Managing your security. Bitdefender Total Security 2016
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Bitdefender Total Security 2016
MANAGING YOUR SECURITY
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Bitdefender Total Security 2016
16. ANTIVIRUS PROTECTION
Bitdefender protects your computer from all kinds of malware (viruses,
Trojans, spyware, rootkits and so on). The protection Bitdefender offers is divided into two categories:
●
- prevents new malware threats from entering your system. Bitdefender will, for example, scan a word document for known threats when you open it, and an e-mail message when you receive one.
On-access scanning ensures real-time protection against malware, being an essential component of any computer security program.
Important
To prevent viruses from infecting your computer keep on-access scanning enabled.
●
- allows detecting and removing the malware that already resides in the system. This is the classic scan initiated by the user
- you choose what drive, folder or file Bitdefender should scan, and
Bitdefender scans it - on-demand.
Bitdefender automatically scans any removable media that is connected to the computer to make sure it can be safely accessed. For more information, please refer to
“Automatic scan of removable media” (p. 97)
.
Advanced users can configure scan exclusions if they do not want specific files or file types to be scanned. For more information, please refer to
“Configuring scan exclusions” (p. 99) .
When it detects a virus or other malware, Bitdefender will automatically attempt to remove the malware code from the infected file and reconstruct the original file. This operation is referred to as disinfection. Files that cannot be disinfected are moved to quarantine in order to contain the infection. For more information, please refer to
“Managing quarantined files” (p. 102)
.
If your computer has been infected with malware, please refer to
malware from your system” (p. 196)
. To help you clean your computer of malware that cannot be removed from within the Windows operating system,
Bitdefender provides you with
. This is a trusted environment, especially designed for malware removal, which enables you to boot your computer independent of Windows. When the computer runs in Rescue
Mode, Windows malware is inactive, making it easy to remove.
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To protect you against unknown malicious applications, Bitdefender uses
Active Threat Control, an advanced heuristic technology, which continuously monitors the applications running on your system. Active Threat Control automatically blocks applications that exhibit malware-like behavior to stop them from damaging your computer. Occasionally, legitimate applications may be blocked. In such situations, you can configure Active Threat Control not to block those applications again by creating exclusion rules. To learn more, please refer to
“Active Threat Control” (p. 103) .
16.1. On-access scanning (real-time protection)
Bitdefender provides continuous, real-time protection against a wide range of malware threats by scanning all accessed files and e-mail messages.
The default real-time protection settings ensure good protection against malware, with minor impact on system performance. You can easily change the real-time protection settings according to your needs by switching to one of the predefined protection levels. Or, if you are an advanced user, you can configure the scan settings in detail by creating a custom protection level.
16.1.1. Turning on or off real-time protection
To turn on or off real-time protection against malware, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Antivirus module, then select the Shield tab.
4. Click the switch to turn on or off On-access scanning.
5. If you want to disable real-time protection, a warning window appears.
You must confirm your choice by selecting from the menu how long you want the real-time protection to be disabled. You can disable real-time protection for 5, 15 or 30 minutes, for an hour, permanently or until a system restart. The real-time protection will automatically turn on when the selected time will expire.
Warning
This is a critical security issue. We recommend you to disable real-time protection for as little time as possible. If real-time protection is disabled, you will not be protected against malware threats.
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16.1.2. Adjusting the real-time protection level
The real-time protection level defines the scan settings for real-time protection. You can easily change the real-time protection settings according to your needs by switching to one of the predefined protection levels.
To adjust the real-time protection level, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Antivirus module, then select the Shield tab.
4. Drag the slider along the scale to set the desired protection level. Use the description on the right side of the scale to choose the protection level that better fits your security needs.
16.1.3. Configuring the real time protection settings
Advanced users might want to take advantage of the scan settings
Bitdefender offers. You can configure the real-time protection settings in detail by creating a custom protection level.
To configure the real time protection settings, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Antivirus module, then select the Shield tab.
4. Click Custom.
5. Configure the scan settings as needed.
6. Click OK to save the changes and close the window.
Information on the scan options
You may find this information useful:
●
If you are not familiar with some of the terms, check them in the
You can also find useful information by searching the Internet.
●
Scan options for accessed files. You can set Bitdefender to scan all accessed files or applications (program files) only. Scanning all accessed
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By default, both local folders and network shares are subject to on-access scanning. For better system performance, you can exclude network locations from on-access scanning.
Applications (or program files) are far more vulnerable to malware attacks than other types of files. This category includes the following file extensions:
386; a6p; ac; accda; accdb; accdc; accde; accdp; accdr; accdt; accdu; acl; acr; action; ade; adp; air; app; as; asd; asp; awk; bas; bat; bin; cgi; chm; cla; class; cmd; cnv; com; cpl; csc; csh; dat; dek; dld; dll; doc; docm; docx; dot; dotm; dotx; drv; ds; ebm; esh; exe; ezs; fky; frs; fxp; gadget; grv; hlp; hms; hta; htm; html; iaf; icd; ini; inx; ipf; isu; jar; js; jse; jsx; kix; laccdb; lnk; maf; mam; maq; mar; mat; mcr; mda; mdb; mde; mdt; mdw; mem; mhtml; mpp; mpt; mpx; ms; msg; msi; msp; mst; msu; oab; obi; obs; ocx; oft; ole; one; onepkg; ost; ovl; pa; paf; pex; pfd; php; pif; pip; pot; potm; potx; ppa; ppam; pps; ppsm; ppsx; ppt; pptm; pptx; prc; prf; prg; pst; pub; puz; pvd; pwc; py; pyc; pyo; qpx; rbx; rgs; rox; rpj; rtf; scar; scr; script; sct; shb; shs; sldm; sldx; smm; snp; spr; svd; sys; thmx; tlb; tms; u3p; udf; url; vb; vbe; vbs; vbscript; vxd; wbk; wcm; wdm; wiz; wll; wpk; ws; wsf; xar; xl; xla; xlam; xlb; xlc; xll; xlm; xls; xlsb; xlsm; xlsx; xlt; xltm; xltx; xlw; xml; xqt; xsf; xsn; xtp
●
Scan inside archives.
Scanning inside archives is a slow and resource-intensive process, which is therefore not recommended for real-time protection. Archives containing infected files are not an immediate threat to the security of your system. The malware can affect your system only if the infected file is extracted from the archive and executed without having real-time protection enabled.
If you decide on using this option, you can set a maximum accepted size limit of archives to be scanned on-access. Select the corresponding check box and type the maximum archive size (in MB).
