Antivirus

The heading lists ‘Antivirus’ because that’s what people traditionally know it as, but you want something that covers everything under the umbrella term of ‘anti-malware’.
Most software packages do, but you want to make sure before purchashing any software suite that it has protection against the following:

  • Viruses
  • Worms
  • Trojans
  • Ransomware
  • Rootkits
  • Spyware
  • Some may also include anti-phishing or anti-fraud
  • Some also notify on webcam/microphone access
  • Some people may also want parental controls

Note that due to Apple’s security, I don’t think you need to install such software on iPhone or iPad, but you should on MacOS, Windows and Android. Also understand that this recommendation is for consumer devices. Business devices may have additional requirements such as centralized management and reporting.

Recommendation: Purchase 1 year of Bitdefender Internet Security for how many Windows devices you have to protect. If protecting Android or MacOS, purchase Bitdefender Total Security. You can buy multiple licenses for family members and manage all under a single account if you prefer.

You would save purchasing more than one year, but the recommendation may change in future years to a free product as Microsoft Defender is catching up quickly and Google Play Protect is improving. There are other software suites that might offer equial protection, but Bitdefender seems to combine the best protection, price, easy of use and minimal computing resources. My biggest gripe with Bitdefender is its constant advertising or inclusion of other products. You should uninstall their VPN software and turn off other proudct notifications.

If you’re intersted, some of the sites I looked at included basic overview sites such as:

But I supplemented these general user reviews with lab testing sites:

Bitdefender Configuration

After finishing the install of Bitdefender and starting a device scan, you may want to further configure it to reduce annoyances or imrpove protection. These are the steps I have taken for Windows, they may be similar for MacOS.

  • On Windows, search for ‘Add or remove programs’, find ‘Bitdefender VPN’ and uninstall their Anti-Tracker and Wallet. Remove both extensions
  • Open your default browser and go to Extensions as Bitdefender may install
  • Open Bitdefender from the Start Menu or bottom right Systray icon and click ‘Protection’ in the left menu
    • Next to Ransomware Remediation, toggle the switch to On
  • Open Bitdefender, click ‘Privacy’ in the left menu
    • Under Safepay click Settings, then Settings again and move all sliders to off and Return to Privacy
    • Under Password Manager click Settings then near the bottom ‘Want access to your old Wallets? Click here’ and move Wallet slider to off and Return to Privacy
  • Open Bitdefender, click ‘Utilities’ in the left menu
    • Under Profiles, click Settings and move “Active profiles automatically” slider to Off
  • Open Bitdefender, click ‘Settings’ in the left menu
    • Move all sliders to off to silence product notifications (I then turn the ‘Dark mode’ slider to On)