BitDefender IS 2013 Installation and Configuration Recommendations

I bit, pun intended, on the latest Newegg promotion for a 3 PC/2 yr license. Was just to good to pass on. Will be dumping NIS 2013.

Never used BitDefender in any form previously.

Hardware is heavy duty so horsepower should not be an issue. OS is WIN 7 x64 SP1.

A couple of flags raised already. P2P updating via BitDefender community. Is that really advisable?

I want max. protection but don't want my browing slowed to a crawl. A KIS 2012 install still leaves a bad taste in my mouth on that subject.

What about the BIS 2013 firewall? Have read about some issues with it pertaining to custom settings. A lot of people using the WIN 7 firewall instead since that is an option?

 

I've only used Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2013 for a week or two, so this is really all that I can post on to date.

As for internet browsing....I haven't noticed much, if any, difference between Bitdefender and:

1) ESET NOD32, which is what I used previously for nearly 7 years. And

2) McAfee, which came pre-installed on my new Dell Inspiron. According to Dell, the version of McAfee is "specifically designed to work with Dell computers" so that it works quickly and flawlessly, without any noticeable difference or slowdowns. Now whether that's purely marketing, or if they have made some changes to accommodate Dell's drivers, etc., I don't know. But Bitdefender doesn't slow my computer down any more than the pre-installed McAfee.

In other words, it doesn't seem to impact system performance to me in the least. Not one bit. I realize it's early, and I might come along a week or month from now singing a different tune, but so far so good.

The only problem I will mention....is that I tried using System Restore one time....and got a message saying that the restore was "unsuccessful", and that "If I had an anti-virus installed I might want to disable it before trying again". I disabled, but still got the same message. I'm going to try the system restore feature again at some point to see what happens, but Dell seems to think that the restore point itself might not have been a valid/good restore point more so than any problem with the antivirus. And they even knew that I had removed the pre-installed McAfee and replaced it with Bitdefender.

 

Interesting. The Bitdefender user manual implies no issues using System Restore. Many other AVs are known to have problems with System Restore, NIS, Avast ro name a few.

Are you sure you fully uninstalled Eset and McAfee? One suggestion would be to run their respective removal tools. Then try system restore again.

The old trick to fix system restore is to remove all the old previous restore points by turning it off. Then reset System Restore, take a new restore point, and then try another restore to see if it works.

If your on WIN 7, there also might be a troubleshooter or Fix-It you can use to fix the restore problem.

Maybe something wih the Outpost firewall? The HIPS perhaps?

Also system restore on OEM PCs are as a rule troublesome.

 

Yes. This is a brand new desktop machine, and ESET was never on THIS machine. And as you're probably aware, Dell PCs come pre-installed with McAfee.

I called in to Dell's tech support for something else, and when I mentioned that I was going to uninstall McAfee, the technician told me that he could do that and had me download a program that provided him with access to my desktop. I watched as he actually used the McAfee uninstall program (specifically for McAfee) to remove McAfee. A scan with Ace Utilities and CCleaner came up clean as far as registry entries and so forth goes afterward.

The restore point I was going to use was one to a point and time that was several days AFTER McAfee had been uninstalled and Bitdefender had been installed.

 

What did KIS 2012 do? I am thinking of getting KIS 2013. Should I not? Would a few weeks of the trial be long enough to tell if it will cause browsing slowdowns or does it degrade over time?

 

Informative posts so far . But the OP's firewall question is as yet unanswered. I've asked a similar question myself. bigc73542 has used it recently I know.

 

I can't speak to the firewall in Bitdefender, as I only use the Antivirus and not the full suite. I do know there are members in this community that do (Berryracer, bigc73542, etc.), so I'm sure someone will be around before long to answer that.

Sorry, I missed this part of your post.

No, I have a lifetime license for both Outpost and WinPatrol, and while WinPatrol was the first program I installed, I don't even have Outpost installed on this new machine yet. I've had the new PC for less than 3 weeks, and I was having a problem accessing Agnitum's website for a while, but now it's back up and I'll probably be installing Outpost sometime within the next few days or so.

That said, I've restored my OLD computer (which, ironically, was a DELL) several times with both Outpost and WinPatrol installed, so I don't believe that either had anything to do with it.

