7. BitDefender Total Security 2009: A Balanced Choice

• BitDefender 2-Year...
• • NextWarehouse
  • $44.83

Straight from Romania, BitDefender has a pretty high-quality interface, but its detection engine is the same as the one on the last version, which is really behind the times vis-à-vis the other alternatives in this roundup.

Your Interests

Living up to its reputation, BitDefender has done everything possible to make the use of its software pleasant. The interface, for example, is a mixture of sobriety and good taste at its best. The graphics are simple and carefully done, the choice of colors (white, black, red, green, and different gradations of gray) gives the whole thing a great effect, and navigating between the different menus with the available tabs is very easy.

As far as configuration goes, the default settings are easy to understand and you’re also given a nice range of personalization options as well. We can’t think of anything that’s missing and BitDefender even gives you a  “game mode” that lets you limit the aggressiveness of the anti-virus engine  so as to avoid lowering your computer system’s performance while it’s playing (gamers will definitely appreciate this). In this same vein, the “portable” mode, designed for laptops, is also pretty cool–when the power cable is disconnected, heavy jobs are scrapped (local hard drive scans, for example) while the resident protection remains active. You have to indicate how many external programs you’re using here. Simply put, this anti-virus software is particularly well made and, for the most part, is very clear.

There are only a few hitches with this system: the dark-gray writing on a light-gray background is a little difficult to read (especially when you are tired) and having the advanced settings displayed in the same manner as Windows isn’t very clear either. In general, however, the whole package is quite easy to understand and enjoyable to use–so much so that it comes very close to being flawless.

A Good Level Of Performance

The previous version of BitDefender left us with an iffy impression of the system's performance, but it seems that solid efforts were made to improve the product. In fact, the detection engine is very effective and isn’t far at all from being the best. We also appreciate the timing of the automatic scans, which are consistent but not annoyingly so.

The real-time shield works principally when you first open a folder (before the files are scanned and the detection and neutralization of threats are quick and efficient. A detection scan launches itself automatically when you insert an external storage device, assuring optimal security.

The email scan is very satisfactory, too–the scan is initiated before opening attachments and the operations can be easily carried out from there by means of a tool bar that is both complete and clear. It is unfortunate, however, that when a threat is identified, the entire mail message is destroyed and not just the malicious attachment. Without this little hiccup, the system would be just about perfect.

A Restrained Impact On The Computing System

Taking into consideration its performance, this new version of BitDefender is not too greedy when it comes to taking up system resources. Although the increase of Windows start-up time is significant, the duration of the scan is pretty short (28 minutes), and the processor and memory are not really used all that much. Uninstalling the software does leave a few traces in the system (a file and seven register keys).

Conclusion

The 2009 version of BitDefender is very well thought out–effective, very easy to manage, relatively judicious with its resource requirements, it can be adapted to most computers and is available at a price that is on par with the rest of its competition. The additional tools that come with it make it an even more complete package.