●
Scan options for e-mail and HTTP traffic. To prevent malware from being downloaded to your computer, Bitdefender automatically scans the following malware entry points:
● incoming and outgoing e-mails
●
HTTP traffic
Scanning the web traffic may slow down web browsing a little, but it will block malware coming from the Internet, including drive-by downloads.
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Though not recommended, you can disable e-mail or web antivirus scan to increase system performance. If you disable the corresponding scan options, the e-mails and files received or downloaded from the Internet will not be scanned, thus allowing infected files to be saved to your computer. This is not a major threat because real-time protection will block the malware when the infected files are accessed (opened, moved, copied or executed).
●
Scan boot sectors. You can set Bitdefender to scan the boot sectors of your hard disk. This sector of the hard disk contains the necessary computer code to start the boot process. When a virus infects the boot sector, the drive may become inaccessible and you may not be able to start your system and access your data.
●
Scan only new and changed files. By scanning only new and changed files, you may greatly improve overall system responsiveness with a minimum trade-off in security.
●
Scan for keyloggers. Select this option to scan your system for keylogger applications. Keyloggers record what you type on your keyboard and send reports over the Internet to a malicious person (hacker). The hacker can find out sensitive information from the stolen data, such as bank account numbers and passwords, and use it to gain personal benefits.
●
Scan at system boot. Select the Early boot scan option to scan your system at startup as soon as all its critical services are loaded. The mission of this feature is to improve virus detection at system startup and the boot time of your system.
Actions taken on detected malware
You can configure the actions taken by the real-time protection.
To configure the actions, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Antivirus module, then select the Shield tab.
4. Click Custom.
5. Select the Actions tab, and configure the scan settings as needed.
6. Click OK to save the changes and close the window.
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The following actions can be taken by the real time protection in Bitdefender:
Take proper actions
Bitdefender will take the recommended actions depending on the type of detected file:
●
Infected files. Files detected as infected match a malware signature in the Bitdefender Malware Signature Database. Bitdefender will automatically attempt to remove the malware code from the infected file and reconstruct the original file. This operation is referred to as disinfection.
Files that cannot be disinfected are moved to quarantine in order to contain the infection. Quarantined files cannot be executed or opened; therefore, the risk of getting infected disappears. For more information, please refer to
“Managing quarantined files” (p. 102) .
Important
For particular types of malware, disinfection is not possible because the detected file is entirely malicious. In such cases, the infected file is deleted from the disk.
●
Suspicious files. Files are detected as suspicious by the heuristic analysis. Suspicious files cannot be disinfected, because no disinfection routine is available. They will be moved to quarantine to prevent a potential infection.
By default, quarantined files are automatically sent to Bitdefender
Labs in order to be analyzed by the Bitdefender malware researchers.
If malware presence is confirmed, a signature is released to allow removing the malware.
●
Archives containing infected files.
●
Archives that contain only infected files are deleted automatically.
●
If an archive contains both infected and clean files, Bitdefender will attempt to delete the infected files provided it can reconstruct the archive with the clean files. If archive reconstruction is not possible, you will be informed that no action can be taken so as to avoid losing clean files.
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Move files to quarantine
Moves detected files to quarantine. Quarantined files cannot be executed or opened; therefore, the risk of getting infected disappears. For more information, please refer to
“Managing quarantined files” (p. 102)
.
Deny access
In case an infected file is detected, the access to this will be denied.
16.1.4. Restoring the default settings
The default real-time protection settings ensure good protection against malware, with minor impact on system performance.
To restore the default real-time protection settings, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Antivirus module, then select the Shield tab.
4. Click Default.
16.2. On-demand scanning
The main objective for Bitdefender is to keep your computer clean of viruses.
This is done by keeping new viruses out of your computer and by scanning your e-mail messages and any new files downloaded or copied to your system.
There is a risk that a virus is already lodged in your system, before you even install Bitdefender. This is why it's a very good idea to scan your computer for resident viruses after you've installed Bitdefender. And it's definitely a good idea to frequently scan your computer for viruses.
On-demand scanning is based on scan tasks. Scan tasks specify the scanning options and the objects to be scanned. You can scan the computer whenever you want by running the default tasks or your own scan tasks (user-defined tasks). If you want to scan specific locations on your computer or to configure the scan options, configure and run a custom scan.
16.2.1. Scanning a file or folder for malware
You should scan files and folders whenever you suspect they might be infected. Right-click the file or folder you want to be scanned, point to
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Bitdefender and select Scan with Bitdefender. The
will appear and guide you through the scanning process. At the end of the scan, you will be prompted to choose the actions to be taken on the detected files, if any.
16.2.2. Running a Quick Scan
Quick Scan uses in-the-cloud scanning to detect malware running in your system. Running a Quick Scan usually takes less than a minute and uses a fraction of the system resources needed by a regular virus scan.
To run a Quick Scan, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Under the Antivirus module, select Quick Scan.
4. Follow the
to complete the scan. Bitdefender will automatically take the recommended actions on detected files. If there remain unresolved threats, you will be prompted to choose the actions to be taken on them.
Or quicker, click the Quick Scan action button from the Bitdefender interface.
16.2.3. Running a System Scan
The System Scan task scans the entire computer for all types of malware threatening its security, such as viruses, spyware, adware, rootkits and others.
Note
Because System Scan performs a thorough scan of the entire system, the scan may take a while. Therefore, it is recommended to run this task when you are not using your computer.
Before running a System Scan, the following are recommended:
●
Make sure Bitdefender is up-to-date with its malware signatures. Scanning your computer using an outdated signature database may prevent
Bitdefender from detecting new malware found since the last update. For more information, please refer to
“Keeping Bitdefender up-to-date” (p. 43) .
●
Shut down all open programs.
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If you want to scan specific locations on your computer or to configure the scanning options, configure and run a custom scan. For more information, please refer to
“Configuring a custom scan” (p. 91)
.
To run a System Scan, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Under the Antivirus module, select System Scan.
4. Follow the
to complete the scan. Bitdefender will automatically take the recommended actions on detected files. If there remain unresolved threats, you will be prompted to choose the actions to be taken on them.
16.2.4. Configuring a custom scan
To configure a scan for malware in detail and then run it, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Under the Antivirus module, select Manage Scans.
4. Click New custom task. In the Basic tab enter a name for the scan and select the locations to be scanned.
5. If you want to configure the scanning options in detail, select the Advanced tab. A new window appears. Follow these steps: a. You can easily configure the scanning options by adjusting the scan level. Drag the slider along the scale to set the desired scan level. Use the description on the right side of the scale to identify the scan level that better fits your needs.
