Totalav Internet Security: Best Value Plan
This package gives you access to all Antivirus Pro plans features, a VPN with unlimited bandwidth, five devices, and an Antivirus eBook. Fortunately, it is cheaper than McAfees Total Protection plan.
Basically, the eBook is useless as you can get most of the internet security advice it contains from our website. However, the multi-device support and a VPN make TotalAV Internet Security the best value plan.
Its Not A Standalone App
I commended Bitdefender VPN for its overall easy usability. However, getting to that can prove to be a bit difficult because the VPN is not a standalone application. In order for you to install it, Bitdefender Total Security must be installed first.
If youre installing it on your desktop computer or laptop, you are required to uninstall your current antivirus software. Depending on what it is, you might have to do a few digging on how to properly uninstall it in the first place.
After its set up, youll have to activate your Bitdefender VPN subscription separately.
Having to install another app is quite cumbersome to people who just want to use the service immediately after purchasing it.
Installing Bitdefender Total Security
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One Minute Bitdefender VPN Review
Bitdefender VPN combines simplicity with speed. The first part of that is a positive for beginners that want a VPN that just works with minimal effort on their part. For more advanced and demanding folk, this might be found lacking. The second part of that two-part appeal, speed, comes as this VPN is actually powered by the already well established Hotspot Shield VPN, which is a good thing – check out the Hotspot Shield VPN review to see why.
Connection speeds are above average and there are plenty of servers dotted about the globe. These are effective at getting around some geo restrictions and accessing US Netflix and BBC iPlayer, for example. But they failed to unblock the likes of Disney Plus or Amazon Prime Video.
For all other issues, there is a decent support service with live chat available. There are lots of apps for the big name operating systems with Mac, Windows, iOS and Android all covered. Plus you get 10 simultaneous connections at once so you can take advantage of all those offerings.
The stats:
- Top features: Unblocks Netflix, fast, Catapult Hydra
User Reviews For Bitdefender VPN
I’ve been using Bitdefender forever and it’s simply the best. The above article by Rob Mardisalu was very very good, except for the customer support segment on BD. I’ve had a few occasions over many years to speak with BD support and 95% of the time, I spoke to a live customer support agent within 5 minutes, no shit. I have never tried the online support, but I agree that the email support sucks. But why email when you can speak live in 5 minutes? That’s why I prefer speaking with BD on the phone. Even if it’s just to ask a question, like the other day, to ask about the new 2020 version of BD. I was speaking to an agent within 3 minutes.
Bill 5/10April 26, 2019
Multiple issues
So far it’s been fairly useless as a VPN since it always fails to connect when using a public hotspot. It works at home on my secure network and fails pretty well everywhere else.
Another problem, iCloud SMTP servers don’t like it and shut down my outgoing email for hours until iCloud’s lockout drops.
Rated #48 out of 78 VPNs
Bitdefender VPN Pros:
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Effectiveness Of Totalav As A Security Solution
Forthrightly, TotalAV is a good if not an excellent antivirus program, considering what it offers. The company has fine-tuned its product with only a few years of operation, although there is still room for improvement. For example, it should be more transparent on pricing and make it easy to deactivate the automatic renewal.
Even so, it would be best if you considered what the software provides. For instance, it has a firewall that functions effectively. Also, the malware scanner is thorough in identifying and eliminating threats. Finally, the inclusion of a VPN makes TotalAV more valuable than most other antivirus applications on the market.
What Customer Support Does Bitdefender VPN Offer
Bitdefenders support team can be reached via live chat, email, and phone, but its worth noting that this is the general support team and will cover issues for all of Bitdefenders products and services, not just Premium VPN.
Whilst it might be easy to get the support you need, in our experience, the antivirus companies selling VPNs as extras dont provide the same level of support that youd find with specialist providers such as ExpressVPN and NordVPN.
As well as the support teams, users can find information in Bitdefenders knowledge base, which is stocked with articles, how-to-videos, and FAQs. The number of articles has grown since our last review and the way they’re organized is better, making them more useful than before.
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Bitdefender Ease Of Use And Setup
Before you download Bitdefender, youll need to create a Bitdefender Central account online and download the Bitdefender install files from there it took me less than 5 minutes to set up my account and get Bitdefender up and running on my PC.
As soon as I launched the application, Bitdefender gave me a quick tour of the software and suggested I run an initial scan.
Bitdefenders desktop dashboard is really well laid-out, with large, simple buttons, a comprehensive toolbar, and every feature accessible with just a few clicks. I love that theres a customizable Quick Action button on the main screen, so users can easily add more buttons to the dashboard. You can only have 5 Quick Actions on your home screen at any one time. But these can always be edited and changed.
