Bitdefender Free

[roger_hawke]

Just lately I have been experiencing problems with Bitdefender Free.
It sometimes shows as “Your device is at risk” - when I attempt to turn it on it shows “Failed To Activate Protection”.

Some times it comes back on without me doing anything? All very annoying.

Is there anything I can do?

Can you suggest any other free Antivirus that is not too heavy on resources?

[Bruce]

if you are using Windows 10, I can thoroughly recommend removing your AV and that will trigger the inbuilt Windows Defender security suite.
leave it for a few minutes to auto-update and you’re good to go.

see some comparatives on its performance here; Real-World Protection Tests Archive - AV-Comparatives

[jmarket]

From memory I think you are using Windows 7, and I believe I recommended Bitdefender some time back, which is great security, one of the very best. Consistently better than the Windows offering.

Sure you can move to something else if you wish, but you could also try reinstalling Bitdefender. Here are the results of the latest reliable tests from AVtest.

Test antivirus software for Windows 10 - June 2025 | AV-TEST

[roger_hawke]

Bruce/Gus,

Correct Gus - no problem with Bitdefender since you recommended - only in the last couple of days.

I uninstalled Bitdefender using Geek Uninstaller and re-installed.
After a few moments it said “Product already installed” You Are Protected?
In C/Program Files there were entries for Bitdefender Agent and Bitdefender Antivirus Free
The only entry in ControlPanel/Programs was Bitdefender Agent?

I uninstalled again using Geek.
I deleted the entry for Bitdefender Antivirus Free from C/Programs.

I then installed Bitdefender again.

Seems to be installed now. Shows both entries in Control Panel/Programs.

If it’s OK with you I’ll leave for a few days and monitor the situation - I’ll report back later.

Meanwhile - any idea why Bitdefender switched on and off?

[jmarket]

No sorry Roger, can’t tell you why that happened.

[roger_hawke]

Gus,

Still a bit hit and miss with Bitdefender.

When it’s off it slows down any program I might want to use (Word/Powerpoint/Thunderbird etc.) to the point where they end up “not responding”
When on, no problem.

Usually when I reboot Bitdefender comes back on.

Any suggestions???

I have downloaded Avast Free but have not yet installed.
Avast seems to get favourable reviews. Any other not too heavy on resources AV?

[jmarket]

When it’s off it slows down any program I might want to use

Windows own AV would likely start up when you disable Bitdefender which may cause the slowdown.

Do not install Avast whilst you have Bitdefender installed, recipe for disaster. Should you wish to uninstall Bitdefender and then install Avast, that is OK. If you are going to uninstall Bitdefender use Geek uninstaller in force mode.

Please go HERE and download Geek Uninstaller portable and save it to somewhere you can find later. Now use you favorite Unzip application to extract the zipped file from the download. This should create a new folder that contains a Geek.exe file which you can now double left click to open the program.

Optionally you can create a desktop shortcut by right clicking the Geek.exe file and choose “Send to” from the drop down menu. This will give you a shortcut icon on the desktop for future use of this handy application.

You can safely ignore any security pop ups that may appear before the program opens.

Either way you open it once Geek Uninstaller is running select the program you wish to uninstall by right clicking it and then choose “Uninstall” from the drop down menu.

[MEDIA=imgur]dvNuQMe[/MEDIA]

Follow and accept all uninstall options once the uninstaller begins.

It is recommended when removing any Antivirus/Security program, or if you have errors or difficulty removing any program to use “Force removal” to uninstall the program.

[MEDIA=imgur]m089MyG[/MEDIA]

[roger_hawke]

Thanks Gus,

I’ll give it a few more days and if it still plays up I will uninstall Bitdefender and install Avast.
(I’ll report back).

[roger_hawke]

Gus,
Bitdefender has been fine since we last spoke.

One thing that was possibly causing me concern was a daily pop-up from “Google”?

Do you want to allow the following program to make changes to this computer?

Program Name - Google
Verified Publisher - Google.inc.
File origin - Hard drive on this computer

Yes No

Do you think this pop-up is genuine?

I must say I have clicked on yes a couple of times in the past and was wondering whether this may have caused my problems with Bitdefender etc.?

Since we last spoke I have just clicked on the Red X top right hand corner of pop-up and have not had any problems.

[veeg]

This may have some bearing on that chrome issue.
Chrome's new security features let Google scan what extensions you use

[roger_hawke]

vger,

Although I do not use Chrome, I have got it installed.
Best to uninstall?

[veeg]

It seems that chrome may do this whether it is running or not. If you don’t use it why not un-install it. Then try again and see if you have the same issue.

[roger_hawke]

Vger,

I have uninstalled Chrome.
I will report back after a few days.

[veeg]

Vger,

I have uninstalled Chrome.
I will report back after a few days.

OK

[roger_hawke]

vger/Gus,

Annoyingly I am still getting the Google pop-up every day - I just close it (I don’t click yes or no).
Can I stop it popping up every day?

No probs whatsoever with Bitdefender.