Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2013

I just bought a new PC, and I'm running Windows 7, 64-bit SP1 Home Premium. I uninstalled McAfee that came pre-installed and installed Bitdfender Antivirus Plus 2013 a few days ago, and since then I've noticed something rather odd.

Even though this software is NOT suppose to include a firewall......when I go to "Control Panel > System and Security > Action Center > Security"....it says that the Network Firewall (Windows Firewall) is on, and just below it has a link to "View installed firewalls". When I select that, it shows TWO firewalls: Windows Firewall (On), and Bitdefender Firewall (Off)

This software is NOT supposed to have a firewall.....that's why I chose it rather than Bitdefender Internet Security. I plan to install Outpost Firewall Pro (for which I have a lifetime license) here soon.

Can somebody help me out here? Why would this be showing, and what can be done to have it removed from the "list of firewalls"?

 

I'm thinking it may be there as part of a marketing ploy, to try to get you to think you're missing something, then when you try to enable it, it takes you thru some process to buy and convert it into the IS product or something. Some installers actually carry and install the full versions of things, but leave parts disabled (a form of advertising) until you purchase them...

 

After using Bitdefender for about 7 years I have never seen this type of behavior. Bitdefender is classier than this. BD does not leave irrelevant features in the GUI or use Windows Action Center for advertising/upselling.

If after a couple reboots it is still there in action center then I would try reinstalling or a repair.

You can download the 2013 full installation package and the 2013 uninstall utility from here:
-http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?showtopic=35494

If reinstalling or a repair doesn't fix this then I would create a topic on their forum and have Georgia instruct you on where to go from there.

 

It may have just installed the firewall driver in case the user decides to purchase the full suite.

 

That's basically what I was saying..... yes..

 

That's exactly my thinking.

I've asked at the Bitdefender forum, but so far nothing. No reply. I'm probably going to end up calling their customer service. (I need to find out how to set up a weekly "on-demand" scan anyway.)

One thing I will add....and this might be fairly relevant....is that upon installation, a large, round, interactive icon appeared on my desktop. Since it was pertaining to Bitdefender, and allowed me access to the product graphic user interface, I thought it was useful....and pretty cool. So I didn't remove it.

It is divided into 4 sections:

1) at the top of the sphere, when clicked...brings up the "Events Overview" (which includes Antivirus, Privacy Control, Update, ID Theft Protection, and Safego)

2) to the right, when clicked....brings up "Antivirus Settings" (Shield, Vulnerability, Exclusions, Quarantine....with options to select for each)

3) at the bottom of the sphere, when clicked....brings up "MyBitdefender"....a web page to "Securely and conveniently manage your Bitdefender services,
installed applications and mobile devices"...which requires an email address and password. Ironically, even though I have turned on and selected "Yes" to "Remember me on this computer"...it ALWAYS asks me to log in. And finally:

4) to the left of the sphere, when clicked....does nothing. BUT.....there is a big question mark....and when the cursor is placed over the question mark, it says "FIREWALL ACTIVITY"

So go figure.

 

I just looked at my action center on my other computer and it shows Bitdefender Firewall. too. Can't wait to hear what Bitdefender tells you regarding this. What you and Amiga are thinking may be correct.

From what I can remember autoscan is there to take the place of scheduled scans. It scans at times of low resource usage. There is no way given to perform a scheduled scan. Since the 2012 version they changed to this Silent Security mode. They have removed a bunch of advanced settings. Don't forget to test the rescue mode scan so you can become acquainted with it before you actually need it. It allows you to boot into a Linux environment to help in cleaning/removal while windows is not running.


What you have mentioned is the security widget. At one time I thought someone had called it WatchDog. You can drag and drop files onto it to scan. It is not related to Windows Gadget Platform so the gadget platform does not need to run for the widget to run. I forgot all about it because I don't use widgets or gadgets. The question mark on the left, when clicked, does try to upsell you by taking you to a web page showing internet security and total security.
-http://www.bitdefender.com/media/html/widget/

 

Thanks for posting that screen shot, Charyb. I'm glad you checked and discovered what I did. Odd, isn't it?

With some security programs in the past, I had to manually go to "Scheduled Tasks" and enter a parameter that would set up a set weekly scan. I know I had to do that with TrojanHunter, and I'm 99% sure that I had to do that with early versions of ESET NOD32 as well. I certainly don't mind doing that for Bitdefender, if it can be done. But thanks for passing along that bit of info

P.S. - What is "Rescue Mode", and how do you test it?

LOL...I had no idea what to call it. "Security widget" sounds good to me.

Wow.....ironic, isn't it? That the initial suspicions from Kerodo and AMIGA500 apparently are true....

 

Here is a video showing someone running rescue mode in a virtual machine. You will need to change the settings to high def to see it better.
-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k99U0hQzL0E


Read here what Christian posted regarding rescue mode. -http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?showtopic=28207&hl=rescue+mode


I don't know if this is helpful for you to schedule a scan but I believe odscanui.exe is the on-demand scanner.


BDAV Plus 2013 is the quietest and the least resource hungry antivirus I have used. I just thought I would throw this in for no particular reason. It's in my top 2.

Yes, I forgot all about the widget doing this. I complained about this last year on the Bitdefender forum. Sorry about that.
If it's showing in action center then, in my opinion, it is a bug. At least it is not in the GUI.