Bitdefender 2017 Review

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Firstly I want to say I want to say I loved the software when I first installed it in 2015. This year I wanted to upgrade to "Total Security 2017" from the 2016 version, my subscription was almost up and there was a really good deal that came my way it was $30.00 (cad not usd) for the 2017 platfrom, this was Oct 16th. I contacted customer support and was told the support team had to manipulate my subscription and someone would get back to me in 48hrs. They did get back to me over a week later and they told me they were still working on it, after several emails back and fourth explaining I was having issues with the link that was sent finally on Nov 1 I had Bitdefender up and running. I loved the new layout, and even look past the fact they charged my $40cad and not the $30 that was attached to the promotional email i received. Then I started to get "mshta.exe error", I couldn't do anything without this error popping up. However I didn't relate this error to Bitdefender. I spent 72hrs, clean install after clean install, system restore, etc.....and then I started to pay attention to when the error started to happen. Every time it started to happen after I reinstalled Bitdefender from central. I stopped using it, gave up on the software and gave up on the support team. I did try to reinstall a couple more times hoping my computer was just having a bad day and since I was trying out trial periods from other software companies I felt I didn't have much to loose and every time the same error after the install. So i decided to purchase another piece of software from a competitor, it was half the price and offered more (Norton). All I have asked from Bitdefender is to be refunded the $40 that I spent on a piece of Software I cannot use, it is now Dec 3rd. I have sent 3 emails asking for the name and contact for the manager of the support team and I still have not received a reply and the last email i sent was on Nov 29th and the last email I have received from them was Nov 24th. The last email i received from them, they asked me to create a support tag, there is no way I am going to reinstall Bitdefender just to generate a support tag. I don't think I was asking for very much when i asked to be refunded $40.00. I have never had such a terrible experience when dealing with a company, I am sure there are more amazing stories about the company then bad, unfortunately I am one of the bad and I have all the emails to this situation saved. Open ticket 2016110316410002
 
Since Bitdefender Total Security got such glowing reviews I decided to give it a try. Sophos Home has my Sierra OS Mac severely broken every morning.

I went to the BitFinder site and put the Total Security package in my shopping cart. As I started to check out I see there is a "Recommended" $99 virus removal add on. I spent a little time and found out that even though they offer to let me pay for it, they don't actually have that service for Mac's. Seemed kind of slimy of them not to mention that. I continued on to payment via PayPal. Once logged into my PayPal account I see a PopUp that informs me that BitDefender will, in future complete any purchases I make and debit my PayPal account without my further authentication "for my convenience".

That was it for me. Although I trust that the software must be pretty good to the ratings it gets, doing business with them is just too big a risk. I canceled the transaction.

I know these guys are a sponsor of this web site and I'm happy to support businesses that support the things I like but this is a little too far for me to go.
 
terrible company. they deducted 89 from my account. i notified them immediately and they've done nothing to refund it. the product is also terrible. i had fewer problems with the free version of avast. i also had to ask them for a removal tool to get the program off my computer, as it isn't removed in the control panel the way that most programs are.
 
BEWARE: Bitdefender "automatically renewed" my subscription for $30 more than the available price on their website. According to their customer support, automatic renewals are processed at the highest list price. IF YOU HAVE AUTOMATIC RENEWAL, CANCEL IT NOW! I don't authorized automatic renewals to my PayPal account, but they processed it anyway! When I complained, they cancelled my (unauthorized) renewal, but have not refunded my (unauthorized) payment. The product is ok, but there are other products, just as good, that don't price gouge you.
 
CREATES SCREEN -LOCKER POP-UPS ON YOUR MACHINE: In early February, 2017, they sent out a customer satisfaction survey that just popped up on the screen. The survey was mandatory - the only way to get rid of it was to take it. There was no decline option, and no close button on the screen pop-up or within the survey. I thought they were going to protect me from unwanted intrusions on my system, but instead they are inflicting them on me. Aside from taking the survey (which was them just fishing for compliments), the only way to get rid of it was to close everything in progress, save all work, and restart the machine. Ugh!
 
Bitdefender use underhand tactics to scam money from you. I purchased their AV 2017, after payment I was taken to site labelled "Download & Install". The ONLY link on that page was a green button titled "Get It Now". I clicked on this assuming it was a download link. It wasn't, it was a slimy way of getting me to buy their 'install and configure' service for another £19.99!!
What a low dirty trick, what you'd expect from the people Bitdefender is supposed to protect us from!
I have sent requests for a refund and had NO RESPONSE at all.
What a low despicable company.
 
