Customer Reviews

Bitdefender Internet Security 2010 - 1-PC/1-Year [OLD VERSION]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I purchased this software to replace kaspersky just after getting a windows 7 laptop. At the time kaspersky was not windows 7 ready and Bitdefender was. All lab reports on Bitdefenders were good and it seemed to have a very good feature set. AV lab tests also showed that it was in the top 5 results at the time.

I wish I would have gone another route.

This was a 'license' for 3 PCs. As such I installed it on 2 windows 7 laptops and a Windows XP Media Center 2005 desktop.

It does seem to have a good feature set but it is not reliable. The software when it's working seems good but it keeps shutting down or crashing. The icon in the notification tray will turn grey at random, will give an error that it is not responding forcing the PC to need to be rebooted in order to get it back up and running. This happens constantly on one of my windows 7 laptops and on the xp machine. Also getting this error constantly "vsserv.exe has caused an error and needs to shut down".

I have opened over 5 tickets with Bitdefender support which has been way below standard. The first ticket was closed by them after providing a solution of "run the update"? I was not impressed as another ticket I opened was that the AV definition files would not update. The update would fail to contact the server and the PC would have to be rebooted to make a connection, despite my having a working high speed connection. It would usually be days after before I would notice that it hadn't updated. So for several days my PC would be running out of date Anti Virus definitions.

This added with the constant crashes left my computer vulnerable. If the AV isn't running, or it isn't up to date, how can you trust that your PC is secure?

This was happening on all 3 machines. I'm assuming that there is another piece of software on these machines that may be in conflict with Bitdefender. Unknown at this point as their tech support was unable to resolve. Complete uninstall and reinstall of Bitdefender did not resolve the issue. Unsure if the install bits I have are corrupt or not. The install provided by Bitdefender was over an internet connection. They did not provide me with a hard copy (DVD) of the install bits and the downloaded version of the new install file from Bitdefender had the same result.

Working with their support was a lost cause and after a few months of this nonsense I asked them for a refund.

Their response was "NO". Even though you don't purchase software you license it (2 yr license in my case). Their reply was that after 30 days of purchase no refunds. So I'm paying for a 2 year license I'm not able to use.

After several emails to their customer service in regards to the issue. Advising I know longer trusted this application to protect my pc they still refused to give a refund. I received (2) phone calls from their tech support wanting to troubleshoot further. Was bad enough that it had been months into this at this point, and the software wasn't working, but the tech support who was calling had English so bad I had difficulty understanding them.

Their final solution given was to have me format my (3) three computers so as to get their software to work. This was not an option.

I have been working in IT for several years and hold over 15 industry certifications in the field. In all my experience in dealing with buggy software this has to be the absolute worse in terms of dealing with the software and its customer service.

I would not recommend this software to anyone. Not just because of my technical issue but because of how their customer service and tech support were unwilling to refund my money when they failed to resolve the issue. Reformatting one of the PCs may have been a viable troubleshooting step to try and narrow down what was causing the issue, but a customer should be able to say no at this point if they choose to and get a refund. There has to be a deciding line as to when enough is enough, and how much one should have to work to get something to function as it should. Their are certain expectations every customer has when they make a purchase from a software vendor. Not only to the quality the software, but the support expected from its vendor as well.

If there was a minus star I would have given one. Seems to be a good program when it's running but its not reliable. Tech support and customer service way below standard.

I've since installed another AV/Firewall solution and low and behold. It does not crash. Go figure.

I've still received no refund or further correspondences from BitDefender

I downloaded this Sunday. It is similiar to the 2009 software. I find my way around fine and I didn't find any processes that ran slower. Once it figures out what to block and what to allow it is fine. It didn't detect anything but I am pretty careful about having software protection and I watch what I download or what websites I go to. I am pleased with it. If any problems come up I will write another review. For now I say it is a great deal.


It is now June and I am pleased with this security suite. It is rated as one of the top ten in consumer report. Best of all I have used it and can vouch it works great. It has blocked innocent looking pages that could have wiped out my computer. No problems never had a virus. I did a back up with another online program same results. This works and for the price you can't go wrong. I use Verizon web mail and it is a lot better then the security suite they offer. They offer it free and that is about what it is worth. Nothing.

I purchased this software to replace kaspersky just after getting a windows 7 laptop. At the time kaspersky was not windows 7 ready and Bitdefender was. All lab reports on Bitdefenders were good and it seemed to have a very good feature set. AV lab tests also showed that it was in the top 5 results at the time.