Advanced users might want to take advantage of the scan settings
Bitdefender offers. To configure the scan options in detail, click Custom.
You can find information about them at the end of this section.
b. You can also configure these general options:
●
Run the task with low priority. Decreases the priority of the scan process. You will allow other programs to run faster and increase the time needed for the scan process to finish.
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Minimize Scan Wizard to system tray. Minimizes the scan window to the
system tray . Double-click the Bitdefender icon to open it.
●
Specify the action to be taken if no threats are found.
c. Click OK to save the changes and close the window.
6. If you want to set a schedule for your scan task, use the Schedule switch in the Basic window. Select one of the corresponding options to set a schedule:
●
At system startup
●
Once
●
Periodically
7. Click Start Scan and follow the
to complete the scan. Depending on the locations to be scanned, the scan may take a while. At the end of the scan, you will be prompted to choose the actions to be taken on the detected files, if any.
8. If you want to, you can quickly rerun a previous custom scan by clicking the corresponding entry in the available list.
Information on the scan options
You may find this information useful:
●
If you are not familiar with some of the terms, check them in the
You can also find useful information by searching the Internet.
●
Scan files. You can set Bitdefender to scan all types of files or applications
(program files) only. Scanning all files provides best protection, while scanning applications only can be used to perform a quicker scan.
Applications (or program files) are far more vulnerable to malware attacks than other types of files. This category includes the following file extensions: 386; a6p; ac; accda; accdb; accdc; accde; accdp; accdr; accdt; accdu; acl; acr; action; ade; adp; air; app; as; asd; asp; awk; bas; bat; bin; cgi; chm; cla; class; cmd; cnv; com; cpl; csc; csh; dat; dek; dld; dll; doc; docm; docx; dot; dotm; dotx; drv; ds; ebm; esh; exe; ezs; fky; frs; fxp; gadget; grv; hlp; hms; hta; htm; html; iaf; icd; ini; inx; ipf; isu; jar; js; jse; jsx; kix; laccdb; lnk; maf; mam; maq; mar; mat; mcr; mda; mdb; mde; mdt; mdw; mem; mhtml; mpp; mpt; mpx; ms; msg; msi; msp; mst; msu; oab; obi; obs; ocx; oft; ole; one; onepkg; ost; ovl; pa; paf; pex; pfd; php; pif; pip; pot; potm; potx; ppa;
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●
Scan options for archives. Archives containing infected files are not an immediate threat to the security of your system. The malware can affect your system only if the infected file is extracted from the archive and executed without having real-time protection enabled. However, it is recommended to use this option in order to detect and remove any potential threat, even if it is not an immediate threat.
Note
Scanning archived files increases the overall scanning time and requires more system resources.
●
Scan boot sectors. You can set Bitdefender to scan the boot sectors of your hard disk. This sector of the hard disk contains the necessary computer code to start the boot process. When a virus infects the boot sector, the drive may become inaccessible and you may not be able to start your system and access your data.
●
Scan memory. Select this option to scan programs running in your system's memory.
●
Scan registry. Select this option to scan registry keys. Windows Registry is a database that stores configuration settings and options for the
Windows operating system components, as well as for installed applications.
●
Scan cookies. Select this option to scan the cookies stored by browsers on your computer.
●
Scan only new and changed files. By scanning only new and changed files, you may greatly improve overall system responsiveness with a minimum trade-off in security.
●
Ignore commercial keyloggers. Select this option if you have installed and use commercial keylogger software on your computer. Commercial keyloggers are legitimate computer monitoring software whose most basic function is to record everything that is typed on the keyboard.
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Scan for rootkits. Select this option to scan for
and objects hidden using such software.
16.2.5. Antivirus Scan Wizard
Whenever you initiate an on-demand scan (for example, right-click a folder, point to Bitdefender and select Scan with Bitdefender), the Bitdefender
Antivirus Scan wizard will appear. Follow the wizard to complete the scanning process.
Note
If the scan wizard does not appear, the scan may be configured to run silently, in the background. Look for the scan progress icon in the
can click this icon to open the scan window and to see the scan progress.
Step 1 - Perform scan
Bitdefender will start scanning the selected objects. You can see real-time information about the scan status and statistics (including the elapsed time, an estimation of the remaining time and the number of detected threats).
Wait for Bitdefender to finish scanning. The scanning process may take a while, depending on the complexity of the scan.
Stopping or pausing the scan. You can stop scanning anytime you want by clicking Stop. You will go directly to the last step of the wizard. To temporarily stop the scanning process, just click Pause. You will have to click Resume to resume scanning.
Password-protected archives. When a password-protected archive is detected, depending on the scan settings, you may be prompted to provide the password. Password-protected archives cannot be scanned unless you provide the password. The following options are available:
●
Password. If you want Bitdefender to scan the archive, select this option and type the password. If you do not know the password, choose one of the other options.
●
Don't ask for a password and skip this object from scan. Select this option to skip scanning this archive.
●
Skip all password-protected items without scanning them. Select this option if you do not want to be bothered about password-protected
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Choose the desired option and click OK to continue scanning.
Step 2 - Choose actions
At the end of the scan, you will be prompted to choose the actions to be taken on the detected files, if any.
Note
When you run a quick scan or a full system scan, Bitdefender will automatically take the recommended actions on detected files during the scan. If there remain unresolved threats, you will be prompted to choose the actions to be taken on them.
The infected objects are displayed in groups, based on the malware they are infected with. Click the link corresponding to a threat to find out more information about the infected objects.
You can choose an overall action to be taken for all issues or you can select separate actions for each group of issues. One or several of the following options can appear on the menu:
Take proper actions
Bitdefender will take the recommended actions depending on the type of detected file:
●
Infected files. Files detected as infected match a malware signature in the Bitdefender Malware Signature Database. Bitdefender will automatically attempt to remove the malware code from the infected file and reconstruct the original file. This operation is referred to as disinfection.
Files that cannot be disinfected are moved to quarantine in order to contain the infection. Quarantined files cannot be executed or opened; therefore, the risk of getting infected disappears. For more information, please refer to
“Managing quarantined files” (p. 102) .
Important
For particular types of malware, disinfection is not possible because the detected file is entirely malicious. In such cases, the infected file is deleted from the disk.
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●
Suspicious files. Files are detected as suspicious by the heuristic analysis. Suspicious files cannot be disinfected, because no disinfection routine is available. They will be moved to quarantine to prevent a potential infection.
