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Bitdefender

Bitdefender is undeniably a good antivirus service for Windows users, but its limitations for Mac and iOS stop it from being the best option overall.
Despite these limitations, Bitdefender is still a good choice in 2022, especially if you want comprehensive coverage for your Windows devices. Unlike many antivirus competitors, you can try Bitdefender with a 30-day free trial (no credit card required)! You can keep using Bitdefender afterward with the 30-day money-back guarantee.

  • Quick Scan: Review the parts of your hard drive with the highest risk of infection.
  • System Scan: Scans your entire device for threats.
  • Vulnerability Scan: Investigates your system for potentially dangerous settings and missing updates to plug security holes.
  • Rescue Environment Scan: Reboots your system in a safe mode to find and remove tough threats that you can’t get rid of in normal operating mode.
  • Custom Scan: Choose which parts of your hard drive to search, when to run the scan, and what to search for.

Prior to downloading any Bitdefender package, it’s worth making sure you have enough CPU available to complete the installation effectively. On my first attempt, I received a warning informing me that there was not enough CPU available for Bitdefender to install. I remedied this by closing a few active programs which proved effective but the installation process was, nonetheless, sluggish and took a good 30 minutes to complete.

Bitdefender products aren’t exactly lightweight, with the most basic package, the Bitdefender free antivirus, requiring 9.9MB of space, and the premium versions over 10MB. As a result, the installation process is quite time-consuming, especially as it insists on performing a scan during the process, making it even lengthier.

Once installed, however, Bitdefender has very little impact on performance which is a positive, but you do have to switch between your desktop app and the Bitdefender Central website where you manage your account and devices in order to complete the process, which is frustrating and fiddly. Having said that, Bitdefender does offer plenty of tutorials and support so effectively holds your hand throughout the process which certainly makes life easier.



Bitdefender gives multi-layered protection against common threats, such as spyware, malware, ransomware, and phishing. In lab tests, it has produced some of the best results in the antivirus field, scoring an impressive 99.99% in its most recent online protection test. Similarly, it produces few false positives so won’t be continuously alerting you to suspect programs that have actually been running on your device without issue for years.
The features included in Bitdefender’s packages vary extensively between its free product and its premium options. The Bitdefender Antivirus free version will only give you basic protection in the form of an intelligent antivirus, defense against web attacks, advanced threat protection, and anti-phishing and anti-fraud features. That is minimal when compared to its premium packages but is sufficient for many users, if they can get through the setup and installation ordeal.