One thing that MIGHT (and the more I think about it, probably did) have something to do with it.....is when I first got the new PC up and running...it had IE9 installed. Within a week or so, Microsoft "updated" the browser to IE10. I've been hearing and reading about an awful lot of programs that are having compatibility issues with IE10 (I just saw a post a few minutes ago about a user of First Defense-ISR having a problem with IE10, and I know that users of Kaspersky have, etc., that's what made me think of this)......and I *THINK* I may have been trying to restore the computer from a POST-IE10 installation back to a PRE-IE10 time period.

Or possibly it could be that I was attempting to restore the computer from a Bitdefender environment to a McAfee environment


Either way, I'm sure I'll find out soon enough, one way or the other

 

Bitdefender will prevent a Restore unless the computer is in safe mode.

 

Yep. Missed the safe mode reference in the System Restore section of the user manual.

 

Regarding the P2P updating, where did you read of this?

If I remember correctly, this was removed in the 2013 versions.

edit:
see here -http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?s=&showtopic=36483&view=findpost&p=151918

 

Thanks for that bit of information

So "disabling" the antivirus does no good then? The computer HAS to be booted into Safe Mode?

 

Multiple references to it in the BIS 2013 user manual I downloaded from BitDefender web site.

I will check out those forum posting links.

 

That is what the user manual says. Give it a shot and post back your findings.

 

Due to lack of feedback on specific configuration recommendations can I infer that everyone running this software is doing so on autopilot?

I might have to be a pioneer here. You know that old American saying, "Pioneers end up with arrrows in their backs."

 

Slowed down my browser considerably.

I also didn't like its firewall. Settings were way too generic and abstract for my liking. Far worse than those in NIS 2013 for example.

I have heard that KIS 2013 has improved browsing speed considerably.

One thing I definitely did not like is its vulnerability scanner. It trashed my IE9 settings among other things. I would stay away from that feature. Doubt I will use the one in BitDefender based on that previous experience.

 

I am using the antivirus plus 2013.
I have disabled autoscan and i am on user mode.

 

Bitdefender may not have revised the user manuals for 2013. It appears like P2P update was removed just after 2013 was released.

I only have a license for BDAV Plus 2013 so I won't be able to give info on anything BIS specific. With my configuration I had AVC set to high and actions on detection set to quarantine. I never had a false positive with AVC on high but it mentions that this could cause more false positives than the normal setting.

I also had usb set to 'ask every time'. This would bring up the prompt to immunize the usb drive when inserted.
-http://forum.bitdefender.com/index.php?showtopic=35503

I recommend that you acquaint yourself with rescue mode.
-http://www.bdantivirus.com/bitdefender/antivirusplus/html/disinfection.rescue.html

 

I run a dual boot XP and WIN 7 installation using EasyBCD boot loader. Anyone encounter any issues with Biddefender Rescue in a dual boot setup?

Also appears Rescue mode uses Linux? I have had issues in the past with boot rescue CDs using later versions of Linux. Appears to be an issue with certain Gigabyte M/B BIOSes.

 

I just read Passmark's perfomance benchmarks on AV/IS and Bitdefender is pretty much at the bottom of the heap when it comes to performance.

Anyone observe a noticable hit in performance running Bitdefender?

 

I saw that same report and looked through every single test result. I thought it performed more middle of the pack. There were some tests that it performed near the top, some where it performed near the bottom, and most where it performed near the average (i.e. - in the middle)

Sorry I can't speak to the Internet Security package, but the antivirus doesn't seem to have much impact at all. I remember the Norton days from around '05, and compared to that, Bitdefender AV is like lightning (LOL)

 

Pretty good review of BIS 2013 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMkuNvpSpQ0

Testing was done with default settings. IPS off. Review also shows SafePay and how activate the toolbar and set on the sandbox.

Anyone use BIS 2013 with W.O.T? Appears to me W.O.T. would interfere with BIS's web protection?

Also any BIS conflicts with EMET.

Also came across a number of negative comments about using BIS in conjunction with video; especially steaming. Also appears to have conflicts with BD DVD usage.

 

a little late but my experience with BDIS 2013 firewall and Av are all positive. I really can't say anything negative about it. My experience with it being compatible with other security programs such as MBAM is excellent. It has virtually no impact on my Dell Inspirion, 3GB ram. It doesn't seem to have any effect while streaming video or watching a DVD.

 

ITman,

How has Bitdefender IS been so far. I am thinking of getting it.

 

Haven't installed it yet. Every since I got rid of "the worst malware known to mankind" my PC has been running great using NIS 2013. I will probably install it when my NIS 2013 subscription expires in a few months.

 

The firewall can be configured to alert new connections?