By default, quarantined files are automatically sent to Bitdefender
Labs in order to be analyzed by the Bitdefender malware researchers.
If malware presence is confirmed, a signature is released to allow removing the malware.
●
Archives containing infected files.
●
Archives that contain only infected files are deleted automatically.
●
If an archive contains both infected and clean files, Bitdefender will attempt to delete the infected files provided it can reconstruct the archive with the clean files. If archive reconstruction is not possible, you will be informed that no action can be taken so as to avoid losing clean files.
Delete
Removes detected files from the disk.
If infected files are stored in an archive together with clean files,
Bitdefender will attempt to delete the infected files and reconstruct the archive with the clean files. If archive reconstruction is not possible, you will be informed that no action can be taken so as to avoid losing clean files.
Take no action
No action will be taken on the detected files. After the scan is completed, you can open the scan log to view information on these files.
Click Continue to apply the specified actions.
Step 3 - Summary
When Bitdefender finishes fixing the issues, the scan results will appear in a new window. If you want comprehensive information on the scanning process, click Show Log to view the scan log.
Click Close to close the window.
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Important
In most cases Bitdefender successfully disinfects the infected files it detects or it isolates the infection. However, there are issues that cannot be solved automatically. If required, please restart your system in order to complete the cleaning process. For more information and instructions on how to remove malware manually, please refer to
“Removing malware from your system” (p.
.
16.2.6. Checking scan logs
Each time a scan is performed, a scan log is created and Bitdefender records the detected issues in the Antivirus window. The scan log contains detailed information about the logged scanning process, such as scanning options, the scanning target, the threats found and the actions taken on these threats.
You can open the scan log directly from the scan wizard, once the scan is completed, by clicking Show Log.
To check a scan log or any detected infection at a later time, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon at the top of the
and select Events from the drop-down menu.
2. In the Events window, select Antivirus from the corresponding drop-down menu.
This is where you can find all malware scan events, including threats detected by on-access scanning, user-initiated scans and status changes for automatic scans.
3. In the events list, you can check what scans have been performed recently.
Click an event to view details about it.
4. To open the scan log, click View log. If you want to run again the same scan, click the Rescan button.
16.3. Automatic scan of removable media
Bitdefender automatically detects when you connect a removable storage device to your computer and scans it in the background. This is recommended in order to prevent viruses and other malware from infecting your computer.
Detected devices fall into one of these categories:
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●
CDs/DVDs
●
USB storage devices, such as flash pens and external hard-drives
● mapped (remote) network drives
You can configure automatic scan separately for each category of storage devices. Automatic scan of mapped network drives is off by default.
16.3.1. How does it work?
When it detects a removable storage device, Bitdefender starts scanning it for malware in the background (provided automatic scan is enabled for that type of device). A Bitdefender scan icon will appear in the
You can click this icon to open the scan window and to see the scan progress.
If Autopilot is on, you will not be bothered about the scan. The scan will only be logged and information about it will be available in the
window.
If Autopilot is off:
1. You will be notified through a pop-up window that a new device has been detected and it is being scanned.
2. In most cases, Bitdefender automatically removes detected malware or isolates infected files into quarantine. If there are unresolved threats after the scan, you will be prompted to choose the actions to be taken on them.
Note
Take into account that no action can be taken on infected or suspicious files detected on CDs/DVDs. Similarly, no action can be taken on infected or suspicious files detected on mapped network drives if you do not have the appropriate privileges.
3. When the scan is completed, the scan results window is displayed to inform you if you can safely access files on the removable media.
This information may be useful to you:
●
Please be careful when using a malware-infected CD/DVD, because the malware cannot be removed from the disc (the media is read-only). Make sure real-time protection is turned on to prevent malware from spreading to your system. It is best practice to copy any valuable data from the disc to your system and then dispose of the disc.
●
In some cases, Bitdefender may not be able to remove malware from specific files due to legal or technical constraints. Such an example are
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To find out how to deal with malware, please refer to
16.3.2. Managing removable media scan
To manage automatic scan of removable media, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Antivirus module, then select the Exclusions tab.
For best protection, it is recommended to turn on automatic scan for all types of removable storage devices.
The scanning options are pre-configured for the best detection results. If infected files are detected, Bitdefender will try to disinfect them (remove the malware code) or to move them to quarantine. If both actions fail, the
Antivirus Scan wizard will allow you to specify other actions to be taken on infected files. The scanning options are standard and you cannot change them.
16.4. Configuring scan exclusions
Bitdefender allows excluding specific files, folders or file extensions from scanning. This feature is intended to avoid interference with your work and it can also help improve system performance. Exclusions are to be used by users having advanced computer knowledge or, otherwise, following the recommendations of a Bitdefender representative.
You can configure exclusions to apply to on-access or on-demand scanning only, or to both. The objects excluded from on-access scanning will not be scanned, no matter if they are accessed by you or by an application.
Note
Exclusions will NOT apply for contextual scanning. Contextual scanning is a type of on-demand scanning: you right-click the file or folder you want to scan and select Scan with Bitdefender.
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16.4.1. Excluding files or folders from scanning
To exclude specific files or folders from scanning, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Antivirus module.
4. In the Antivirus window, select the Exclusions tab.
5. Turn on scan exclusions for files using the corresponding switch.
6. Click the Excluded files and folders link. In the window that appears, you can manage the files and folders excluded from scanning.
7. Add exclusions by following these steps: a. Click the Add button, located at the top of the exclusions table.
b. Click Browse, select the file or folder that you want to be excluded from scanning and then click OK. Alternatively, you can type (or copy and paste) the path to the file or folder in the edit field.
c. By default, the selected file or folder is excluded from both on-access and on-demand scanning. To change when to apply the exclusion, select one of the other options.
d. Click Add.
8. Click OK to save the changes and close the window.
16.4.2. Excluding file extensions from scanning
When you exclude a file extension from scanning, Bitdefender will no longer scan files with that extension, regardless of their location on your computer.
The exclusion also applies to files on removable media, such as CDs, DVDs,
USB storage devices or network drives.
Important
Use caution when excluding extensions from scanning because such exclusions can make your computer vulnerable to malware.
To exclude file extensions from scanning, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
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2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Antivirus module.
4. In the Antivirus window, select the Exclusions tab.
5. Turn on scan exclusions for files using the corresponding switch.
6. Click the Excluded extensions link. In the window that appears, you can manage the file extensions excluded from scanning.
