

Still, that’s better than Windows Defender, which had an impact of 12.5%.īitdefender Internet Security review: Should I buy it? The independent testing labs found it slowed down Windows operations by an average of 10.2%. It’s a tiny bit behind the pace in day-to-day use, too. It took around five minutes to fully scan 55GB of data on an external hard disk, while suites from F-Secure, Trend Micro and Eset all completed the task in under a minute. The one area where Bitdefender doesn’t excel is speed. If you want to customise Bitdefender’s behaviour, the interface is logically laid out, with distinctive icons and clear labelling explaining what everything does. That’s reassuring but, for context, note that numerous other suites achieved the same score, including the Windows Defender tool that’s built into Windows 10. In malware tests carried out in the first half of 2021 Bitdefender achieved perfect 100% protection ratings from both and. READ NEXT: Our guide to the best antivirus software you can buy Bitdefender Internet Security review: Does it keep you safe?īitdefender is undeniably effective. You can’t select a server location either, so it won’t help you get around geographical restrictions.

That’s fine for securely checking in with a message board, but you won’t be able to use it to keep all your online activity private. The cherry on top is Bitdefender’s own-brand VPN service but this is quite limited, as it will only protect up to 200MB of data a day. You can even track their location if you’ve installed the companion app on their Android or iOS smartphone.


And a versatile parental control service links you to a central web management portal, from which you can browse and restrict kids’ screen time and app usage across all platforms. The suite also offers specific protections for webcams and microphones, ensuring criminals can’t spy on, or listen into, your personal life. It doesn’t prevent apps from writing to your personal folders – since that could interfere with the proper functioning of legitimate software – but instead keeps dynamic backups of modified files, which can be instantly restored as needed. There’s also an ingenious ransomware remediation module, provided as an extra line of defence just in case something slips past the scanner. Best broadband 2022: The top UK internet providers for service, speed, reliability and value