I wish I would have gone another route.

This was a 'license' for 3 PCs. As such I installed it on 2 windows 7 laptops and a Windows XP Media Center 2005 desktop.

It does seem to have a good feature set but it is not reliable. The software when it's working seems good but it keeps shutting down or crashing. The icon in the notification tray will turn grey at random, will give an error that it is not responding forcing the PC to need to be rebooted in order to get it back up and running. This happens constantly on one of my windows 7 laptops and on the xp machine. Also getting this error constantly "vsserv.exe has caused an error and needs to shut down".

I have opened over 5 tickets with Bitdefender support which has been way below standard. The first ticket was closed by them after providing a solution of "run the update"? I was not impressed as another ticket I opened was that the AV definition files would not update. The update would fail to contact the server and the PC would have to be rebooted to make a connection, despite my having a working high speed connection. It would usually be days after before I would notice that it hadn't updated. So for several days my PC would be running out of date Anti Virus definitions.

This added with the constant crashes left my computer vulnerable. If the AV isn't running, or it isn't up to date, how can you trust that your PC is secure?

This was happening on all 3 machines. I'm assuming that there is another piece of software on these machines that may be in conflict with Bitdefender. Unknown at this point as their tech support was unable to resolve. Complete uninstall and reinstall of Bitdefender did not resolve the issue. Unsure if the install bits I have are corrupt or not. The install provided by Bitdefender was over an internet connection. They did not provide me with a hard copy (DVD) of the install bits and the downloaded version of the new install file from Bitdefender had the same result.

Working with their support was a lost cause and after a few months of this nonsense I asked them for a refund.

Their response was "NO". Even though you don't purchase software you license it (2 yr license in my case). Their reply was that after 30 days of purchase no refunds. So I'm paying for a 2 year license I'm not able to use.

After several emails to their customer service in regards to the issue. Advising I know longer trusted this application to protect my pc they still refused to give a refund. I received (2) phone calls from their tech support wanting to troubleshoot further. Was bad enough that it had been months into this at this point, and the software wasn't working, but the tech support who was calling had English so bad I had difficulty understanding them.

Their final solution given was to have me format my (3) three computers so as to get their software to work. This was not an option.

I have been working in IT for several years and hold over 15 industry certifications in the field. In all my experience in dealing with buggy software this has to be the absolute worse in terms of dealing with the software and its customer service.

I would not recommend this software to anyone. Not just because of my technical issue but because of how their customer service and tech support were unwilling to refund my money when they failed to resolve the issue. Reformatting one of the PCs may have been a viable troubleshooting step to try and narrow down what was causing the issue, but a customer should be able to say no at this point if they choose to and get a refund. There has to be a deciding line as to when enough is enough, and how much one should have to work to get something to function as it should. Their are certain expectations every customer has when they make a purchase from a software vendor. Not only to the quality the software, but the support expected from its vendor as well.

If there was a minus star I would have given one. Seems to be a good program when it's running but its not reliable. Tech support and customer service way below standard.

I've since installed another AV/Firewall solution and low and behold. It does not crash. Go figure.

I've still received no refund or further correspondences from BitDefender

Ran 09 version for one year because Bitdefender one of few antivirus products that will run on Windows XP 64 bit.

Three very bad experiences with them:

1) Let virus through in Jan `10 - then cleaning program I downloaded from tech support did not work; 2) March `10 auto update brought down 64 bit systems - sparked false positive of nonexistant massive virus attack; 3) April - subscription ran out, prompted me to upgrade to Bitdefender 2010. This version crashed my 64 bit machine on attempt to install and wiped out my ability to connect to Internet. Tech support refused to help me repair this crash damage - once removed 2010 they said all they would do. I asked to connect to manager to complain, the technician refused to connect me. He did tell me a senior tech would call, but that was a week ago and no one has.

Check out this note from knowledge base - [..] - basically says they forgot to test auto update with 64 bit systems, as result their customers' systems became inoperable. I personally got notices I was under attack every 5 seconds; managed to shut those off and start a virus scan, which later reported over 15,000 infected files. Late in day I got an email with this link - basically said 'never mind.' Incredible! Avoid these guys!