7. Add exclusions by following these steps: a. Click the Add button, located at the top of the exclusions table.
b. Enter the extensions that you want to be excluded from scanning, separating them with semicolons (;). Here is an example: txt;avi;jpg c. By default, all files with the specified extensions are excluded from both on-access and on-demand scanning. To change when to apply the exclusion, select one of the other options.
d. Click Add.
8. Click OK to save the changes and close the window.
16.4.3. Managing scan exclusions
If the configured scan exclusions are no longer needed, it is recommended that you delete them or disable scan exclusions.
To manage scan exclusions, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Antivirus module, then select the Exclusions tab. Use the options in the Files and folders section to manage scan exclusions.
4. To remove or edit scan exclusions, click one of the available links. Proceed as follows:
●
To remove an entry from the table, select it and click the Remove button.
●
To edit an entry from the table, double-click it (or select it and click the
Edit button). A new window appears where you can change the extension or the path to be excluded and the type of scanning you want them to
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Modify.
5. To turn off scan exclusions, use the corresponding switch.
16.5. Managing quarantined files
Bitdefender isolates the malware-infected files it cannot disinfect and the suspicious files in a secure area named quarantine. When a virus is in quarantine it cannot do any harm because it cannot be executed or read.
By default, quarantined files are automatically sent to Bitdefender Labs in order to be analyzed by the Bitdefender malware researchers. If malware presence is confirmed, a signature is released to allow removing the malware.
In addition, Bitdefender scans the quarantined files after each malware signature update. Cleaned files are automatically moved back to their original location.
To check and manage quarantined files, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Antivirus module, then select the Quarantine tab.
4. Quarantined files are managed automatically by Bitdefender according to the default quarantine settings. Though not recommended, you can adjust the quarantine settings according to your preferences.
Rescan quarantine after virus definitions update
Keep this option turned on to automatically scan quarantined files after each virus definitions update. Cleaned files are automatically moved back to their original location.
Submit suspicious quarantined files for further analysis
Keep this option turned on to automatically send quarantined files to
Bitdefender Labs. The sample files will be analyzed by the Bitdefender malware researchers. If malware presence is confirmed, a signature is released to allow removing the malware.
Delete content older than {30} days
By default, quarantined files older than 30 days are automatically deleted. If you want to change this interval, type a new value in the
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5. To delete a quarantined file, select it and click the Delete button. If you want to restore a quarantined file to its original location, select it and click
Restore.
16.6. Active Threat Control
Bitdefender Active Threat Control is an innovative proactive detection technology which uses advanced heuristic methods to detect new potential threats in real time.
Active Threat Control continuously monitors the applications running on the computer, looking for malware-like actions. Each of these actions is scored and an overall score is computed for each process. When the overall score for a process reaches a given threshold, the process is considered to be harmful and it is blocked automatically.
If Autopilot is off, you will be notified through a pop-up window about the blocked application. Otherwise, the application will be blocked without any notification. You can check what applications have been detected by Active
Threat Control in the
window.
16.6.1. Checking detected applications
To check the applications detected by Active Threat Control, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon at the top of the
and select Events from the drop-down menu.
2. In the Events window, select Antivirus from the corresponding drop-down menu.
3. Click an event to view details about it.
4. If you trust the application, you can configure Active Threat Control not to block it anymore by clicking Allow and monitor. Active Threat Control will continue to monitor excluded applications. If an excluded application is detected to perform suspicious activities, the event will simply be logged and reported to Bitdefender Cloud as detection error.
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16.6.2. Turning on or off Active Threat Control
To turn on or off Active Threat Control, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Antivirus module.
4. In the Antivirus window, select the Shield tab.
5. Click the switch to turn on or off Active Threat Control.
16.6.3. Adjusting the Active Threat Control protection
If you notice that Active Threat Control detects legitimate applications often, you should set a more permissive protection level.
To adjust the Active Threat Control protection, drag the slider along the scale to set the desired protection level.
Use the description on the right side of the scale to choose the protection level that better fits your security needs.
Note
As you set the protection level higher, Active Threat Control will require fewer signs of malware-like behavior to report a process. This will lead to a higher number of applications being reported and, at the same time, to an increased likelihood of false positives (clean applications detected as malicious).
16.6.4. Managing excluded processes
You can configure exclusion rules for trusted applications so that Active
Threat Control does not block them if they perform malware-like actions.
Active Threat Control will continue to monitor excluded applications. If an excluded application is detected to perform suspicious activities, the event will simply be logged and reported to Bitdefender Cloud as detection error.
To manage Active Threat Control process exclusions, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Antivirus module, then select the Exclusions tab.
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4. Click the Excluded processes link. In the window that appears, you can manage the Active Threat Control process exclusions.
Note
Process exclusions also apply to
5. Add exclusions by following these steps: a. Click the Add button, located at the top of the exclusions table.
b. Click Browse, find and select the application you want to be excluded and then click OK.
c. Keep the Allow option selected to prevent Active Threat Control from blocking the application.
d. Click Add.
6. To remove or edit exclusions, proceed as follows:
●
To remove an entry from the table, select it and click the Delete button.
●
To edit an entry from the table, double-click it (or select it) and click the
Modify button. Make the necessary changes, then click Modify.
7. Save the changes and close the window.
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17. ANTISPAM
Spam is a term used to describe unsolicited e-mail. Spam is a growing problem, both for individuals and for organizations. It's not pretty, you wouldn't want your kids to see it, it can get you fired (for wasting too much time or from receiving porn in your office mail) and you can't stop people from sending it. The next best thing to that is, obviously, to stop receiving it. Unfortunately, Spam comes in a wide range of shapes and sizes, and there's a lot of it.
Bitdefender Antispam employs remarkable technological innovations and industry standard antispam filters to weed out spam before it reaches the user's Inbox. For more information, please refer to
.
The Bitdefender Antispam protection is available only for e-mail clients configured to receive e-mail messages via the POP3 protocol. POP3 is one of the most widely used protocols for downloading e-mail messages from a mail server.
Note
Bitdefender does not provide antispam protection for e-mail accounts that you access through a web-based e-mail service.
The spam messages detected by Bitdefender are marked with the [spam] prefix in the subject line. Bitdefender automatically moves spam messages to a specific folder, as follows:
●
In Microsoft Outlook, spam messages are moved to a Spam folder, located in the Deleted Items folder. The Spam folder is created during the installation of Bitdefender.
●
In Outlook Express and Windows Mail, spam messages are moved directly to Deleted Items.
