Bitdefender Complete Safety, the corporate’s entry-level safety suite, contains all of the anticipated suite options and extra, and it protects your gadgets on a number of platforms. The most important motive for upgrading to Bitdefender Premium Safety, reviewed right here, is that doing so removes all limits from the VPN part—you’re not restricted to 200MB of VPN site visitors per day, and you may join by means of no matter nation you need. We nonetheless take into account Complete Safety to be a greater general choose, provided that some customers do not need a VPN, and for those who do, Bitdefender is not our best choice. So whereas Premium Safety boasts a main assortment of efficient options and is simple to suggest, Complete Safety is our Editors’ Alternative, sharing the honour with Norton 360 Deluxe, a cross-platform suite with its personal no-limits VPN.
How A lot Does Bitdefender Premium Safety Value?
Many safety suites supply pricing tiers for one, three, 5, 10, and even 20 licenses, with the per-device value shrinking as numbers go up. Bitdefender’s present pricing mannequin is kind of a bit easier. For any of its safety suites, you should buy a five-device particular person subscription or a 25-device household subscription. With the household subscription, you get parental management, however in any other case, it’s only a distinction in numbers.
A person subscription for Bitdefender Premium Safety prices $129.99 per yr, $20 greater than Bitdefender Complete Safety. When you go for the household subscription, you pay $169.99 per yr, $30 greater than the corresponding Complete Safety household subscription. Bitdefender Premium VPN prices $69.99 per yr by itself, so getting it as a part of your safety suite is a cut price.
In contrast with different top-tier suites, this one’s value is on the excessive aspect. Avast One Gold prices $179.99 per yr on the five-license tier, and Panda Dome Premium runs $162.99—each embody full-powered VPN safety. Nevertheless, most opponents vary from a bit much less to loads much less. For instance, a five-license subscription for Pattern Micro Most Safety prices $99.95 per yr, and ESET Dwelling Safety Premium is simply $79.99 per yr.
It is Surprisingly Simple to Be Extra Safe On-line
The suite most akin to Bitdefender Premium is Norton 360 Deluxe, which additionally provides 5 highly effective safety suite licenses and 5 no-limits VPN licenses. Norton 360 prices $119.99 per yr, simply barely lower than Bitdefender Premium’s value. That very same value will get you a five-license subscription for McAfee Complete Safety.
McAfee followers ought to observe that Complete Safety isn’t probably the most economical selection. Paying $149.99 per yr will get you limitless licenses to put in McAfee+ safety in your Home windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and even ChromeOS gadgets. That’s $20 lower than Bitdefender’s value for a 25-license household pack. In fact, when you have fewer than 25 gadgets to guard, there’s no considerable distinction from an infinite subscription.
Getting Began With Bitdefender Premium Safety
As with most fashionable safety companies, you handle Bitdefender by means of a web-based portal—Bitdefender Central, on this case. When you’ve activated your license in Bitdefender Central, you may instantly set up the safety suite and VPN on the present system or ship a hyperlink for set up on one other system.
(Credit score: Bitdefender/PCMag)
Bitdefender Central additionally enables you to observe all of the gadgets you’ve put in safety on and see any issues that want consideration. It’s simple to see what number of licenses you’ve left and to ship set up hyperlinks to any unprotected gadgets. You may even remotely launch a malware scan or run a efficiency optimization cross.
Bitdefender Complete Safety Gives Gadget Safety
Once you set up device-level safety from Bitdefender Central, what you get is exactly Bitdefender Complete Safety. That being the case, there’s no have to reprise my overview of that suite right here. I counsel you to click on the hyperlink and skim all about it. I’ll summarize right here very briefly.
(Credit score: Bitdefender/PCMag)
As famous earlier, Bitdefender Complete Safety is an Editors’ Alternative winner. At its core is Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, additionally an Editors’ Alternative winner. The antivirus boasts a cornucopia of options that beat out many safety suites.