DO NOT BUY BITDEFENDER! 1) they trick you into a second charge when you hit 'Get it Now'. They charged the guy above 20 pounds. They charged me an extra $32. They wouldn't give you an activation code until you made this second purchase. I have also sent refund requests and logged a support ticket and filed a complaint with paypal. Now it's time for the nasty reviews. 2) they automatically register you for a subscription. Their purchase tactics are awful. 3) the version I did download locked down my internet so I couldn't access the internet. I had to uninstall it. DO NOT BUY. DO NOT BUY. TOTAL RIPOFF.
 
This is a paid review. If you go through the internet you will see how much this program sucks. You cannot uninstall it and the company doesn't seem to know how to uninstall it. I would avoid this PoS at all costs and any company shilling it should be avoided as well.
 
Regardless of the fact, I do think that Bitdefender is one of the better software out there when it comes to freeware security. Yeah, it might have some issues with the way they do pop-ups and marketing, but the software itself still stands well. But more and more people seem to find that annoying, I do understand that.
 
Horrible, HORRIBLE PRODUCT! BD Totoal Security 2018 "Threat Defense" blocked Steam updater without comment--eventually had to turn it off to get the update installed. "Safe Files" prevented a critical application from saving files to the standard application folder on another computer--had to turn that off. Today it demands that it has never been updated, although notifications show update 15 minutes ago. Update will not complete.
Support is among the worst I've seen in 37 years working with computers. The "support team" actually cut and pasted the wrong page from their solution key to me in response to a support request. Support request about the other two problems have gone unanswered for days.
Actually makes me look back fondly on the Norton product I got this to replace.
 
Oh, and BD 2018 turned WINDOWS FIREWALL on without asking. I'm afraid they might actually be using it as part of the included firewall.
 
While it might seem what they are doing are intrusive, if you think about it, they are trying to do their job. Turned off the firewall is a massive security hole. Also, if you are not buying BD, you have a FREE anti-virus solution, while it might have some issues, it does the job. I do see a lot of great benefits coming out from it, but I am certainly not denying, that it has plenty of issue on its own.
 
Tom's Hardware should be mortified by it's glowing review of this nightmare of a product. Will never trust your reviews again.
 
Finally got them to admit on their Twitter account that Bitdefender's "firewall" IS Windows Firewall---with a thin UI and some minimal features pasted over it.
 
Most of them are like that. Firewalls are quite hard and expensive to develop on their own, so usually, it is just a matter of adaptability.

Reviews or not, it is common knowledge to read multiple perspectives on a product, no matter how trusted the reviewer is. Multiple perspectives give you a firmer view on the topic.
 
DO NOT USE BITDEFENDER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!

I use Fsekrit to store passwords in an encrypted file. Bitdefender decided it was a malicious program and deleted it on its own authority. Completely. Not in the recycle bin, not in the quarantine, nowhere. Hundreds of passwords down the drain. All I did was use a piece of software I've used for years.

That is complete <mod edit>

<Watch your language in these forums>
 
I have a hard time believing that. As far as I am aware, no matter the problem it will quarantine it before everything else. You usually have options and actions to do something about a specific software or a file. Since I am unaware if such option exists, might have had an option selected to delete everything in quarantine or just miss clicked it.
 


How did you know it bitdefender deleted it?
 
I have had nothing but problems getting Bitdefender Total Security 2017 to install properly on several systems. Sometimes it works, more often it gets to the log-in and won't connect to the servers.

Bitdefender Support has walked me thought the same troubleshooting list several times and the only actual solution I found is a cumbersome workaround that involves replacing three files in the root directory while in Safe Mode.

I eventually told them I wasn't going to bother unless they could offer me a real solution... they did not respond.
 
Is your problem with BitDefender consistent with an Operating system or some circumstances? Or is it just random when it doesn't work?

Such a random solution for a problem that could be easily fixed. I wonder if it is a minor issue and happens rarely (Meaning you could be unlucky) or a common problem that's left untouched, which would be a massive disappointment.
 

It happened with both Windows 7 and Windows 10 on two completely separate machines. Only similarity is that they are both AM3+ systems.

They both went well the first and maybe second time. Eventually after a clean install of Windows, at some point, they would both fail to connect to the Bitdefender servers when trying to log-in after completing installation.

Everything was done 100% the recommended way. Walked through canned tech support two or three times with the same suggestions that it was an issue with my firewall or my router or something on my end.

In both cases the only thing that consistently worked was an 18 month old work-around that I found in their support forums. There were 3 files provided (by them) to someone on the forum with the EXACT same issue (from over a year ago) that had to be replaced in the root directory while in Safe Mode. My guess is that they are some kind of universal key or bypass for their server-side verification because they consistently worked when nothing else would.

After the third time of them ending up at the same conclusion, I told them in no uncertain words that I would not bother installing their product again if they couldn't offer me a real solution that will be functional after a clean install. I have yet to receive a response, it has been a few months.
 
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