●
In Mozilla Thunderbird, spam messages are moved to a Spam folder, located in the Trash folder. The Spam folder is created during the installation of Bitdefender.
If you use other mail clients, you must create a rule to move the e-mail messages marked as [spam] by Bitdefender to a custom quarantine folder.
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17.1. Antispam insights
17.1.1. Antispam filters
The Bitdefender Antispam Engine incorporates cloud protection and other several different filters that ensure your Inbox to be SPAM-free, like
and
.
Friends list / Spammers list
Most people communicate regularly to a group of people or even receive messages from companies or organizations in the same domain. By using
friends or spammers list, you can easily classify which people you want to receive e-mail from (friends) no matter what the message contains, or which people you never want to hear from again (spammers).
Note
We recommend that you add your friends' names and e-mail addresses to the
Friends list. Bitdefender does not block messages from those on the list; therefore, adding friends helps ensure that legitimate messages get through.
Charset filter
Many spam messages are written in Cyrillic and / or Asian charsets. The
Charset Filter detects this kind of messages and tags them as SPAM.
17.1.2. Antispam operation
The Bitdefender Antispam Engine uses all antispam filters combined to determine whether a certain e-mail message should get into your Inbox or not.
Every e-mail that comes from the Internet is first checked with the
filter. If the sender's address is found in the
the e-mail is moved directly to your Inbox.
Otherwise, the
filter will take over the e-mail to verify if the sender's address is on its list. If a match is made, the e-mail will be tagged as SPAM and moved in the Spam folder.
Else, the
will check if the e-mail is written in Cyrillic or Asian characters. If so the e-mail will be tagged as SPAM and moved in the Spam folder.
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Note
If the e-mail is tagged as SEXUALLY EXPLICIT in the subject line, Bitdefender will consider it SPAM.
17.1.3. Supported e-mail clients and protocols
Antispam protection is provided for all POP3/SMTP e-mail clients. The
Bitdefender Antispam toolbar however is integrated only into:
●
Microsoft Outlook 2007 / 2010 / 2013
●
Microsoft Outlook Express and Windows Mail (on 32-bit systems)
●
Mozilla Thunderbird 3.0.4
17.2. Turning on or off antispam protection
Antispam protection is enabled by default.
To turn off the Antispam module, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Antispam module, then click the switch to turn on or off Antispam.
17.3. Using the antispam toolbar in your mail client window
In the upper area of your mail client window you can see the Antispam toolbar. The Antispam toolbar helps you manage antispam protection directly from your mail client. You can easily correct Bitdefender if it marked a legitimate message as SPAM.
Important
Bitdefender integrates into the most commonly used mail clients through an easy-to-use antispam toolbar. For a complete list of supported mail clients, please refer to
“Supported e-mail clients and protocols” (p. 108)
.
Each button from the Bitdefender toolbar will be explained below:
Settings - opens a window where you can configure the antispam filters and the toolbar settings.
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Is Spam - indicates that the selected e-mail is spam. The e-mail will be moved immediately to the Spam folder. If the antispam cloud services are activated, the message is sent to Bitdefender Cloud for further analysis.
Not Spam - indicates that the selected e-mail is not spam and Bitdefender should not have tagged it. The e-mail will be moved from the Spam folder to the Inbox directory. If the antispam cloud services are activated, the message is sent to Bitdefender Cloud for further analysis.
Important
The Not Spam button becomes active when you select a message marked as SPAM by Bitdefender (normally these messages are located in the Spam folder).
Add Spammer - adds the sender of the selected e-mail to the Spammers list. You may need to click OK to acknowledge. The e-mail messages received from addresses in the Spammers list are automatically marked as [spam].
Add Friend - adds the sender of the selected e-mail to the Friends list. You may need to click OK to acknowledge. You will always receive e-mail messages from this address no matter what they contain.
Spammers - opens the Spammers list that contains all the e-mail addresses from which you don't want to receive messages, regardless of their content.
For more information, please refer to
“Configuring the Spammers List” (p. 112) .
Friends - opens the Friends list that contains all the e-mail addresses from which you always want to receive e-mail messages, regardless of their content. For more information, please refer to
“Configuring the Friends List”
17.3.1. Indicating detection errors
If you are using a supported mail client, you can easily correct the antispam filter (by indicating which e-mail messages should not have been marked as
[spam]). Doing so helps improve the efficiency of the antispam filter. Follow these steps:
1. Open your mail client.
2. Go to the junk mail folder where spam messages are moved.
3. Select the legitimate message incorrectly marked as [spam] by Bitdefender.
4. Click the Add Friend button on the Bitdefender antispam toolbar to add the sender to the Friends list. You may need to click OK to acknowledge.
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You will always receive e-mail messages from this address no matter what they contain.
5. Click the Not Spam button on the Bitdefender antispam toolbar (normally located in the upper part of the mail client window). The e-mail message will be moved to the Inbox folder.
17.3.2. Indicating undetected spam messages
If you are using a supported mail client, you can easily indicate which e-mail messages should have been detected as spam. Doing so helps improve the efficiency of the antispam filter. Follow these steps:
1. Open your mail client.
2. Go to the Inbox folder.
3. Select the undetected spam messages.
4. Click the Is Spam button on the Bitdefender antispam toolbar (normally located in the upper part of the mail client window). They are immediately marked as [spam] and moved to the junk mail folder.
17.3.3. Configuring toolbar settings
To configure the antispam toolbar settings for your e-mail client, click
Settings button on the toolbar and then the Toolbar Settings tab.
Here you have the following options:
●
Move message to Deleted Items (only for Microsoft Outlook Express /
Windows Mail)
Note
In Microsoft Outlook / Mozilla Thunderbird, detected spam messages are automatically moved to a Spam folder, located in the Deleted Items / Trash folder.
●
Mark spam e-mail messages as 'Read' - marks the spam messages as read automatically, so as not to be disturbing when they arrive.
●
You can choose whether or not to display confirmation windows when you click the Add Spammer and Add Friend buttons on the antispam toolbar.
Confirmation windows can prevent accidentally adding e-mail senders to
Friends / Spammers list.
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17.4. Configuring the Friends List
The Friends list is a list of all the e-mail addresses from which you always want to receive messages, regardless of their content. Messages from your friends are not labeled as spam, even if the content resembles spam.
Note
Any mail coming from an address contained in the Friends list, will automatically be delivered to your Inbox without further processing.
To configure and manage the Friends list:
●
If you are using Microsoft Outlook / Outlook Express / Windows Mail /
Thunderbird, click the Friends button on the
Bitdefender antispam toolbar .
