Bitdefender Internet Security 2015

Pros Excellent ratings from independent antivirus labs. Best score in our hands-on antiphishing test. Very low impact on system performance. Many useful bonus features. Accurate spam filtering. No-hassle firewall. Multi-device parental control.

Cons Didn't score as well in our hands-on malware blocking test as in lab tests. Parental IM monitoring limited to Yahoo Messenger protocol. Bottom Line Bitdefender Internet Security 2015 includes all the components you'd expect, plus some welcome bonus features, and all of its parts are consistently effective. It's definitely a good choice.

By Neil J. Rubenking

Everybody wants protection against malware attack, identity theft, and online fraud, but nobody likes a security suite that's always in your face. In its default AutoPilot mode, Bitdefender Internet Security 2015 ($59.95 per year, or $79.95 for three licenses) hums along in the background, taking care of business without asking your advice or peppering you with notifications. It's an effective suite, with many useful bonus features.

The product's user interface is identical to that of Bitdefender's standalone antivirus, except that suite-specific components are now enabled. Even in the suite, features like antitheft, file encryption, and online backup remain disabled. To get those, you need Bitdefender's top-level mega-suite (Bitdefender Total Security 2015). A review of that is in the works.

Shared Antivirus Protection
Naturally, Bitdefender Internet Security 2015 includes all the features of Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2015. To get the full rundown on those features, you'll want to read that review. I'll just summarize here.

Bitdefender Internet Security 2015 Lab Tests Chart

Bitdefender doesn't participate in testing with quite as many independent labs as Kaspersky does, but the most innovative labs do include it. Like Kaspersky, Bitdefender gets excellent ratings from the labs.

See How We Interpret Antivirus Lab Tests

I just recently finished upgrading the virtual machines I use for malware testing from Windows XP to Windows 8.1, so Bitdefender and Kaspersky Internet Security (2015) are the only products tested using my latest malware collection. Bitdefender earned 8.4 out of 10 possible points, Kaspersky got 7.9. Some products tested using my previous collection did much better. When the labs heap love on a product the way they do with Bitdefender, I give those tests more weight.

Bitdefender Internet Security 2015 Malware Blocking Chart

My highly focused malicious URL blocking test checks how the antivirus responds when I attempt to download from extremely new malware-hosting URLs. Bitdefender doesn't seem to focus on this layer of protection. It only blocked 18 percent of the malicious URLs, well below the current average of 33 percent.

See How We Test Malware Blocking

Other Shared Features
Bitdefender packs quite a few features into the standalone antivirus that other vendors might reserve for a full security suite. These include Wallet, a basic password manager, and SafePay, a hardened browsing environment for your sensitive online transactions. While the implementation is different, SafePay's purpose is similar to the Safe Money feature in Kaspersky.

Bitdefender Internet Security 2015 Antiphishing Chart

Phishing websites try to steal your login credentials by imitating bank sites and other secure sites. I use the very latest suspected phishing URLs in each test, and I report on how well the product did in comparison to Norton. Bitdefender's detection rate is the highest of all, 5 percentage points better than Norton's and also better than the built-in phishing detection in popular browsers.

See How We Test Antiphishing

Other shared features include a bootable, non-Windows Rescue Mode, a vulnerability scan, and a browser plug-in that flags dangerous links in search results and social media. You also get a file shredder, a subscription for basic credit monitoring, and a component that will prevent transmission of user-defined personal data. In addition, Bitdefender offers a collection of tools to wipe out useless data and traces of your computer and browser history. Yes, all these features come with the standalone antivirus.

View the original article here

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2015

Pros Extremely high ratings from independent labs. Top score in our hands-on antiphishing test. Vulnerability scan. Rescue mode for persistent malware. Password management. Hardened browser for financial transactions. Tools to protect privacy and enhance system performance.

Cons Non-stellar performance in our malicious URL blocking test. Bottom Line Few products score better in independent lab tests than Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2015, and it totally aced our own antiphishing test. On top of that, it offers significant tools to enhance your privacy and system performance. This feature-rich tool remains an antivirus Editors' Choice.

By Neil J. Rubenking

When you buy antivirus protection these days, you know that it's really antivirus plus protection against Trojans, rootkits, rogues, and all sorts of malware. Sometimes, though, you get even more. The "Plus" in Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2015 ($39.95 per year; $59.95 for three licenses) refers to an impressive collection of bonus features that many vendors would reserve for their full security suite.

The user interface for Bitdefender's antivirus is exactly the same as that of the full security suite, so you can see just what you'd get by upgrading. Suite-only features are simply grayed out and disabled. By default, Bitdefender runs in Autopilot mode, meaning it takes care of any security concerns without any user intervention. Just so you don't forget it's protecting you, it displays a weekly report listing all the good deeds it has done.

Excellent Lab Results
Almost all of the independent labs that I follow include Bitdefender in their testing. Bitdefender doesn't bother with the simple certifications offered by ICSA Labs and West Coast Labs, but it received VB100 certification in all 12 of the last 12 tests by Virus Bulletin. As for the remaining labs, those that perform hands-on, real-world testing, Bitdefender is right there in the mix.

Austrian lab AV-Comparatives puts antivirus technologies through a variety of tests including static tests, dynamic tests, and performance tests. Like Kaspersky, Bitdefender earned an Advanced+ rating (the highest rating) in all of these tests. AV-Test Institute gave it a near perfect score of 17.5 points in tests on protection, performance, and usability. Only Kaspersky has done better, with 18 of 18 possible points.

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2015 Lab Tests Chart

London-based Dennis Technology Labs uses a testing system that replays malicious Internet traffic, making it possible to test multiple products with exactly the same malware interaction. The complexity of this system means they can't test as many products as other labs, but both Kaspersky and Bitdefender are included.

