Skip to main content

Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac review

From this detailed review of Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac, learn about its usability, features, protection efficiency, and product support.

To its credit, Macintosh has always been and remains a platform that’s mostly resistant to viruses, but the upswing in the global use of this OS has given cybercriminals a powerful push to come up with Mac-specific malware and step into this large niche. As an anticipated response to this growing challenge, leaders in the security software industry have started tailoring solutions to detect and remove Mac infections. Bitdefender, the award-winning Romania based software house, doesn’t lag behind in this rapid race.

Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac review

Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac delivers real-time, on-access and on-demand protection for the users of Mac OS X. It targets a vast range of malicious software, including viruses, spyware, worms, Trojans, adware, and keyloggers; moreover, the engine being utilized is capable of handling both Mac threats and Windows infections – the latter ones are taken care of so that they won’t get transferred by accident to a Windows PC through removable media, email attachments, etc. This application is resource-friendly, fulfilling the defense job in the background so the user won’t get disturbed when unnecessary and the box runs smooth.

Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac continuously monitors all changes to the files and system, instantly notifying the user via unobtrusive Growl alerts whenever something malicious or potentially harmful happens. Scanners can as well be launched on demand at any time or get scheduled with the respective feature which is, by the way, really intuitive to use. The web protection component is built into this app too, adopting antiphishing measures to guard you from online frauds like banking credentials theft and the like.

Requirements

Platform: Mac OS X 10.7 or later

Hardware:
- At least 1 GB of RAM memory
- 400 MB or more HDD space
- Online protection add-on compatible with Safari, Firefox, and Chrome
- Internet connection for registering and updates

Usability

Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac won’t get you puzzled over the use of its basic features as the interface is tailored to be really Mac-style, clean and user-friendly. It’s noteworthy that the GUI design is drastically different from the Windows AV counterpart; it’s also ultimately simple about everything. You get a predominantly gray and not particularly eye-catching color scheme, the only variable part, in terms of coloring, being the safety indication bar (green if the machine is fine security-wise). It’s also kind of a smart thing that the application uses Growl notifications for various kinds of reporting; those are neat-looking and easy to customize for a better user experience. Furthermore, the app provides a drag & drop functionality, where you can have individual files scanned with a simple move of your mouse to the respective area on the interface.

Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac main GUI

The critical component of this solution in terms of protection is certainly the scan, where the options are highly diversified – you can check the full system, critical locations, or the locations that you specify. The scanner window proper reflects the progress, the elapsed time, and the reporting area which includes the threat name, action taken, and path to infected file. In case of restricted access to an arbitrary unsafe object and problems getting it automatically deleted, there’s a button called Reveal in Finder which shows where this entity is located so that you can attempt to remove it manually. Generally, the app tries to eliminate all detected samples of Mac malware at once, but if this process is unsuccessful or in the event the suspect file isn’t known to the database, Bitdefender isolates such items in the quarantine for further analysis. This way, zero day viruses won’t cause disruption to the Mac.

Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac: Full System Scan

Speaking of the scanner, it’s highly customizable. You can define general exclusions for which types of objects to ignore, for instance, set a maximum archive size threshold. Bitdefender can also be configured to scan only new and changed items, completely disregarding the ones that already got checked for malicious characteristics during previous scans. Such toggling of the settings can drastically reduce the time needed for scanning as well as the impact on Mac performance.

Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac: Scanner Preferences

Aside from the scan controls, the user interface also has a standalone Web protection button which shows what web browsers are secured by the TrafficLight add-on; the status of the Continuous Scan which is, essentially, real-time defense; and a button linking to MyBitdefender personal account.

Generally, using Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac is a hassle-free experience. It runs fast, doesn’t slow the machine down, provides commendable customizability, and features really easy GUI navigation.

Features

The main emphasis in this product is on defense against Mac malware, which is why extensible scan options are there for the user to take advantage of. In addition to this, web protection is a valuable extra that won’t give online scammers a hue of a chance. Here are more details on the tools built into Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac:

Continuous Scan is a feature that ensures real-time protection from Mac viruses. In practice, this means that the app blocks clearly malicious or potentially harmful files, thus preventing them from accessing the machine. Furthermore, whenever some application attempts to make unauthorized changes to the files that already are on the system, Bitdefender makes sure this process is safe.

On-demand Scan is self-explanatory: it implies that you can launch full system scan, critical locations scan, or custom location scan at any time to ascertain that your Mac is healthy.

Drag & drop scanning makes it really simple to check separate files for viruses or other potential risks. All it takes is just dragging the file of interest to the main pane.

Quarantine is a repository for the objects that the app failed to eliminate or the ones that appear potentially unsafe. These items are automatically moved to quarantine for the Bitdefender Labs to look into the issue and come up with a fix. Also, since this is an isolated environment, such files cannot possibly cause the Mac any harm.

TrafficLight stands for a cross-browser extension built into Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac. It protects Safari, Firefox and Chrome against phishing attacks, identifies trackers, and also scans links in search results as well as on Facebook and Twitter feed. Consequently, you get a powerful tool that filters all of your Internet traffic in order to keep you on the safe side.

Scan scheduling is intended for having the scan task triggered at specified time intervals. You can schedule both full and quick scans through the use of this feature.

Support

Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac users who seek support can get it in several ways. A convenient way to troubleshoot and address virus-related issues is via the MyBitdefender account which is linked to from the programs’ main pane. You can submit your inquiry from there or browse the how-to’s. There’s also quite a bit of support information on the vendor’s official website. Generally, as long as you are a Bitdefender customer you won’t have to solve problems on your own.

Conclusion

In the framework of the constantly expanding range of security tools for Mac OS X, Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac sports out-of-the-common protection efficiency attained without noticeable consumption of system resources. This product disinfects Mac malware, proactively handles the threats that attempt to infiltrate the machine, and accommodates highly effective web protection. Complemented by intuitive controls, these defenses make the solution an optimal pick for the Mac users who already came to realize that malicious software is ubiquitous.

0

Was this article helpful? Please, rate this.

There are no comments yet.
Authentication required

You must log in to post a comment.

Log in