14 DAY TRIAL // BitDefender Total Security 2009. A great name for a great suite. However, it is in first beta stage, ergo still under development, so you'd better expect glitches on the way, from interface related issues to scanning problems, and crashes to less disturbing ones like typos.
The application is a compact toolbox containing everything a user needs to keep the system safe from malware, efficiently eliminate spam, protect data from prying eyes by storing it in secure vaults, make backups, control other users' access to the Web, survey the cookies and scripts stored on the computer, secure your sensitive personal information from being sent over the web, while also offering you the utilities to improve and maintain the performance of your system.
Not all the modules worked as expected, but you can clearly segregate those backed up by experience from the new features. Antivirus and antispam stood their ground and showed their power unrestrictedly, just like the firewall also did. All modules South of these showed weaknesses that can be fixed up by the time the final release is out.
Antivirus and antispam did a great job in protecting the computer from malware as well as from nasty messages, although spam protection needs to evolve into something more flexible in order to cover all the bases. Also, our virus sample list needs updating in order to confront it with Bitdefender's antivirus and test the detection/disinfection ratio.
Scanning can be scheduled six times till Sunday and is extremely flexible and well built, offering the user all possible choice with regards to automatic scans. The downside, however, comes from the part of anti-phishing filter that integrates perfectly in both Firefox and Internet Explorer. During our testing, the engine did not do much and some genuine phishing were not picked up. To tell you the truth, you are better off with the anti-phishing protection of the two web browsers.
Testing Tuneup module caused the most crashes of the suite, for which the only remedy was to restart the computer and, in two cases, we had to run the installer again in order to continue testing. Privacy and Parental Control, although in the end did a great job protecting confidential data and enforced the limitations we wanted, also blocked the Internet connection. Disabling the modules would solve the problem but, later on, after a serious crash that not even a computer restart could resolve and where re-installing the application was the only way out, all these problems poofed away.
Backing up data also presented issues, but only with placing the files online. The module is more than ready for the job and also brings something on the side: the burner that can be used independently for writing data to CD/DVD or erasing RW discs.
Encryption module presents little issues, the gravest being the fact that, in current IM connections, the chat session did not show an enabled state, and the fact that your password can be changed only from File Vault menu. Other than these two, everything worked smoothly.
Tuneup may be the buggiest of the modules given the fact that file shredder failed to properly wipe the data, PC cleanup starts deleting the temps without giving you any other choice, the defragmenter does not provide results if the app finds nothing wrong with the partitions and registry cleaning could not be completed. But hope took the form of duplicate finder component, that based its analysis on the content of the files and not on their name.
Product Tweaks also scored and submitted to our settings inconditionately. But, then again, it was just about skipping or postponing backup and scan jobs if game and laptop mode were enabled.
As for Home Management, it is all about managing a system in the network from a distance. The options let you run a scan task, run update, run a tune-up task, set the parental control profile or set it as the update server.
To sum everything up, Bitdefender Total Security 2009 provides a huge chunk of computer protection and performance tuning, but this first beta stage is definitely not recommended for extensive usage. There is plenty to fix, both in the interface (there are just a few typos but, given Bitdefender's caliber, this sure isn't pretty) and the engines integrated in the suite.
We "benefited" only from two serious crashes that would not remedy without re-running the installer, but there were sufficient crashes remedied with a simple computer restart. However, this app is at an early stage of life and compacts all the power of malware scanning and removing, personal data protection, encryption and computer tune-up tools under one easy to handle hood.
The Beginning Antivirus Module Antispam Module Firewall Module Privacy Control Module Parental Control Module Backup and Restore Module Encryption, Tuneup and Product Tweaks