All of Bitdefenders essential and extra features are located in 3 tabs: Protection, Privacy, and Utilities.
In the Protection tab, you can enable/disable web protection, vulnerability scanning, firewall, ransomware remediation, and antispam. Each of these features can also be customized although Bitdefenders default settings are good enough for most users.
In the Privacy tab, you can launch the SafePay browser, open the VPN, add and edit password vaults, customize webcam and microphone protection, integrate the anti-tracker with your browser, and access parental controls.
Finally, the Utilities tab includes the one-click optimizer, user profiles, file shredder, and anti-theft protection.
Server Network Bitdefender VPN
When it comes to server networks, the bigger, the better is our golden rule. Having more locations increases your chances of . For example, connecting to a U.S. server allows you to access the best version of Netflix. Extensive server networks also help with heavy censorship: if youre in China, you can connect to servers elsewhere to enjoy censorship-free internet. Finally, larger networks prevent server crowding, avoiding server lag due to an excessive number of users.
The main takeaway here:
- Bitdefender VPN features 1,300+ servers around the world.
- Dedicated IPs are currently unavailable.
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Totalav Review: A Versatile Antivirus But Is It A Dependable Option
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TotalAV, a relatively new UK-based internet security solution, will occasionally appear among big antivirus brands. It is affordable software designed to identify and eliminate potential malware threats on your computer actively. Additionally, the antivirus offers numerous privacy protection and impressive web security features in an intuitive interface.
Although TotalAV may not be the most affordable, versatile, or popular antivirus software, it is a decent all-around solution. In this TotalAV antivirus review, we will look at its performance, ease-of-use, system impact, customer support, and much more.
Bitdefender VPN Security And Protocols
Bitdefender VPN security uses256-bit AES encryption which is a powerful form of military-grade encryption. Granted, most premium VPNs use this, but its good to have it clarified.
It takes on Hotspot Shields custom Hydra VPN protocol, which uses multi-hop technology. This quickly sends traffic through several different locations before settling on one. Just like moving finances through a chain of companies, this makes your internet traffic harder to trace.
If Hydra isnt functioning, Bitdefender uses the industry-standard OpenVPN as a backup. The newer and faster WireGuard protocol has yet to be implemented.
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Website And Installing Bitdefender VPN
Bitdefenders website is simple and easy to navigate. Clicking the My Account button will open up your personal dashboard. Here, you can check your subscription and connected devices, contact customer support, and join the support forum.
Clicking your name in the top-right corner will open up the account menu, allowing you to edit your account and monitor your sessions. Unfortunately, the Session Monitor records your OS, browser, IP address, location, and timestamps . We dont like seeing this type of technical data logged, since it could be used to positively identify you.
The installation of Bitdefender VPN was smooth and quick on all our devices. The My Account page lets you either install the VPN on that device or send the download link to a different one.
To install Bitdefender VPN, go through the following steps:
If you just want to use a free seven-day trial, you can download the necessary software directly from Bitdefenders VPN page.
Bitdefender VPN Review Fast Secure And Affordable
Since its inception in 2001, Bitdefender has amassed more than half a billion users. The Romanian giant is one of the biggest names in cybersecurity, mostly thanks to its antivirus. Its VPN, though, was often dismissed as Hotspot Shields little brother and only used as a free add-on to premium antivirus packages. Yet, it gradually evolved into a standalone service worthy of the brand.
In spite of some bad press, Bitdefenders VPN has a lot of things going for it. Excellent speed, solid security, low price, just to name a few. Our tests revealed anything but a white-label Hotspot Shield. We saw a fully-fledged VPN in its own right. It even had a lot of surprising tricks under the hood.
Learn all about this up-and-coming premium service in our Bitdefender VPN review.
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Bitdefender VPN Advanced Features
As youve probably seen in other VPN Defender user reviews Bitdefender doesnt offer a lot of advanced features its more of an automated app, which is great for beginners. Nonetheless, there are some more complex things worth digging into if youre to get the most out of the software.
Port Forwarding
Port forwarding is a way of bypassing your routers inbuilt NAT firewall, so internet speeds are increased. This might compromise security with a regular internet connection. But if you are using a VPN, you get good speed while remaining hidden.
A key benefit for torrent users is stronger P2P connections. This makes downloading faster. Using a well-seeded torrent file and the BitTorrent client, everything ran smoothly.