●
Alternatively, follow these steps:
1.
Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Under the Antispam module, select Manage Friends.
To add an e-mail address, select the E-mail address option, enter the address and then click Add. Syntax: [email protected].
To add all the e-mail addresses from a specific domain, select the Domain
name option, enter the domain name and then click Add. Syntax:
●
@domain.com, *domain.com and domain.com - all the received e-mail messages from domain.com will reach your Inbox regardless of their content;
●
*domain* - all the received e-mail messages from domain (no matter the domain suffixes) will reach your Inbox regardless of their content;
●
*com - all the received e-mail messages having the domain suffix com will reach your Inbox regardless of their content;
It is recommended to avoid adding entire domains, but this may be useful in some situations. For example, you can add the e-mail domain of the company you work for, or those of your trusted partners.
To delete an item from the list, click the corresponding Remove link. To delete all entries from the list, click the Clear List button.
You can save the Friends list to a file so that you can use it on another computer or after reinstalling the product. To save the Friends list, click the
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Save button and save it to the desired location. The file will have a .bwl
extension.
To load a previously saved Friends list, click the Load button and open the corresponding .bwl file. To reset the content of the existing list when loading a previously saved list, select Overwrite current list.
Click OK to save the changes and close the window.
17.5. Configuring the Spammers List
The Spammers list is a list of all the e-mail addresses from which you don't want to receive messages, regardless of their content. Any e-mail message received from an address contained in the Spammers list will be automatically marked as SPAM, without further processing.
To configure and manage the Spammers list:
●
If you are using Microsoft Outlook / Outlook Express / Windows Mail /
Thunderbird, click Spammers button on the
integrated into your mail client.
●
Alternatively, follow these steps:
1.
Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Under the Antispam module, select Manage Spammers.
To add an e-mail address, select the E-mail address option, enter the address and then click Add. Syntax: [email protected].
To add all the e-mail addresses from a specific domain, select the Domain
name option, enter the domain name and then click Add. Syntax:
●
@domain.com, *domain.com and domain.com - all the received e-mail messages from domain.com will be tagged as SPAM;
●
*domain* - all the received e-mail messages from domain (no matter the domain suffixes) will be tagged as SPAM;
●
*com - all the received e-mail messages having the domain suffix com will be tagged as SPAM.
It is recommended to avoid adding entire domains, but this may be useful in some situations.
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Warning
Do not add domains of legitimate web-based e-mail services (such as Yahoo,
Gmail, Hotmail or other) to the Spammers list. Otherwise, the e-mail messages received from any registered user of such a service will be detected as spam.
If, for example, you add coming from yahoo.com
yahoo.com
to the Spammers list, all e-mail messages addresses will be marked as
[spam]
.
To delete an item from the list, click the corresponding Remove link. To delete all entries from the list, click the Clear List button.
You can save the Spammers list to a file so that you can use it on another computer or after reinstalling the product. To save the Spammers list, click the Save button and save it to the desired location. The file will have a .bwl
extension.
To load a previously saved Spammers list, click the Load button and open the corresponding .bwl file. To reset the content of the existing list when loading a previously saved list, select Overwrite current list.
Click OK to save the changes and close the window.
17.6. Configuring the local antispam filters
As described in
, Bitdefender uses a combination of different antispam filters to identify spam. The antispam filters are pre-configured for efficient protection.
Important
Depending on whether or not you receive legitimate e-mails written in Asian or Cyrillic characters, disable or enable the setting that automatically blocks such e-mails. The corresponding setting is disabled in the localized versions of the program that use such charsets (for example, in the Russian or Chinese version).
To configure the local antispam filters, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Antispam module, then click the switches to turn on or off the local antispam filters.
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If you are using Microsoft Outlook / Outlook Express / Windows Mail /
Thunderbird, you can configure the local antispam filters directly from your mail client. Click the Settings button on the Bitdefender antispam toolbar
(normally located in the upper part of the mail client window) and then the
Antispam Filters tab.
17.7. Configuring the cloud settings
The cloud detection makes use of the Bitdefender Cloud services to provide you with efficient and always up-to-date antispam protection.
The cloud protection functions as long as you keep Bitdefender Antispam enabled.
Samples of legitimate or spam e-mails can be submitted to Bitdefender Cloud when you indicate detection errors or undetected spam e-mails. This helps improve the Bitdefender antispam detection.
Configure the e-mail sample submission to Bitdefender Cloud by selecting the desired options, by following these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Antispam module, then select the desired options from the
Settings tab.
If you are using Microsoft Outlook / Outlook Express / Windows Mail /
Thunderbird, you can configure the cloud detection directly from your mail client. Click the Settings button on the Bitdefender antispam toolbar
(normally located in the upper part of the mail client window) and then the
Cloud Settings tab.
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18. WEB PROTECTION
Bitdefender Web Protection ensures a safe browsing experience by alerting you about potential phishing web pages.
Bitdefender provides real-time web protection for:
●
Internet Explorer
●
Mozilla Firefox
●
Google Chrome
●
Safari
To configure Web Protection settings, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Web Protection module.
Click the switches to turn on or off:
●
Search Advisor, a component that rates the results of your search engine queries and the links posted on social networking websites by placing an icon next to every result:
You should not visit this web page.
This web page may contain dangerous content. Exercise caution if you decide to visit it.
This is a safe page to visit.
Search Advisor rates the search results from the following web search engines:
●
●
Yahoo!
●
Bing
●
Baidu
Search Advisor rates the links posted on the following online social networking services:
●
●
●
Scanning SSL web traffic.
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More sophisticated attacks might use secure web traffic to mislead their victims. It is therefore recommended to enable SSL scanning.
●
Protection against fraud.
●
Protection against phishing.
You can create a list of web sites that will not be scanned by the Bitdefender antimalware, antiphishing and antifraud engines. The list should contain only web sites you fully trust. For example, add the web sites where you currently shop online.
To configure and manage web sites using the web protection provided by
Bitdefender, click the Whitelist link. A new window appears.
To add a site to the whitelist, provide its address in the corresponding field and click Add.
To remove a web site from the list, select it in the list and click the corresponding Remove link.
Click Save to save the changes and close the window.
18.1. Bitdefender alerts in the browser
Whenever you try to visit a website classified as unsafe, the website is blocked and a warning page is displayed in your browser.
The page contains information such as the website URL and the detected threat.
You have to decide what to do next. The following options are available:
●
Navigate away from the web page by clicking Take me back to safety.
