Bitdefender

Bitdefender is a cybersecurity suite that offers a collection of cybersecurity solutions, enabling you to choose from a range of products to suit your particular security needs. Bitdefender has tailored solutions for diverse scenarios, ranging from straightforward individual use to the more complex needs of large enterprises.

Bitdefender is consistently awarded high scores in independent lab tests conducted by organizations such as AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives. It is one of the top-rated antivirus solutions and has the reputation of being reliable and unobtrusive, with a low impact on system performance.

This guide covers various Bitdefender offerings, comparable software you might want to explore, and recommendations for getting started if you choose to use Bitdefender.

Why you need cybersecurity software

It is important to understand your organization’s security needs to choose a product that suits your situation.

To begin, anyone who uses a computer needs protection against threats such as:

• Viruses and other malware
• Phishing attacks
• Access to confidential information in transit, such as banking details and passwords

Business users need additional protection against other threats such as:

• Hacking
• Ransomware

If you’re hosting a website, you should have further protection against malicious activity such as DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks.

If you have employees accessing your central files and services via a network, you must consider endpoint security, especially if your employees work remotely. Each device, whether a laptop, mobile phone, or specialized device that connects to your company network is known as an endpoint. The best practice in this case is to purchase a single malware protection solution that is deployed to all endpoints and managed via a central console.

As a first step, it is necessary to decide whether your goal is to protect individual devices or to provide centrally managed protection for your network as a whole. Let’s look at what Bitdefender offers for both of these scenarios.

Individual Protection

Bitdefender offers several packages tailored to individuals. These packages are ideal for home users, families, and very small businesses not connected to a central network. Pricing can be found on Bitdefender's site, with packages varying based on the number of devices requiring protection. Bitfender's VPN (virtual private network) can be added to any package, allowing for greater privacy when browsing.

Network Solutions

Bitdefender's network solutions are managed from a central console and can be deployed to every machine in your network, provided you have purchased a sufficient number of licenses. Your devices can be any mix of the following platforms:

• Windows
• Linux
• MacOS (Apple)
• Android (mobile phones and IoT devices)
• iOS (Apple phones)

At the lower end of this range, Bitdefender offers a Small Office Security solution. This plan is suitable for small businesses needing to protect up to 20 devices. It’s very simple to install and administer, even for those with limited technical knowledge. It not only protects against malware, but includes:

• Data breach prevention
• Cyber attack protection
• Multi-layer ransomware protection

This solution is also very lightweight, so it won't slow down your network or devices.

Bitdefender also provides a range of packages to fit any organization, from small and medium-sized businesses to large enterprises.

Businesses needing to secure over 20 devices may find Bitdefender's GravityZone solutions more suitable for their needs. These plans offer more customizable and scalable options, allowing you to configure the protection you need. They are more complex to administer than the Small Office Security solution, but you can choose various levels of protection. As an example, the GravityZone Small Business Security package offers the same advanced protection as the enterprise-level options, but it’s scaled down for small organizations.

Larger organizations or companies with complex needs may benefit from discussing requirements with a Bitdefender partner, who can recommend the best solution for your specific situation.

Given that Bitdefender offers a wide range of packages, it is generally considered a suitable solution for the cybersecurity needs of a diverse array of businesses. However, since the package you choose will depend on your specific security requirements, number and type of devices, and level of in-house expertise, it’s always worth checking whether you could get a similar level of protection at a lower price from a competitor.

Here are some other popular antivirus products that offer solutions for small businesses. Like Bitdefenders, these competitors all receive consistently high scores on independent tests:

• Avast
• Sophos
• Norton
• Eset

To get started with Bitdefender, you can purchase the product of your choice from either the company’s website or one of Bitdefender’s partners.