Gaming and Ping
As well as general speed, ping latency is another measurement thats especially relevant for gaming. In short, a ping is a signal that goes from your device to the site . Latency is how fast the data can travel back to your PC. A slow ping is not a dealbreaker for most internet traffic but for gaming it can cause lag and ruin the experience.
With Bitdefender on, I recorded a ping of 49 milliseconds. With it off the ping was almost identical 48ms.
These are poor, but thats my own ISPs issue. Its the lack of difference thats impressive.
So, is Bitdefender VPN good for gaming?
If your underlying connection is fast enough, you wont experience any significant lag. Just remember to choose a good location.
Location Choice
Bitdefender Premium VPN: Final Verdict
Bitdefender Premium VPN does a good job of delivering great speeds for a good price, but dont let that fool you into thinking youre getting a full-on Hotspot Shield-beating experience for less.
Bitdefender VPN is basic compared to the competition, and for power users there simply won’t be enough on offer to sate the appetite for customization and for those we’d recommend ExpressVPN or NordVPN. However, with some decent connection speeds and genuinely useful features in-app, we’re not writing off the antivirus giant’s foray into VPN just yet. Well worth a try.
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Is Bitdefenders Software Easy To Use
After our extensive testing, we found that Bitdefenders software scores well in terms of ease of use. The software offers a wide variety of options. The great thing about Bitdefenders software is that these options are displayed within the interface in such a way that it doesnt feel too crowded or overwhelming. The many features are neatly grouped by the main function. In other words, suppose you only want to work with the scan and firewall functions of Bitdefender and ignore all other options, then you can. Each option has its own box with accompanying options.
Whats also very nice about Bitdefender, is that the program doesnt feel intrusive or busy when youre working with other programs. For example, you hardly notice a scan being performed . This is because you can simply click away from the scan screen . The screen will only reappear when the scan is finished or if you want to check the progress. This may seem like a small thing, but it makes the user experience a little bit nicer, neater and slicker.
Bitdefender could possibly improve by making the antivirus terms it uses more understandable to novice users. However, we understand this can be tricky, especially for an antivirus program that offers so many options. Still, this is important. We expect that many users wont immediately know the difference between the system scan and the vulnerability scan that Bitdefender offers, to name just one example.
Is It A Paid Or A Free VPN
Bitdefender VPN can be either a paid or a free service, depending on your readiness to deal with limitations. Without trying to complicate this answer for you, the company offers a premium version.
However, you cant buy it as a standalone service. In other words, you need to have one of the other products of the company before buying the service.
Meanwhile, the free version comes with every product you buy from the company on macOS, Windows, Android, or iOS. So, if you cant deal with the hugely limited free version, youd just need to upgrade to a paid plan.
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Bitdefender VPN Servers And Locations
Bitdefender has over 1,300 VPN servers, which is a good number. These are located across the globe in 48 countries. While the number is below average, speed and performance are more important than the location of a Bitdefender VPN server. Even if other providers do cover more regions.
The overall spread is good. There are US locations and servers throughout the UK and Europe. But theres also South Africa, Vietnam, Singapore, South Korea, and India.
Couple these with many overlooked South American countries like Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, and its an excellent list.
Its worth noting that Bitdefender leases its servers from Hotspot Shield, another VPN solution. Though that has generally good reviews itself and I tested the speeds myself.
The Features Of Bitdefender Total Security
Weve tested the most complete version of Bitdefender: Bitdefender Total Security. Below, well explain the options of this antivirus package in more detail.
Bitdefender offers a huge range of options. They are conveniently divided into two main categories, privacy and security, and presented in separate windows within their software.
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Speed And System Load
Bitdefender is a quick virus scanner. The program starts up quickly: youll hardly notice it during daily use. For the most part, the software does its job in the background through real-time scans. If you need to do something in the software itself, this can be done quickly on a well-maintained system, without any lag.
Performing periodic scans goes in a nice and fast way as well. Bitdefender offers both a quick scan, that checks the most important files on your device and a more comprehensive scan, that goes through your entire system. We ran both types of scans multiple times on our system, and on average, the quick scan took just a little over three minutes. Take note, the quick scan can take longer, depending on the size of your system, as you can see in the screenshot below.
The full system scans are also relatively fast. During our tests, we arrived at an average of about 25 minutes for a full scan. Bitdefender scanned over a million items in this time, so this is certainly an excellent achievement.
For most people, Bitdefenders scan times wont be an issue. To begin with, the software performs its scans in the background and in a very unobtrusive way. You dont even have to leave a separate window or tab open while it runs.