Today, more than ever, the installation of all kinds of anti-virus software is urgent, designed to counteract the penetration of dangerous threats into computer systems that can not only disable the OS, but also steal the user's personal data. Among such programs, one of the most talked about is the free version of Bitdefender. This is understandable, because our users are far from always willing to pay a "tidy" amount to install such tools even in offices, not to mention home PCs, laptops or mobile devices.
Opinions and reviews about Bitdefender, which can be found on the Internet, are often diametrically opposed. Some call this package almost the worst of all known, while others can’t get enough. Who is right? Let's try to figure it out by considering all the positive and negative sides of this package impartially, but taking into account the test results of respected companies and the opinions of all those who have used it in practice.
Bitdefender Antivirus Free in Russian: system requirements and installation
First, let’s dwell on the most important problem, which until recently scared away potential users of this protection package. The fact is that even with the release of the free version of Bitdefender, the interface was initially presented exclusively in English, and localization in Russian was only recently implemented.
However, this is far from the most important thing that immediately catches the eye. As noted by many users and experts, the main problem is that if the computer used the English version of the antivirus before, no update will add the Russian language to the interface. It is not provided at all! That is, in order to get Russification, the application needs to be completely reinstalled, which seems obviously unworthy of a software product of such a high level.
But (and this is noted by almost everyone) Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition is designed to install and work even in outdated computer configurations. The main requirement is a minimum of 512 MB of RAM with a recommended capacity of 1 GB. Agree, by today's standards this is not so much.
Interface and main program modules
As for the installed application itself, its appearance in a sense resembles a mobile program (at least in size of the main window so accurately).
But here the reviews about Bitdefender indicate that there are no buttons to close the active window in the program, but for this you can use a click on the free space of the “Desktop”. The main window is called, as usual, through the icon in the system tray.
In terms of providing protection, everything seems to be automated to the limit, but in the program itself there are only two main constantly active modules: scanning (Auto-Scan) and protection in real time (Threat Control).
Are there any additional components?
Paid products like Bitdefender Internet Security with their advanced features in the form of the same pre-installed browser that allows you to secure your purchases on the Internet (for example, on Aliexpress), free modification, alas, is not enough.
And this clearly does not add to the free program popularity with users.
Security Settings
As well as the minimalistic interface, automated antivirus settings were made in the same vein, or rather, they are not there at all! Most users complain that the two main modules can only be turned on.
In this case, if you run a computer scan for viruses (Auto-Scan), it is neither possible to pause nor cancel the process! Naturally, in the reviews of Bitdefender this is listed as a bold minus. Many note that early verification can only be done by deactivating the scanning module itself, which is very inconvenient.
Bitdefender antivirus load on computer resources
But, despite the above mentioned shortcomings, almost everyone who came across this software in practice, notes that only the icon in the system tray resembles the presence of antivirus in the system. And if a comparison is made with similar products of Kaspersky Lab, then user preferences are on the side of Bitdefender.
And this applies even to situations where the antivirus scans or updates its own anti-virus databases. A plus? Undoubtedly!
Threat Detection Testing
As for the testing of anti-virus by independent experts for comprehensive security and identifying potential threats in general, almost all the results show a rather high rating of this package in the overall standings.
At least he is in the top five and scores the highest points in almost all tests. In addition, many experts call this software one of the most reliable in terms of protection against phishing.
User opinions are divided
But why are the Bitdefender reviews published on various forums on the Internet so dramatically different? First of all, the main negative concerns exclusively inconveniences associated with the inability to install advanced user settings and the “normal” disabling of the scanning process. On the other hand, all those who do not particularly delve into the anti-virus configuration “for themselves”, on the contrary, note that it’s enough to simply install this security software and forget about it, since the antivirus itself will do all the main work in ensuring the protection of the computer system without the necessary intervention user side. It is difficult to judge how convenient this is, however, the lack of custom options does not add popularity to this application. Among other things, if you compare it with paid products that can be installed, for example, on five machines simultaneously with one license, then the free modification also loses too much with the built-in protection modules. But the low consumption of system resources coupled with a fairly high level of protection even for hopelessly outdated systems clearly testifies in favor of this software product.
The overall result
If we sum up a peculiar result, relying on the opinions of experts and user reviews, it is difficult to call this antivirus too good. In a sense, this product can be attributed to those designed for ordinary users who do not seek to perform any specific settings, but rely solely on the automation of all defense processes. Yes, the level of protection is good, but the questions regarding whether to install this application on your computer or prefer something else are provided solely for consideration by the users themselves.
It remains to add that the vast majority of users for some reason consider this software product little known and know about it only by hearsay. In fact, the Bitdefender engine has been known to experienced users and experts for a long time. What can I say, if it was it that was used by Microsoft when creating its own defender, which is mandatory in all the latest versions of Windows operating systems? Finally, you need to clearly understand (and this applies not only to the described antivirus) that almost all known free modifications of security software in some way lose to their closest paid analogues and cannot be compared with them in ensuring the highest level of protection for computer systems even what circumstances.