With Bitdefender Web Safety slated for removing this yr, Bitdefender Complete Safety is now the entry-level suite. It additionally qualifies as a cross-platform multi-device suite, provided that it contains safety for gadgets operating Home windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. Admittedly, the Home windows version owns the lion’s share of options, however Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac receives prime marks from unbiased testing labs, and the Android app is a complete cellular safety suite. Once more, you may study extra by studying my separate overview of Complete Safety.
Electronic mail Safety within the Cloud
When you’re a kind of uncommon folks whose electronic mail supplier doesn’t already try and filter out spam, Bitdefender’s antispam part can do this. And a malicious attachment that is available in with a shady electronic mail won’t ever get to launch—the antivirus will terminate it. Once you see the Autopilot panel’s recommendation to activate Electronic mail safety, it’s possible you’ll moderately surprise simply what extra safety is required. Right here’s the way it works.
Electronic mail safety is particular to Google and Outlook accounts. In case your electronic mail is from one other supply, effectively, I did point out there’s loads of safety in place already.
(Credit score: Bitdefender/PCMag)
Presuming you’ve a supported account kind, you now have to provide Bitdefender full entry to that account. Going by means of the method, you’ll get warnings that Bitdefender can learn all of your messages and even ship messages in your behalf. Be aware that you need to give the identical permissions if you permit Bitdefender Digital Identification Safety to test your electronic mail archive for doable knowledge publicity.
When you’ve arrange this function, there’s nothing extra to do. As new messages are available in, it checks them for harmful and fraudulent hyperlinks and provides its warning to any suspect messages. This all occurs within the cloud, so it doesn’t matter the place you look on the messages.
(Credit score: Bitdefender/Google/PCMag)
After I let the e-mail safety system scan my mail for just a few hours, I discovered all of the messages in my Inbox flagged in inexperienced as “Bitdefender: Secure.” Messages within the spam folder apparently didn’t get checked, as that they had no good or dangerous marking from Bitdefender. I needed to actively solicit a harmful electronic mail from my Bitdefender contact to see a pink “Bitdefender: Harmful” banner within the message checklist.
I don’t know what number of will use this function. It solely works with Gmail and Outlook accounts, and for those who give Bitdefender full entry to your electronic mail account. When you go to a harmful hyperlink, the Bitdefender extension in your browser ought to catch it, and for those who attempt to save or launch a harmful attachment, the antivirus will spring into motion. Electronic mail safety is intelligent however not mandatory.
Sharp-eyed customers might discover a small distinction in the principle display screen of this suite’s Bitdefender Complete Safety. Each embody a fast actions space with 5 user-configurable panels to entry frequent duties. However within the Premium model, the primary panel modifications from Fast Scan to Rip-off Copilot. What’s that?
Bitdefender Complete Safety’s cellular editions already embody a function referred to as Rip-off Alert. This part watches the hyperlinks in incoming textual content messages and flags any suspicious ones. It additionally checks messaging apps (WhatsApp, Fb Messenger, Telegram, and Discord) for sketchy hyperlinks. When it finds a harmful hyperlink, it advises you to not click on it, delete the message, and take into account blocking the sender.
(Credit score: Bitdefender/PCMag)
Rip-off Copilot expands on that straightforward function. It detects scams in electronic mail, browsers, messages, and apps, and it offers an AI chatbot that may analyze messages and reply questions, very like the Norton Genie app.
Throughout preliminary configuration, it asks to allow new rip-off wave alerts. I’m unsure what meaning, however I enabled that function. It additionally prompts you to allow electronic mail safety, as described above. You may lengthen Rip-off Copilot safety to further gadgets by snapping a QR code or emailing a hyperlink.
(Credit score: Bitdefender/PCMag)
When you get a suspicious textual content or different message in your telephone, you may simply copy the hyperlink to Rip-off Copilot for evaluation. It would additionally deal with screenshots of suspicious communications or a verbal description. You can too chat with Rip-off Copilot in your PC. Simply don’t attempt to converse about something aside from safety and scams.
