Bitdefender Antivirus Free - English GUI

Thanks for the update, looking forward to the fix of the logs button.

 

Thank you Iulika0069 for the list of changes and of course all the hard work being done at Bitdefender.

If you guys want to introduce ads (since it is free), Why not make them a little more user friendly/Not in your face.

Possibly have optional tick mark boxes somewhere, that reads.

"Don't notify me about Bitdefender messages" = NO ADS

"Support Bitdefender by displaying messages" = ADS/Display once or twice a week (Default Setting when installing BDAV Free)

Or if people absolutely hate the ADS, why not just add an Upgrade button for your premium products?

It's the "in" your face, can't disable/you have no choice messages that bother me.

I don't know, just an idea.

 

Simply perplexes me that users of FREE software expect - no, demand - better support, better feedback, no ads, etc, for using the FREE software.

This is like a car manufacturer giving you free petrol for you car, for life, but then moaning that you have to show ads on the car or the manufacturer doesn't listen to your demands as much as a paid customer.

It costs security developers millions of pounds to develop, support and provide updates for your FREE software. You're offering zero - nothing - back in return. What are you expecting, exactly?

There are few other industries I can think of where users of free content demand so much in return. Has anyone actually thought this through? Which other industries provide you with completely free products?

 

Did you found those demands in my post?
All that I said was about the ~ Snipped as per TOS ~ C H A N G E L O G in their forum.

IMHO, mistake.
Users of free products are used as beta testers / advertisers from manufacturers.....

i.e.
What Benefits Can a Company Gain from Distributing Free Samples

 

The lack of ~ Snipped as per TOS ~ giving about this product displayed by BitDefender is inexcusable.

 

A working LOGS button and not a lot of ad crap.

Uninstalled.

 

Even if a person hardly checks the LOGS, it's still important to be fully functional.

 

I think, years ago at least, the idea behind offering most free software was to get the user to try it, and if he/she liked it enough, some of those users would actually purchase the paid product which was typically offered also. So, in other words, the free product should be an advertisement of sorts for the paid version. This was, and I think is, very common. Another idea, mentioned above, is that the free product users were simply guinea pigs or beta testers who provided useful feedback for use in development of paid versions.

I think the problem here with BD Free is way too many unresolved bugs and glitches (apparently also in the paid versions for years) and an almost total lack of support and useful communication by the BD Team.

So... bottom line: If they want people to use this free product, it needs to work properly, without a lot of bugs and glitches, and when bugs and glitches are found, they need to be fixed in a reasonable amount of time, not 6-9 months from the time they're discovered.

If anyone wants to use BD Free, and put up with the above nonsense, then fine. I think, from what I've seen here and elsewhere, most won't use it. There is a strong appearance of neglect here that isn't changing.

As for ads, I personally won't and don't use products with nags or ads. There are others just as good that don't have them.

But to answer the question of why a company would offer something good for free... the answer is usually to promote and convince users that their products are good, and to buy the paid versions... That's what the company gets out of it. In this case, BD Free is NOT a good promotion for any of the paid products IMO..

End of long dissertation.... I don't think I have much more to say on the topic at this point.

 

Actually the LOGS button will usually work after logging out of the user account and back on again, but that gets annoying and is a waste of time.

 

When the alternative free software choices do these things, absolutely.

Why settle for less?

Of course that leaves the option of using the alternative software, which is exactly what I've done.

 

This may have been brought up earlier on in the thread, but does disabling Auto Scan lessen the protection?

Simply put, is Virus Shield good enough without Auto Scan enabled?

 

No, it does not less protection. Bitdefender will not be able catch those malware that it might have missed. Thanks.

 

=

......

 

I'd be interested to know what alternative AV/AS/FW software you're referring to. I've yet to see one that didn't in some way promote a more complete subscription version. Some vendors do it more gracefully than others, but it is the generally accepted model. Support is another matter. In my experience support for paid software is not necessarily better than freeware. It's a good idea to look at the quality of support in general. I've switched products on occasion for that reason alone.

 

MSE has no ads out of the box (but then again it's about as useful as the withdrawal method).
Avast has a few ads here and there but the popup ads can be silenced. They can put all the ads they want in the main window, because I rarely ever see that window anyway. I'm specifically using RejZoR's 'PUP enabled' config file and IMHO it's perfect.

I don't really care about weaker support or feedback though I'd say that Avast still has decent support and seems very tolerable and accepting of feedback from their free users.

JMHO

 

last setup download is multilanguage?
Seems yes
This is the italian version, someone can confirm, i missed this step on changelog
Thanks

 

Turns out Avast is my choice for free AV as well, and for the same reasons

 

Try 360 Internet Security from Qihoo.

 

So..., how's BD free nowadays? Last time I tried it the real-time scanner said it was disabled or something and I needed to reboot to fix it, yet I get the same error again after that. Seems not only me who was having this problem.

Detection rate was nice. FP rate was under control. If it has been fixed then this is a good AV to install for people who prefer silent security. Me? Nah, I love popups.

Anyway, the texts need to be bigger.

 

OT:

Bitdefender Safepay
http://www.bitdefender.com/solutions/safepay.html
http://www.neowin.net/news/protect-your-online-banking-with-free-bitdefender-safepay

----------------------------

Free 50 GB Cloud Storage from AT&T
http://www.buzz99.com/4352/free-50-gb-cloud-storage-from-att/

.

 

Does the LOGS button work in the Italian version?

 

I doubt the language version has anything to do with it.

 

I love Bitdefender but this problem with the LOGS button not working properly is ridiculous.

 

I hate to say it, but this product just isn't any kind of priority with them. I have moved on myself to Avast, where there is high quality active development and support every day, and an excellent product too. After 7 or 8 months of following it, BD Free just isn't measuring up...

 

I'm using BD Free version 1.0.18.1047 and everything seems to be running fine. I installed it about 10:30 am this morning. The Logs button is working...no popups. I've done a number of reboots (just got back from fishing...didn't catch anything ). Things could go all to hell any second, granted, but as of right now...smooth sailing.

Later...

Bob