• Bitdefender's website has links to pages listing solutions for consumers, small businesses, and enterprises. You can follow these links to find the solution that best suits your needs and purchase the product.
• You will then receive a confirmation email containing an activation link and an activation code. If you click the activation link, it will open the Bitdefender Central website in your browser. You have the option of signing in if you already have an account, or creating one if you don’t.
• Next, choose ‘Add new subscription’.  Bitdefender then activates your subscription and adds it to your account.
• If for some reason the activation link doesn’t work, you’d need to use your activation code to activate the product. This is a 10-digit code found in your confirmation email. You will need to go to the Bitdefender Central website and either sign in or create an account. Click ‘Get Started’, then ‘Enter Code’. You can now enter your 10-digit code. Alternatively, you can choose ‘My subscriptions’, from the left-hand menu, then ‘Activate with a code.’

You’re now ready to download and install BitDefender. The installation process is different for individually-managed products, such as Antivirus Plus, and centrally-managed products, such as GravityZone.

Installing Individual Solutions

You’ll need to follow these instructions for each device you plan to protect with Bitdefender:

• Once you’ve activated the product, you can download it by logging into your Bitdefender Central account. You should see a button labeled ‘Install Bitdefender Products’. You’ll see a list of your active subscriptions. Click the ‘Install’ button on the one you want to install, then ‘Download.’
• Since Bitdefender won’t work alongside other antivirus software, you will need to remove any other solutions you have installed. You can read more about this in the ‘Migrating from similar tools’ section below.
• Once the download has completed and you’ve removed any existing antivirus programs, double-click the file from the ‘Downloads’ tab of your browser. Alternatively, you can double-click the file name in your ‘Downloads’ folder.
• Follow the on-screen instructions.

Once the antivirus has been installed, click the Finish button. The Bitdefender dashboard opens. It’s a good idea to do a full scan at this point. This first scan may take some time.

Bitdefender will then continually protect your device and alert you if any issues are detected.

Installing Network Solutions

Bitdefender Small Office Security

For this product, it’s well worth downloading the user guide, which gives full details of how to install and manage your product.

First, install your Bitdefender product on your computer, using the same process as previously documented for individual solutions.

Before installing, make sure:

• You’re logged on as an administrator
• All other antivirus software and firewalls have been disabled or removed
• You’re connected to the Internet, as the installer may need to download files

Once the installation is complete, you can manage other devices on your network by logging into your Bitdefender Central account via your browser and selecting the ‘My Devices’ panel. Full details of how to do this are included in the user guide mentioned earlier.

GravityZone Products

You can find information on installing and managing your GravityZone products on the Bitdefender support page.

When you purchased your product, you should have received credentials to access the GravityZone webpage. If for any reason you didn’t, you can sign up for a free trial, and then use the same credentials to access your purchased product.

Since you will shortly be asked to add two-factor authentication to your GravityZone account, you need to make sure that you have an authenticator such as Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator available. You can read about two-factor authentication here.

When you’re ready to begin, log into your GravityZone account. Configure your authentication method, then add your licenses by clicking the Licensing tab, and clicking ‘Add Product’ in the ‘License Usage’ section.

You will be able to deploy your package to machines on your network from the Network > Installation Packages choice on the left-hand menu.

You can also use this console to configure and tune your network protection.

See the GravityZone documentation for more details.

Bitdefender, like all cybersecurity software, will not work alongside other antivirus products. If the Bitdefender product you’ve chosen includes a firewall, it won’t work alongside any existing firewalls you may have. You’ll need to remove or disable these products before you can successfully install Bitdefender.

Bitdefender GravityZone does check for and attempt to uninstall any conflicting products during installation, but this may not always work correctly. It’s better to uninstall them manually before you begin.

You don’t want to be without protection for any length of time, so the best practice is to:

• Run a full scan from your old antivirus in case any threats have been missed;
• Set up your Bitdefender account;
• Download the Bitdefender product;
• Uninstall your existing antivirus;
• If you’ve bought a version of Bitdefender that includes a firewall, disable your existing firewall;
• Install Bitdefender;
• Run a full scan with Bitdefender.

You should never try to install more than one antivirus product on the same machine, as they may interfere with each other. The results of doing this are unpredictable, and may even crash your system. It is advised to use a single vendor for all your cybersecurity needs. Bitdefender will not work alongside any other antivirus solution.