(Credit score: Bitdefender/PCMag)
Even when there’s no quick rip-off risk, you may ask Rip-off Copilot for recommendations on avoiding scams and converse with it to be sure to perceive all the information. For instance, it suggested being cautious about sharing pictures on-line. I requested, “You imply I can’t share photos of my cat on Fb?” It got here again with, “You may undoubtedly share photos of your cat on Fb,” and went on to element the sort of delicate pictures that actually shouldn’t be shared.
AI and chatbots are all over the place as of late, and folks appear to love interacting with them. If Rip-off Copilot conjures up customers to study extra about on-line security, that’s positive.
Bitdefender Premium VPN
Bitdefender’s many layers of antivirus, net, and community safety maintain you, your gadgets, and your knowledge protected. Nevertheless, if you connect with the web, your knowledge in transit may very well be in danger. To make sure privateness on your knowledge, you want a VPN. Once you join utilizing a VPN, no one, not even the proprietor of the shady Wi-Fi community you are utilizing, can entry your community site visitors, and you will be tougher to trace as you progress throughout the online.
Some years in the past, Bitdefender’s VPN wasn’t obtainable as a standalone providing. That’s modified—now you can buy Bitdefender Premium VPN identical to some other VPN, even when Bitdefender isn’t your mainstay of safety safety. Learn our full overview of the VPN for particulars; I’ll summarize them right here.
Consumer Interface Options World Map
Bitdefender’s VPN seems as a full-size window with a world map within the background. Easy buttons allow you to mechanically connect with the optimum location or select a location from world wide. Your latest location decisions get their very own buttons for simple return. Panels on the right-hand aspect supply stats equivalent to connection time, adverts blocked, site visitors secured, and the VPN-supplied IP handle you’re utilizing. The map additionally strikes to place your server’s continent within the center.
(Credit score: Bitdefender/PCMag)
VPN Server Selections
For a few years, Bitdefender licensed VPN know-how from Hotspot Defend VPN, however that has modified. Bitdefender’s present VPN associate is IPVanish, which has a very good world unfold of server places. (Editors’ Be aware: IPVanish VPN is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag’s dad or mum firm.) The server assortment contains international locations in Africa and South America, continents that get brief shrift from many VPNs. Server places matter, partly as a result of an even bigger assortment of locations means extra choices for spoofing your individual location, however primarily as a result of a more in-depth server normally yields higher velocity and decrease latency.
Some VPN companies allow you to dig in to pick out a selected nation, metropolis, and server. With Bitdefender, you make your selection on the nation degree, for probably the most half. You may fine-tune your location by metropolis in Australia, Canada, France, Japan, Spain, the UK, and the US, with decisions starting from two cities in Japan and Spain to 19 within the US.
(Credit score: Bitdefender/PCMag)
When your web site visitors seems to come back from a VPN server fairly than from your individual private IP handle, you achieve some critical anonymity. You may invoke the VPN’s double-hop function for one more layer of obscurity, which routes your site visitors by means of two distinct servers. You may select from a handful of predefined combos, equivalent to Canada / US and South Korea / Japan. These utilizing the VPN app on a cellular system can cobble up customized pairs. Take care, although. This double forwarding can gradual your connection, particularly for those who select two international locations distant from one another.
(Credit score: Bitdefender/PCMag)
Double-hop isn’t distinctive to Bitdefender and IPVanish. NordVPN’s Double VPN function works in a lot the identical approach, as does Surfshark’s Dynamic MultiHop. Proton VPN can first route site visitors by means of a specifically hardened Safe Core server after which by means of an odd server.
(Credit score: Bitdefender/PCMag)
Simple VPN Settings
The VPN’s kill swap function is proper on the principle display screen. If the VPN connection drops, the kill swap cuts the unprotected web connection till the VPN comes again on-line. This function ensures that you simply don’t threat transmitting any knowledge exterior the VPN’s safety.