I would have preferred to stick with my GData anti-virus software, but Bitdefender's Internet Security seemed like a good replacement. It installed quickly and was easy to use in the beginning. As far as I can tell, it has kept my computer free from viruses. (Knock on wood.) The background scanning was especially nice because it doesn't slow down my computer--a far cry from Norton anti-virus software. Bitdefender wasn't expensive, but I almost wished I had gone with their total security software.

After using this product for a year, my license has almost expired. I can definitely say I will not be getting this again. For the past 4 months or so, BitDefender has been a memory hog. When navigating the Internet, it often causes the system to hang. It uses over 50% of the CPU to load a site I have had no trouble loading before. This problem appears and reappears at random. I can't get a satisfactory explanation from tech support, and I am sick of it.

If you get this software, be aware of what can happen to your computer. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Bitdefender Internet Suite is a waste of money. Some of their claims are misleading to the extreme:

# Shop, bank, listen, watch privately and securely; blocks attempted identity theft (phishing)

Bitdefender WILL NOT protect you from fishing attacks. To do that it would have to accurately identify all phishing e-mails. No program can do this 100% reliably. It is up to you to use common sense when reading e-mails and look at who they are from to determine if an e-mail is a phishing attack or not. Believing that ANY program gives you complete security lulls one into a false sense of security. Only personal vigilance and avoiding EVER responding to e-mails that ask for banking or other passwords can protect you 100% of the time.

# Prevents personal information from leaking via e-mail, web or instant messaging

The statement is a complete failure of communication and is virtually meaningless. Things don't just 'leak' out instant messenger or e-mail. You have to proactively type information into these programs and willingly send it elsewhere. There are certain viruses like key-stroke-loggers that can and will mine your passwords, but they don't have a single thing to do with e-mail or messenger programs. For a program to prevent personal information from getting sent out via e-mail or messenger, it would have to effectively cut off 100% of outbound traffic from your computer. This claim is dubious and misleading, and again can create a false sense of security.

Additionally, Bitdefender ranks low on professional review sites as a virus scanner / blocker. You're much better off with MICROSOFT SECURITY SUITE which is also FREE if you have a licensed copy of Windows. It scores higher in every category, and additionally costs nothing.

The bottom line is that all virus scanners are fallible. The only way to truly protect your computer is by being smart: don't download programs you don't know much about; don't go to web pages that are known whorehouses for viruses (like wallpaper sites), don't e-mail out your passwords EVER. Additionally invest in a good hardware firewall (most routers these days have one built in) and keep your virus definitions up to date for the program you do have. Get a good free Anti-spyware program (superantispyware is my personal favorite, but LavaSoft's Ad-Aware is also very good and also free) and run the program once a week.

Buying Norton, McAfee or Bitdefender is a waste of money. The free programs referenced above are as good or better than those you pay money for. Links to each are in the comments of this review.

I had McAfee until its renewal was due, it always slowed my computer when it ran so I decided to give something else a try Bitdefender was one of those attempts and unfortunately at this point I'm not sure which did what to my computer. Suffice to say all the programs I went online to seek out reviews. I believe that some companies write their own evaluations and are presented as unbiased opinions. Bitdefender appeared to be a copy of another program the name of which escapes me but along with AV Antivirus Elite two programs which ran fine with McAfee no longer could download their updates or allow a fax program to work. I wound up with Norton Internet Secuity 2010, after reloading both previously mentioned programs that had problems both work fine and Norton doesn't slow the computer. Who know how well it does its job it at least allows my other programs to function. Good luck on what you choose I think it's a crapshoot based on what I have read with all these antivirus programs.

I have always used Bitdefender Internet Security on my 2 pcs. Always worked great until the 2010 upgrade. My newer pc - Intel Dual Core 2.0 with XP Pro, has problems with the 2010 version. At least once a day, Bitdefender crashes and I get a message "Bitdefender Services not Responding". Bitdefender has not been able to fix the problem or even figure out what causes it. The only way to fix the it is to reboot. My older laptop - also running XP Pro - has no problems.

I have given up on Bitdefender and am changing to AVG.

Exactly what I wanted at a great price. I've been using BitDefender since 2006 and will continue using it due to it's ease of use and phenomenal security.

I had I think the 2008 version on my computer and it ran fine. Then I downloaded this 2010 and it slowed down my computer and I got a virus. Now the computer is junk. I ended up using AVG paying 20.00 a year. GO WITH AVG! Bitdefender has become junk. Dont do it.