

Many security suites let you create a bootable rescue CD or flash drive, but Bitdefender goes a step further and automatically sets up a minimal rescue environment on your hard disk. One last protection feature that’s worth highlighting is the Bitdefender Rescue Environment. It’s a reassuring belt-and braces approach. But it’s partnered by a novel Ransomware Remediation feature, which automatically takes temporary backups of vulnerable files, ready for instant restoration if needed. The first, Safe Files, does the same thing as Windows 10’s Protected Folders component, blocking untrusted apps from writing to selected folders. Unusually, Bitdefender offers not one but two modules aimed at defeating ransomware. There’s also a Vulnerability Scan tool that warns you about missing updates for Windows and applications, and highlights weak passwords and insecure networks.

It’s also here that you’ll find Bitdefender’s own firewall: by default, this runs quietly in the background, relying on its own intelligence to decide what should be allowed to access the internet and what should be blocked, but you can review its decisions, set up your own rules and even enforce different behaviours for different networks.

The sheer number of things to click on might seem daunting at first, hut everything is laid out in front of you in a way that makes it easy to grasp the features on offer and find what you’re looking for.Īs you’d expect, the Protection pane includes options for launching and configuring various types of scan, as well as settings for web based and behavioural protection. The customisable dashboard gives access to a selection of core features, and the Protection and Privacy panes offer plenty more to explore. Bitdefender will appeal if you’re the sort who likes lots of features and options to play with.
