ) both scored 7.3, while Emsisoft Anti-Malware 5.0 ($40 direct, ) beat them with 7.4 points.

I also test each product's ability to remove commercial keyloggers, though keylogger scores aren't heavily weighted in my final analysis. BitDefender detected 71 percent of the keylogger samples and scored 4.4 points. Best keylogger detection and best overall score go to Webroot AntiVirus with Spy Sweeper 2011 ($39.99 direct, ) with 93 percent and 7.8 points.

Impressively, BitDefender detected 100 percent of the rootkit-based threats from both the malware and keylogger collections. Spyware Doctor and Webroot also detected 100 percent, as did Ad-Aware Total Security 1.0 ($49.95 direct, ). BitDefender disabled the rootkit technology in all but one of the threats it found, but it left behind lots of traces and executable files. Like Ad-Aware it scored 6.6 points in this test, way below Webroot's 8.0 and Spyware Doctor's winning 9.0 points.

Rogue security software or scareware is a growing problem. It demands money from you in exchange for removing made-up threats and may include active malware elements of its own. BitDefender detected just 56 percent of these threats, one of the lowest detection rates, and scored only 4.8 points. Malwarebytes and Ad-Aware Pro Internet Security 8.3 ($29.95 direct, ) both detected 89 percent and scored 8.1, the best score in this category. For details on how I derive with these scores, see How We Test Anti-malware.

BitDefender Antivirus Pro 2011 Malware Removal Chart

BitDefender aced the rootkit detection test but its scores in all other categories ranged from average to poor. I'm not sure what changed from last year—perhaps the threats I'm using this year are just tougher. At least it scored very well in some of the independent lab tests.—Next: Mediocre Malware Blocking

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AV-Test Certifies Windows 7 Antivirus Solutions

Posted: 16 Aug 2010 07:11 AM PDT

The independent test lab AV-Test has issued certifications for antivirus products operating on Windows 7.

The results were based on tests conducted during April, May and June of this year, and therefore do not show results for the new versions just appearing from all the vendors (such as our just-published review of Kaspersky Internet Security 2011), but I would expect the results to be pretty similar. Tests on Windows XP and Vista are promised for a later date.

AV-Test scores in 3 categories: Protection, Repair and Usability. Each has a score from 0 to 6.0 in increments of 0.5. To achieve certification, a product needed a combined score of 12 or more. 13 of the 17 products were certified.

The certified products were as follows. Click on the name to see the AV-Test report:

The uncertified products were:

At the top are Kaspersky, Panda and Symantec with a total combined score of 16 each. I'd throw F-Secure up there too with a total of 15.5. But there are many excellent products here and you won't go very wrong with any of them, at least the certified ones.

Originally posted to the PCMag.com security blog, Security Watch.

AntiVirus Free

Tuesday, August 17, 2010