Even if you buy a good antivirus program, it can’t keep you safe from all the threats that are out there. Bitdefender Premium Security is a complete security suite that protects Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices as well as the company’s trusted antivirus engine. It does this by adding a number of useful extras and protecting all of these devices. There is a huge amount to discover. Web filtering stops things like phishing and dangerous websites. Attacks on a network can’t get through a firewall.
Bitdefender Premium Security: Description
There is a spam filter, a password manager, a secure browser, anti-theft, a file shredder, a VPN with limits (200MB per day), full parental controls, and more. Bitdefender Premium Security has a lot of security tools, but like most of these kinds of services, it’s expensive to subscribe online, and we have noticed that it’s getting harder and harder to find cheaper keys from other stores. The most important thing an antivirus tool should be able to do is keep malware away.
However, it’s not quite as good as some of its similarly well-equipped competitors, like McAfee, or as good as cheaper services like GData or even free antivirus programs like Avast One Essential. For those who want a security suite with lots of extras, Bitdefender has a lot to offer. However, Norton 360 Deluxe and McAfee+ Advanced have a few more features in this area, like online backups and fixing identity theft, but they cost more.
Bitdefender Premium Security: Pricing
Many security suites have different price levels for one, three, five, ten, or even twenty licenses. As the number of licenses goes up, the price per device goes down. It’s very easy to figure out how much Bitdefender Premium Security costs. You can protect up to 10 devices for $159.99 a year. Bitdefender Ultimate Security costs $20 more than Basic Security and protects against identity theft. It can be used on 10 devices.
When bought separately, Bitdefender Total Security, which comes with Bitdefender Premium Security, gives you more options. Five licenses cost $94.99, ten cost $104.99, and fifteen cost $119.99. In terms of other high-end suites, this one’s price is pretty high. You can get 10 licenses of Avast Premium Security and Kaspersky Premium for $99.99 a year. It costs $139.99 a year for F-Secure Total, which is a bit more than Bitdefender. All three come with a VPN that doesn’t have any limits. Kaspersky and F-Secure also let you manage your passwords.
Key Features Table
It has many features to keep your devices and data safe from online threats. Bitdefender Premium Security is a full security suite. One of the best antivirus programs on the market, it keeps getting better and better.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Antivirus | Real-time protection against all types of malware, including viruses, trojans, ransomware, and spyware. |
| Anti-phishing | Protects against malicious websites and emails that try to steal personal information or login credentials. |
| Anti-spam | Blocks unwanted emails, including spam, phishing attacks, and malware-infected messages. |
| Ransomware protection | Prevents ransomware attacks from encrypting your files and demands a ransom payment to decrypt them. |
| Firewall | Monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic to protect your device from unauthorized access. |
| VPN | Encrypts your internet traffic to protect your privacy and security online. |
| Password manager | Generates, stores, and manages your passwords securely. |
| Parental controls | Filters web content and limits screen time for children. |
| SafePay | Provides a secure sandbox environment for online banking and shopping. |
| Webcam and microphone protection | Blocks unauthorized access to your webcam and microphone. |
| File encryption | Encrypts your files to protect them from unauthorized access. |
| Visit Website |
Bitdefender Premium Security: Getting Started
A code will be sent to you when you sign up for the package you want. You can enter this when you sign up for an account on the Bitdefender Central website or mobile app, and then use the code to get your subscription. One of the most useful websites is Central. From there, you can manage your subscription, see how many licenses you have used, and send links to devices (or family members) so they can install Bitdefender. Because the links include login information, it’s very simple for everyone to get the app and stay safe.
Once you have installed Bitdefender on Windows, you’ll see a clean interface that tells you “You are safe.” The default shortcuts to Quick Scan, System Scan, and Vulnerability Scan aren’t very clear for people who aren’t tech-savvy. People with sharp eyes will notice that Bitdefender Total Security is written at the top, even if you have Deluxe or Premium. Again, this has to do with the way the names are written: you’re getting Total Security plus a few extras. Let’s look at the app itself again. Both Quick Scan and Full System Scan do what they say they will do.
The third one, called “vulnerability,” looks for things on your device that aren’t up to date, setting that have been changed from the defaults, and weak passwords. There is also a Wi-Fi scan that makes sure you’re not using weak authentication or encryption protocols. You can change these six shortcuts to show the features you want to see. Then there’s the strangely named “Autopilot,” which tells you what you need to do or might want to do. It’s the opposite of autopilot.
The first step is to protect against ransomware, which is as easy as clicking “Enable.” Protect, Privacy, and Utilities are the tabs on the left. Notifications shows what Bitdefender has been doing or noticing on your system, and Settings lets you change the language, the mode (dark or light), and a lot of other things. For example, you can turn off the special offer notifications that are on by default.
Bitdefender Premium Security: Privacy features
Not only does Anti-Tracker stop webcam and microphone monitoring, but it also stops websites from collecting data. It’s “enabled” by default, but that’s not really true because this protection is only applied to Internet Explorer by default. Chrome, Firefox, and Edge are the only browsers that can install and use it. To do this, you have to click on the settings button.
Bitdefender VPN
The VPN service, which is run by Hotspot Shield, is part of both Total Security and Premium Security, as was already said. This is such an important part of Bitdefender Premium VPN that we wrote a whole review just about it. You can only sync 200 MB of data every day with Total Security, which is a very small amount. Bitdefender Premium Security, on the other hand, is a “real” service that lets you stream video from Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, and other services while giving you unlimited data and the choice of 30 or so countries.
