BitDefender antivirus software is developed by Romanian company SOFTWIN. Established in November 2001, it has released 11 versions by now. BitDefender normally offers older versions for free download after releasing a newer one. No need to say that the free version may be less effective for computers with constant internet connection since it only provides an on-demand virus scanning opposite to real time scanning.
Bit Defender Internet Security 2009 is designed to fight viruses, hackers and spam, at the same time providing parental control and firewall protection. It examines the web, e-mails and instant messages for viruses and spyware, denies access to improper websites, and secures personal or vulnerable information. BitDefender comes with two additional offers: GameSafe edition and SmallOfficeSecurity.
All SOFTWIN software is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Home Server and Internet Explorer 6.0 (or higher). Minimum system requirements are: 800 MHz processor, 512 MB of RAM Memory and 300 MB available hard disk space. BitDefender Internet Security 2009 uses about 60MB of hard disk space; installation time is about 30 min. It automatically removes any other antivirus software from your computer to avoid any interference between the programs.
Customer and technical support is really good, it’s available 24/7 via phone, email or online chat at no additional cost. So no complaints here.
Bit Defender is known for its slower scanning speed and higher rate of false positives. In addition, it’s quite costly, since the company is based in Europe.
Internet Security 2009 updates its virus signatures hourly unless you change the interval or set it to manual update.
BitDefender was certified and awarded by most software testing companies including ICSA, West Coast Labs, VB100% and AV-Test.org.