This uses machine learning and a global website reputation database to judge whether any site you visit should be considered malicious. Web browsing is protected by the Online Threat Prevention module. However, with so many people using web-based email services (along with their mobile apps), this won’t be any use as it only works with Outlook and Thunderbird desktop email apps. The anti-spam module allows you to explicitly whitelist friends and blacklist real spammers. Though, as you’ll see, all the major antivirus testing labs found Bitdefender exceptionally good at blocking all types of malware. Ransomware Remediation, for example, backs up important files as an extra safeguard so they can be restored if the worst happens and Bitdefender is unable to stop a ransomware attack in the first place.

The Protection tab is a lot less intimidating than it once was and is much easier to understand. Notifications is a log of what Bitdefender has been doing or noticing on your system, and Settings lets you pick dark or light mode, the language and a host of other things, including turning off special offer notifications which are on by default. On the left-hand side are tabs for Protection, Privacy and Utilities. The first is to turn on ransomware protection, which is simply a case of clicking Enable. And above them is the oddly named ‘Autopilot’ which offers recommendations for actions you need to, or might want to take – the opposite of autopilot. You can edit these six shortcuts and replace them with the features you want to see. The Protection tab is a lot less intimidating than it once was and is much easier to understand There’s also a dedicated Wi-Fi scan that checks you’re not using weak encryption or authentication protocols. The the third – vulnerability – checks your device for things like out of date apps, system settings that have been changed from defaults and weak passwords. Getting back to the app itself, Quick Scan does what it says, as does the second – a full system scan.

This again goes back to the naming convention: you’re effectively getting Total Security with a few extras bolted on. The eagle-eyed will notice that it says Bitdefender Total Security at the top even if you subscribe to Premium or Ultimate.

Bitdefender total security reviews