Password Manager
Bitdefender’s password manager has been criticized in the past, especially when it was called “Wallet.” The company is getting rid of that version and releasing a brand-new one called Bitdefender Password Manager in its place. Of course, the Wallet add-on for web browsers is still out there, so if you don’t already use it, you should stay away from it and instead add the right add-on to your browsers. IE, Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.
New users find it hard to understand why the Total Security Windows app’s password manager is still the Wallet version. Even though the new Password Manager lets you import Bitdefender Wallet files, it will only accept them as.csv files. It also lets you import 1Password files and other popular apps. But Wallet exports as.db, which is not good. It’s clear that Bitdefender hasn’t seen this.
Password Manager doesn’t let you make multiple wallets, which I never saw the point of. However, it does store identity information (name, address, email, and phone numbers) so you can quickly enter it on web forms, credit and debit card information, website logins, and private notes. It will also make strong passwords for you, and you can choose which characters to include or leave out. There’s also a helpful Security Report that lets you quickly see how many old, weak, or duplicate passwords you have.
Anti Theft
Bitdefender’s anti-theft service has many tools to help you if you’ve lost your phone, gone missing with your laptop, or had someone steal your hardware. You can see where devices are located on a map when you log in to Bitdefender Central’s web dashboard. Send an Alert command from afar, and your device will sound a loud alarm if it’s still nearby. Or, if a family member “borrowed” it, you can skip the annoying sound and quickly send a message that says “what are you doing? bring it back now.
Parental Controls
It’s possible to limit your kids’ screen time on all supported devices with Bitdefender’s parental controls. You can also choose when they can and can’t use their devices. The main problem is that you can’t limit how long certain apps can run. That is, if you give them six hours of screen time, they might spend it all on TikTok, which is probably not what you want. There is only one choice: block certain apps. However, your kids will not like this.
Web Protection
Bitdefender’s Web Protection stops you from going to phishing and other bad sites. This makes it less likely that you’ll be tricked by dangerous links in your email or social feeds. The system works really well. We made a list of 1,033 brand-new phishing links, and 88% of them were blocked by Web Protection. Avast also has good anti-phishing, but only 83% of phishing attempts were blocked, not as many as Bitdefender.
Safepay
Defend It Safepay is a safe browser that aims to keep people from watching your online shopping, banking, and other activities. Not only does it protect against attacks from outside sources, but it also tries to stop harmful programs on your own computer from watching what you do on the web.
Third-party extensions aren’t supported by Safepay because they pose a security risk. However, Safepay works with Bitdefender’s password manager, which is helpful because you don’t have to remember your bank and online store login information. Some browsing risks are kept at bay by a built-in pop-up blocker. There’s also a simple virtual keyboard that lets you enter text with your mouse instead of typing. This keeps you safe from hardware keyloggers as well.
Spam Filter
Bitdefender Total Security has a simple spam filter that will keep your email inbox free of spam. Only the standalone Outlook and Thunderbird clients work with this very basic system. Web-based email clients like Gmail and Outlook.com do not work with it. Even so, it can only connect to POP3 servers. If your Outlook account is set up to use IMAP, for example, you won’t be able to use it.
Bitdefender Premium Security: Mobile Apps
Like most security apps, the Android version is much better than the iPhone version in terms of features. Android comes with a lot of useful features. If your phone gets lost or stolen, Anti-Theft lets you do a number of things, such as track it, lock it, and delete all of its data from afar. You can protect certain apps with a PIN if you don’t want other people to be able to open them if they borrow your phone or find it lying around unlocked.
MacOS
You get a full installation of Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac and a free version of the VPN product when you install this cross-platform product on a Mac. The parental control system in Bitdefender’s entry-level suite and the password manager in Bitdefender Antivirus Plus can both work with Macs, but they’re not built in.
It did well in our hands-on phishing protection test. It keeps ransomware from getting to your files and backups. With the TrafficLight browser add-on, you can be warned about dangerous links in search results.
Android
To put Bitdefender Security on an Android phone or tablet, you can either scan a QR code from Bitdefender Central or use it to send yourself an email with a link. You can also get the Bitdefender Central mobile app on its own and use it to set up the mobile security app. Bitdefender Security walks you through a long list of important settings and actions at first. To make it anti-theft and give it normal permissions like access to your photos, media, and files, you need to make it a Device Administrator.
It tells you to run a full malware scan and asks you to turn on App Lock, which we’ll talk more about soon. You’ll see a simple main screen with a security status icon at the top, a menu of five icons at the bottom, and suggestions to install other Bitdefender apps like the password manager, VPN, and Bitdefender Central in between on the main screen. Dashboard, Malware Scan, Browser Protection, Scam Alert, and More are the icons across the bottom. The last one opens a menu with all the features.
Bitdefender Premium Security: Pros and Cons
Bitdefender Premium Security is the best way to protect yourself from a lot of different types of cyber threats. It has advanced features like a firewall, VPN, and multiple layers of protection against ransomware. It makes sure that your online experience is smooth and safe while having little effect on system performance. This all-in-one suite is a strong defense for your online life.
Pros
- Accurate and reliable antivirus
- Excellent malware protection
- Decent, unlimited VPN service
- Wide range of features and device support
Cons
- VPN limited to 200MB/ day
- Can’t set individual app time limits using parental controls
Final Words
The security features in Bitdefender Premium Security are even better than those in Bitdefender’s other security products. Four separate antivirus labs have given Bitdefender Antivirus Plus perfect scores so far. It has many useful features, such as strong protection against ransomware, protection for your bank accounts, and a password manager.
Bitdefender Internet Security adds to Windows security with a firewall, a spam filter, and a cross-platform parental control system that works perfectly. Bitdefender Total Security is the best on the market. It protects macOS, Android, and (to some extent) iOS devices and has extra features for Windows computers.
