Bitdefender Premium Security Reviews

Bitdefender has been in the cybersecurity industry for over 20 years, winning a series of awards along the way. To use its Premium Security package, you must create an account and access Bitdefender Central. This browser-based app is the command center for your security tasks, letting you manage subscriptions, access 24/7 customer support, download the apps, and monitor devices.

If you log in to Bitdefender Central without first installing its Premium Security tools, you get alerts about at-risk devices. The first app to install is the Total Security app, which provides convenient features such as multiple scans, a firewall, video and audio protection, and a file shredder. This is not to be confused with the Bitdefender Total Security suite.

Next up is Bitdefender’s VPN, followed by the configuration of its password manager, which is limited to one user. Last but not least, Parental Control lets you manage your children’s devices, although this is done through Bitdefencer Central instead of on its own platform.

While users need to set up each app individually, it’s possible to launch them all via the Total Security app. All Bitdefender services come with comprehensive and customizable settings.

This internet security suite includes a wide variety of scans and other remarkable tools like crypto-mining protection, web monitoring, and a performance booster. Identity theft and digital identity protection are also available but must be purchased separately. However, like with its Windows-only counterpart, ransomware protection, an antispam, an anti-tracker, advanced threat defense, and automatic updates are included.

Bitdefender’s quick scan is lightweight and can superficially examine your device. It took three minutes to inspect 8,804 files with minimal impact on the CPU. For a more exhaustive analysis, there’s the system scan. However, our test unveiled continuous high CPU usage throughout the scanning process, which lasted 21 minutes and inspected 982,374 files.

The company offers numerous impressive standalone antivirus services, such as Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac and Bitdefender Antivirus Plus for Windows. A Windows-specific tool included with the Premium Security package is Rescue Environment, which provides a way to remove even the most deeply hidden advanced malware, like rootkits. These malicious threats blend with your device’s legitimate processes, making them harder to find and eliminate.

Bitdefender lets you create highly comprehensive customized scans, giving you complete control with options like folder selection, task priority, and post-scan actions. The scans can be scheduled to occur daily, weekly, or monthly. Furthermore, it provides quarantine management, scans for external drives, and different actions to take when it finds a threat. After each scan, the app generates a detailed log file, which you can consult via the app or the locally created XML file.

Those seeking solely antivirus protection can try the company’s free antivirus for Windows, Android, macOS, and iOS.

With Bitdefender Premium Security, you get much more than just a simple antivirus. An excellent example of that is Safepay – a secure browser that protects you during online transactions, including from e-threats such as packet analysis and keyloggers. It also detects when you’re navigating a banking website with your default browser, suggesting you open it on Safepay for enhanced privacy and security. Unfortunately, we had a poor experience with this tool since its window always minimized itself when opened, rendering it unusable.

On a brighter note, the VPN is fully functional, performs well, and offers unlimited bandwidth on up to ten devices. It uses AES 256-bit encryption and provides three possible protocols: Catapult Hydra, OpenVPN, and WireGuard. Additionally, it has over 4,000 servers in more than 50 countries, including Ukraine, Australia, and Argentina. Additional features include a kill switch, double VPN, split tunneling, an ad blocker, and an independently audited no-logs policy.

Bitdefender’s password manager lets you easily store and manage sensitive information like passwords and credit card details. Despite being limited to one user, it syncs across multiple platforms, including browser extensions for Windows and macOS, and its iOS and Android app. It includes a password strength advisor, a password generator, autofill, and an offline mode that maintains access to stored data.

Fortunately, those using a password manager can import data to Bitdefender’s service. It imports from multiple password management services like 1Password, Bitwarden, and LastPass, as well as from file formats such as JSON, CSV, and XML.

The service’s parental controls is another excellent addition, letting you assign devices to a child and oversee how, when, and where they are used. In addition to monitoring activity and blocking apps and websites, you can track the device’s location, limit screen time, and review phone contacts and who the child has been communicating with.

For comprehensive monitoring, Bitdefender provides reports and notifications whenever the child attempts a prohibited action. Unfortunately, the service lacks features like individual app time management, which most competitors offer.

Bitdefender Premium Security greets you with beautifully designed apps regardless of the device or operating system. It is compatible with Windows 7, macOS 10.10, Android 5.0, and iOS 10 (as well as following versions), and it provides browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.

Even with endless features to explore, navigating Bitdefender’s Total Security isn’t an issue. Its intuitive layout with cards and symbols provides easy access to all its fundamental functionalities. Furthermore, you can create shortcuts to your favorite tools on the dashboard.

Bitdefender Total Security app for Android and iOS lacks some of the package’s main features, replacing them with others better suited to mobile. These include app anomaly detection, scam alert, battery saver, app lock, and WearOn, which lets you extend protection to a smartwatch. Additionally, users can also protect themselves with Bitdefender Scamio, the company’s free next-gen AI scam detector.

Unfortunately, we found it unusually difficult to uninstall Bitdefender Security on an Android smartphone. This was primarily due to having provided the app admin privileges during installation. To fix this, users need first to revoke any privileges previously granted.

With two billing options, subscribing to Bitdefender Premium Security is straightforward. The cheapest you can get the service for is $79.99 with annual billing, which provides a 58% discount and translates to $6.66 per month. It supports up to ten devices, multiplatform malware protection, unlimited VPN, password manager, parental controls, and crypto-mining protection. Its monthly plan includes all the same tools but costs $15.99.

Extending its features is possible, but they must be purchased separately. The cheapest add-on is digital identity protection, which costs an additional $3.33 per month with yearly subscriptions. It’s a data breach monitoring system that lets you know if your personal information has been exposed.

Identity theft protection can be bought for $6.67 per month, billed annually, and includes 24/7 monitoring, real-time alerts, identity theft insurance of up to $1 million, and credit card monitoring. This add-on is limited to the U.S. since it requires a valid American Social Security number.

To test all of Bitdefender Premium Security’s tools before committing, you should opt for its 30-day free trial or sign up risk free, safe in the knowledge that you can get a full refund if you cancel within 30 days. Plus, watch for the occasional promotion that might further shrink the cost.

Bitdefender processes all payments through 2checkout, an online payment gateway that accepts credit and debit cards, PayPal, and other payment methods.

We got a reply in under two minutes when using the live chat. There’s also the contact form, but don’t expect the same level of promptness. Other resources include user guides, troubleshooting, tips and tricks, video tutorials, and a dedicated community with more than 150,000 users. You can find all this on Bitdefender’s neatly organized web page dedicated to support resources.

While it’s possible to take advantage of a longer billing cycle to get Bitdefender Premium Security for even less, you may want to first start with its 30-day free trial. The icing on the cake is that you can boost this trial period by another 30 days with its money-back guarantee.