Strength:
BitDefender Antivirus 2008 protects against viruses, spyware, phishing attacks, and rootkits, which performs well on third-party, independent antivirus tests. This version provides us a choice for 3 PC with a two-year license. This version revised the problem of resource hog—we need no further worry about system impact. The automatic uninstall could clean remove, which can be seen as a merit of this version, since Bitdefender Anti-virus V10 couldn’t clean remove.
Weakness:
The “Identity Control” needs revising because it doesn’t work sometimes; the Help File is not very constant and convenient to look up a certain problem. Though Bitdefender also leaves an online Getting Started document, it provides more important information for security suite users, not those users who would like to know something about anti-virus products.
Benefits
This program is a strong one that prevents viruses, spyware, privacy breaches, phishing attacks, and rootkits efficiently and reliably. Bitdefender is the only anti-virus product that advertises a Gamer mode—that is, while you’re off playing games, the protection alert and resources will minimize.
The default settings of Bitdefender are considerate for users, for instance, with antivirus scan, the default setting scans files during boot, recently accessed files, packed files (although not archived files), incoming and outgoing e-mails—these settings are nice. Yet there are some deficiencies--BitDefender's HTTP scan blocks malicious ActiveX and JavaScript, and is part of the antivirus and antispyware protection. There is no sufficient guidance, either.
This program provides us a real-time security, updates hourly as well. It’s good for end-users who want a security guard to protect theirs safety and security.
The default protection settings will look for instances of private information leaving the computer and guard against spyware attempting to install on the machine. The more aggressive setting adds cookie control and script protection, which most browsers will also allow you to control. Do you need this protection if your browser already provides similar protection? Bitdefender lacks the euphemistic inquiry to users, which is not very friendly in its design.
Here is the test result of Bitdefender Anti-virus functionality :
Bitdefender Anti-virus 2008 scores well in both CNET labs’ performance test and in one-third party, independent anti-virus test using live viruses. On iTunes test, BitDefender Antivirus 2008 was tied for first, completing in a fast 270 seconds, just 2 seconds above our test system. On our Microsoft Office test, BitDefender Antivirus 2008 came in near the middle at 1,426 seconds. For scanning a single folder with files, BitDefender Antivirus 2008 came in second requiring 163 seconds. And in boot speed, BitDefender Antivirus 2008 came in first, with a respectable 28 seconds.
In terms of protecting your PC, there are results offered by two leading independent antivirus testing organizations. In the latest test results from Anti-virus-Comparatives.org, for on-demand scans, the previous version, BitDefender Professional 10+, earned an “Advanced (second-highest)” rating, catching 96 percent of all malware tested; and for the Retrospective/Proactive test, BitDefender Professional 10+ also earned a “Standard (middle)” rating, detecting almost half the backdoors, Trojans, and other malware sampled. BitDefender was not tested by CheckVir.com, the second authority for test results.
Setup
As we know, an anti-virus tool is always a heavy weight one. This download version is a full-function trial without limitation (24-day free use). The installation is easy and straightforward; just follow the prompts. After a few minutes the install carries on. The next step is updating the software with the latest data. This was a surprisingly large download (9MB) considering I had already downloaded the latest installation file during the setup. Once installation is completed, a reboot is required.
Given necessity of uninstall, this program offers a shortcut to delete it. I’ve mentioned that this tool can remove clean after reboot. We don’t need to delete the left folder manually.
Interface
BitDefender Antivirus 2008 opts for a practical interface. If there are any security issues, one of the large icons will display red. For remediation, there's a large “Fix This button”, or you can click the specific graphic to see what's wrong. The interface of Bitdefender looks like a bit of Vista style because of its transparent effect.
System Requirements
Bitdefender Anti-virus 2008 runs smoothly on Windows 2000/XP/Vista, which requires 512MB of RAM and at least 50MB free space.
Conclusion
This new version has greatly improved and revised some flaws from last version. I referred to V10 reviews before writing and found it a resource hog, especially on Vista system. This version has corrected it and there is little system impact when launching; and unclean-removed bug is also repaired, which is very excellent and comfortable for users.
The Help File is an improvement, too; yet it needs a better mending: Bitdefender has revised the separate problem, the Help File in this version lacks context sensitive; thus we cannot check a question immediately.
Bitdefender Anti-virus 2008 should be added some euphemistic inquiry to users before making “aggressive” decision.
In all, Bitdefender Anti-virus 2008 is an effective protection tool which contains four mains protection means to prevent viruses or attacks from every channel; it performs perfectly in malicious wares preventing.
04/21/2008
Lucy Lee
