BitDefender Internet Security 2008 test

It’s the strong part of BitDefender, that which they built their strong reputation amongst the other PC protection suites… The first anti-virus module to offer effective protection against first generation viral threats that were relatively simple to eliminate. But, and this is what interests us here, it also has a number of proactive defenses against potential threats of all kinds. We are talking about malware (virus, Trojans, worms…) that can be picked up while surfing on the internet, using an email client or using widely known peer-to-peer applications. Spyware (spy software) and adware (annoying advertising popups) are also concerned along with rootkits that are a threat as it can allow a remote user to take control of your computer.

Like their opposition, BitDefender also integrates an “Antiphishing’ function which has the objective of fighting fraudulent sites that can steal your personal data without your knowledge (banking information, address, telephone, email address).

The antivirus functions are all centralized, and for more simplicity, can be found on the tab of this name. The real time protection is activated as well as deep system scans which are regularly planned. It also only uses system resources depending on the protection that you choose. But, in any event, we noticed very little BitDefender activity even after a session of 24 hours non stop! We have therefore found why they are so successful when facing heavier then Symantec Norton Antivirus 2008, McAfee Virus Scan Plus or Panda Antivirus 2008.

The section at the top left, “Aggressive” looks at the analysis, virus and spywares, and all local files as well as those running though private networks, including incoming and outgoing emails. Internet traffic is also scanned (port 80) for infected files, with the technical analysis also being known as B-HAVE (Hehavioral Heuristic Analyzer). This technology has been patented and is based on a virtual internet computer emulator which has the goal of executing the software to see if any malicious behavior is present. In practice, we get rid of the false positives which increasing the detection rate of new malicious programs that are still unknown…

The middle option, “Default” isn’t forcibly distinguished from the upper level and performs the same operations. The only difference is that you benefit from lower system resource use, instead of moderated resource use. This means that activating this mode or the other changes very little on current computer set ups.

The last option called “Tolerant” watches over everything, except the Internet traffic! If you want to do this, browsing will be slightly quicker, but at what price! Only internet users that know how to use third party programs to control their browsing would have any need to activate this.