I positively reviewed a previous version of a BitDefender product for BrightHub (BitDefender AntiVirus 10 review) and came into this review with high expectations. I expect the level of virus protection and spyware threat protection delievered by BitDefender to be top notch. I also expected a highly usable interface and solid installer. In most cases Internet Security 2008 met my expectations.
While the installation was flawless, the user interface seems to have taken a step backwards. Some inconsistencies and some downright false information plagued the otherwise nice-looking and general usable interface. I also had some technical problems with the firewall that required some tinkering to get working.
BitDefender's antivirus protection and antispam filter shined. It was mainly for it's performance in this area that I gave the product a solid overall rating. It handled everything I threw at it quickly and efficiently and did what a virus and spyware scanner should do. Once I worked throught the problems associated with the firewall, that too performed well though it was overly aggressive in my opinion. I had to give networked computers explicit access to the protected machine and had to approve popular programs like Internet Explorer and Google Desktop.
What's Hot: The BitDefender Internet Security user interface is clean and generally well laid out. I uses modern-looking images and the text has good contrast with the background. BitDefender has moved away from the tabbed interface used in previous versions of their products and the current UI uses buttons and modal dialog boxes. I prefer the tabbed interface approach as it's easier to navigate less "messy."
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What's Not: I did find some of the information communicated through the UI to be unclear and at times downright confusing. On the home screen for example, BitDefender provides an all-up system status
. In an apparent effort to be succinct It tells me that 2 issues affect the security of my system. However my only option is to fix all issues. There didn't seem to be a way to drill down and determine what those issues are. Perhaps one of those issues is one I'm aware of and need to leave as is so other software doesn't break. I link with a checkbox for each broken item seems in order.
The four buttons on the main screen also indicated that there were problems. However these seemed inconsistent and didn't appear to reflect the "two" issues of which the status box informed me.
The Network Security button indicated with a big green checkmark that my network was protected. Clicking on the button however showed that both the firewall and Stealth Mode were disabled. The reason that the button indicated that the network was protected was because I had chosen to disable monitoring of the firewall and stealth mode. The information in the button however is incorrect. Instead of telling me that my system is protected, it should have indicated that the status is undetermined or that key security features are not being monitored.
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BitDefender Internet Security 2008 is a solid performer when it comes to catching viruses and spyware and for this reason I can recommend it. It's user interface seems to have taken a step backwards from previous BitDefender products and I ran into some annoying technical problems. If you're like I am and leave your scanners to run in the background, the UI problems shouldn't deter you from what appears to be a solid security package.
McAfee VirusScan Plus, CA Internet Security Suite Plus 2008, Norton 360 , Microsoft OneCare