In the latest results from Dennis Labs, ESET, Norton, and Kaspersky rated AAA, the top rating. Bitdefender came very close, earning an AA rating.

See How We Interpret Antivirus Lab Tests.

Malicious URL Blocking
Thanks to a real-time feed supplied by MRG-Effitas, I have access to a continually updated list of malicious URLs. I use these to check how each antivirus product handles extremely new threats. Does it block access to the URL, wipe out the downloaded malware, or just sit there doing nothing?

Bitdefender completely blocked access to 18 percent of the live malicious URLs I used for testing, but didn't wipe out any of the downloads that got through. It might well have caught those on launch, but that's not what this test measures. I've run two dozen products through this test so far, each with URLs no more than four hours old. The average protection rate is 33 percent, almost twice what Bitdefender managed. I'll be interested to see how Norton AntiVirus (2014) and Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus (2014) do when it's their turn for this test.

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2015 Malware Blocking Chart

Good Malware Blocking
I rely more and more on the independent labs for in-depth antivirus testing, but I always need to do my own hands-on testing, to get a feel for the product's protection. To start, I opened a folder containing my just-gathered new set of malware samples. Bitdefender quickly and quietly wiped out 83 percent of those samples.

Next I launched the remaining samples and noted the antivirus's reaction. It completely missed several, ending up with an overall detection rate of 86 percent and an overall score of 8.4 points. Kaspersky, the only other product tested with this exact same sample collection, earned 7.9 points.

You'll notice in the chart below that many products earned a better score than Bitdefender when tested with my previous collection of malware samples. Because that was a different collection, the results aren't apples-to-apples. And when my results don't entirely jibe with results from the big labs, I tend to believe the labs.

See How We Test Malware Blocking.

View the original article here

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2015

Pros Extremely high ratings from independent labs. Top score in our hands-on antiphishing test. Vulnerability scan. Rescue mode for persistent malware. Password management. Hardened browser for financial transactions. Tools to protect privacy and enhance system performance.

Cons Non-stellar performance in our malicious URL blocking test. Bottom Line Few products score better in independent lab tests than Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2015, and it totally aced our own antiphishing test. On top of that, it offers significant tools to enhance your privacy and system performance. This feature-rich tool remains an antivirus Editors' Choice.

By Neil J. Rubenking

When you buy antivirus protection these days, you know that it's really antivirus plus protection against Trojans, rootkits, rogues, and all sorts of malware. Sometimes, though, you get even more. The "Plus" in Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2015 ($39.95 per year; $59.95 for three licenses) refers to an impressive collection of bonus features that many vendors would reserve for their full security suite.

The user interface for Bitdefender's antivirus is exactly the same as that of the full security suite, so you can see just what you'd get by upgrading. Suite-only features are simply grayed out and disabled. By default, Bitdefender runs in Autopilot mode, meaning it takes care of any security concerns without any user intervention. Just so you don't forget it's protecting you, it displays a weekly report listing all the good deeds it has done.

Excellent Lab Results
Almost all of the independent labs that I follow include Bitdefender in their testing. Bitdefender doesn't bother with the simple certifications offered by ICSA Labs and West Coast Labs, but it received VB100 certification in all 12 of the last 12 tests by Virus Bulletin. As for the remaining labs, those that perform hands-on, real-world testing, Bitdefender is right there in the mix.

Austrian lab AV-Comparatives puts antivirus technologies through a variety of tests including static tests, dynamic tests, and performance tests. Like Kaspersky, Bitdefender earned an Advanced+ rating (the highest rating) in all of these tests. AV-Test Institute gave it a near perfect score of 17.5 points in tests on protection, performance, and usability. Only Kaspersky has done better, with 18 of 18 possible points.

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2015 Lab Tests Chart

London-based Dennis Technology Labs uses a testing system that replays malicious Internet traffic, making it possible to test multiple products with exactly the same malware interaction. The complexity of this system means they can't test as many products as other labs, but both Kaspersky and Bitdefender are included.

In the latest results from Dennis Labs, ESET, Norton, and Kaspersky rated AAA, the top rating. Bitdefender came very close, earning an AA rating.

See How We Interpret Antivirus Lab Tests.

Malicious URL Blocking
Thanks to a real-time feed supplied by MRG-Effitas, I have access to a continually updated list of malicious URLs. I use these to check how each antivirus product handles extremely new threats. Does it block access to the URL, wipe out the downloaded malware, or just sit there doing nothing?

Bitdefender completely blocked access to 18 percent of the live malicious URLs I used for testing, but didn't wipe out any of the downloads that got through. It might well have caught those on launch, but that's not what this test measures. I've run two dozen products through this test so far, each with URLs no more than four hours old. The average protection rate is 33 percent, almost twice what Bitdefender managed. I'll be interested to see how Norton AntiVirus (2014) and Webroot SecureAnywhere Antivirus (2014) do when it's their turn for this test.

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2015 Malware Blocking Chart

Good Malware Blocking
I rely more and more on the independent labs for in-depth antivirus testing, but I always need to do my own hands-on testing, to get a feel for the product's protection. To start, I opened a folder containing my just-gathered new set of malware samples. Bitdefender quickly and quietly wiped out 83 percent of those samples.

Next I launched the remaining samples and noted the antivirus's reaction. It completely missed several, ending up with an overall detection rate of 86 percent and an overall score of 8.4 points. Kaspersky, the only other product tested with this exact same sample collection, earned 7.9 points.

You'll notice in the chart below that many products earned a better score than Bitdefender when tested with my previous collection of malware samples. Because that was a different collection, the results aren't apples-to-apples. And when my results don't entirely jibe with results from the big labs, I tend to believe the labs.

See How We Test Malware Blocking.

View the original article here