This VPN provides an unusually complete assortment of auto-connect choices. You may have the VPN join mechanically at startup, if you log into unsecured Wi-Fi, if you use peer-to-peer sharing, or if you join with particular apps, domains, or web site classes. Auto-connect is strongest underneath Home windows. On different platforms, you don’t get as many choices.
(Credit score: Bitdefender/PCMag)
On the Superior web page in VPN settings, you may allow break up tunneling. Meaning you may exempt sure web sites from VPN safety, maybe websites which might be very delicate to connection velocity. You can too choose out of VPN safety for particular apps.
The VPN can filter out domains related to adverts and trackers. A pop-up notification clarifies that the anti-tracking browser extension handles that process within the browser. The VPN takes care of non-browser site visitors from domains on its blocklist.
The bizarre App Site visitors Optimizer function enables you to establish as much as three apps to obtain precedence entry to bandwidth. Bitdefender suggests you would possibly use it for duties equivalent to streaming or gaming. This function works by manipulating the a number of TCP connections managed by the browser, assigning extra connections to the required apps. I haven’t seen it anyplace else—not even in Bitdefender’s personal VPN on non-Home windows platforms.
(Credit score: Bitdefender/PCMag)
Along with supplying you with extra nation places, the swap to IPVanish from earlier associate Hotspot Defend broadens your decisions for VPN protocol. You may choose IKEv2, OpenVPN, or WireGuard, or settle for the default that lets the VPN make its personal selection. WireGuard and OpenVPN are fashionable choices, and as they’re each open-source initiatives, they’ve been scrutinized by all events. We at PCMag wish to see VPNs utilizing these two protocols.
Utilizing a VPN Can Affect Connection Pace
A serious concern with utilizing a VPN is its influence in your web connection speeds, so we do our greatest to check that influence. Utilizing the Ookla velocity check instrument, we discover a p.c change between velocity check outcomes with the VPN and with out the VPN. (Editors’ Be aware: Speedtest by Ookla is owned by Ziff Davis, PCMag’s dad or mum firm.) Nevertheless, we haven’t put Bitdefender’s VPN by means of testing because the change in VPN know-how companions. When final examined, Bitdefender’s influence on the all-important obtain velocity was a bit greater than the median, as was its influence on add velocity. Nevertheless, it beat the median in latency.
It’s essential to recollect variations in community site visitors can have an effect on velocity check outcomes. The quickest VPN in the present day might not be the quickest tomorrow, and the quickest VPN in Kazakhstan might not be the quickest VPN in Uruguay. We don’t suggest selecting a VPN on velocity alone.
A First rate VPN
Like Norton Safe VPN, Bitdefender’s standalone VPN charges 3.5 stars—excellent, however not excellent. For the easiest mixture of VPN and safety suite, take into account backing off to Bitdefender Complete Safety and including Proton VPN—a uncommon five-star recipient and winner of an Editors’ Alternative award.
Verdict: Wonderful All-Round Safety
Bitdefender Premium Safety combines system safety by Bitdefender Complete Safety with the complete energy of Bitdefender Premium VPN. It extends the present Rip-off Alert function with an AI-powered chatbot and marks up harmful emails earlier than you see them. It prices a bit greater than Complete Safety, however not practically as a lot as paying for a separate VPN. When you cannot go fallacious utilizing Premium Safety, Complete Safety stays our Editors’ Alternative as a result of Bitdefender’s VPN is superb, however not among the many best possible. In order for you highly effective system and knowledge safety with a no-limits VPN included, look to our different Editors’ Alternative suite, Norton 360 Deluxe.
Like What You are Studying?
This text might include promoting, offers, or affiliate hyperlinks.
By clicking the button, you verify you might be 16+ and conform to our
Phrases of Use and
Privateness Coverage.
Chances are you’ll unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
About Neil J. Rubenking
Lead Analyst for Safety
Learn the most recent from Neil J. Rubenking