●
Disable blocking pages that contain phishing by clicking Disable
Antiphishing filter.
●
Disable blocking pages that contain malware by clicking Disable
Antimalware filter.
●
Add the page to the Antiphishing whitelist by clicking Add to whitelist. The page will no longer be scanned by Bitdefender Antiphishing engines.
●
Proceed to the web page, despite the warning, by clicking I understand
the risks, take me there anyway.
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19. DATA PROTECTION
19.1. Deleting files permanently
When you delete a file, it can no longer be accessed through normal means.
However, the file continues to be stored on the hard disk until it is overwritten when copying new files.
The Bitdefender File Shredder helps you permanently delete data by physically removing it from your hard disk.
You can quickly shred files or folders from your computer using the Windows contextual menu, by following these steps:
1. Right-click the file or folder you want to permanently delete.
2. Select Bitdefender > File Shredder in the context menu that appears.
3. A confirmation window appears. Click Yes to start the File Shredder wizard.
4. Wait for Bitdefender to finish shredding the files.
5. The results are displayed. Click Close to exit the wizard.
Alternatively, you can shred files from the Bitdefender interface.
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. Under the Data Protection module, select File Shredder.
4. Follow the File Shredder wizard: a. Add Folder(s)
Add the files or folders you want to be permanently removed.
b. Click Next and confirm that you wish to continue with the process.
Wait for Bitdefender to finish shredding the files.
c. Results
The results are displayed. Click Close to exit the wizard.
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20. FILE ENCRYPTION
Bitdefender File Encryption enables you to create encrypted, password-protected logical drives (or vaults) on your computer where you can securely store your confidential and sensitive documents. The data stored on the vaults can only be accessed by users who know the password.
The password allows you to open, store data on and close a vault while maintaining its security. While a vault is open, you can add new files, access current files or change them.
Physically, the vault is a file stored on the local hard drive having the .bvd
extension. Although the physical files representing the vaulted drives can be accessed from a different operating system (such as Linux), the information stored on them cannot be read because it is encrypted.
File vaults can be managed from the
or by using the
Windows contextual menu and logical drive associated with the vault.
20.1. Managing file vaults
To manage your file vaults from Bitdefender, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. Click the File Encryption module.
The existing file vaults appear in the My Vaults window.
20.2. Creating file vaults
To create a new vault:
1. Click the Add button.
2. In the Start fresh area, click Create new.
3. Specify the location and the name of the vault file.
●
Click Browse, select the location of the vault and save the vault file under the desired name.
●
Type the name of the vault file on the disk in the corresponding fields.
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4. Choose a drive letter from the corresponding menu. When you open the vault, a virtual disk drive labeled with the selected letter appears in My
Computer.
5. If you want to change the default size (100 MB) of the vault, type the desired value in the Vault size (MB) field.
6. Type the desired password to the vault in the Password and Confirm
password fields. The password must have at least 8 characters. Anyone trying to open the vault and access its files must provide the password.
7. Click Create.
Bitdefender will immediately inform you about the result of the operation. If an error has occurred, use the error message to troubleshoot the error.
To create quicker a new vault, right-click on your desktop or in a folder on your computer, point to Bitdefender > Bitdefender File Vault and select Create
File Vault.
Note
It may be convenient to save all file vaults to the same location. In this way, you can find them quicker.
20.3. Opening file vaults
In order to access and work with the files stored in a vault, you must open the vault. When you open the vault, a virtual disk drive appears in My
Computer. The drive is labeled with the drive letter assigned to the vault.
To open a vault, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. Click the File Encryption module.
4. In the My Vaults window, select the vault you want to open.
5. Click the Unlock button, and type the required password.
6. Click the Open button to open your vault.
Bitdefender will immediately inform you about the result of the operation. If an error has occurred, use the error message to troubleshoot the error.
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To open quicker a vault, locate on your computer the .bvd file representing the vault you want to open. Right-click the file, point to Bitdefender File Vault and select Open. Type the required password, and then click OK.
20.4. Adding files to vaults
Before you can add files or folders to a vault, you must open the vault.
To add new files to your vault, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. Click the File Encryption module.
4. In the My Vaults window, select the vault you want to open.
5. Click the Unlock button, and type the required password.
6. Click the Open button to open your vault.
7. Add files or folders as you normally do in Windows (for example, you can use the copy-and-paste method).
To add quicker files to your vault, right-click the file or folder you want to copy to a vault, point to Bitdefender File Vault and click Add to File Vault.
●
If only one vault is open, the file or folder is copied directly to that vault.
●
If several vaults are open, you will be prompted to choose the vault to copy the item to. Select from the menu the drive letter corresponding to the desired vault and click OK to copy the item.
20.5. Locking vaults
When you are done with your work in a file vault, you must lock it in order to protect your data. By locking the vault, the corresponding virtual disk drive disappears from My Computer. Consequently, access to the data stored in the vault is completely blocked.
To lock a vault, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. Click the File Encryption module.
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4. In the My Vaults window, select the vault you want to lock.
5. Click the Lock button.
Bitdefender will immediately inform you about the result of the operation. If an error has occurred, use the error message to troubleshoot the error.
To lock quicker a vault, right-click the .bvd file representing the vault, point to Bitdefender File Vault and click Lock.
20.6. Removing files from vaults
In order to remove files or folders from a vault, the vault must be open. To remove files or folders from a vault, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. Click the File Encryption module.
4. In the My Vaults window, select the vault from which you want to remove files.
5. Click the Unlock button, in case it is locked.
6. Click the Open button.
Remove files or folders as you normally do in Windows (for example, right-click a file you want to delete and select Delete).
20.7. Changing vault password
The password protects the content of a vault from unauthorized access.
Only users who know the password can open the vault and access the documents and data stored inside it.
The vault must be locked before you can change its password. To change the password of a vault, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. Click the File Encryption module.
4. In the My Vaults window, select the vault for which you want to change the password.
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5. Click the Settings button.
6. Type the current password of the vault in the Old Password field.
7. Type the new password of the vault in the New Password and Confirm
New Password fields.
Note
The password must have at least 8 characters. For a strong password, use a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters (such as
#
,
$ or
@
).
Bitdefender will immediately inform you about the result of the operation. If an error has occurred, use the error message to troubleshoot the error.
To change quicker the password of a vault, locate on your computer the .bvd
file representing the vault. Right-click the file, point to Bitdefender File Vault and select Change Vault Password.
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21. VULNERABILITY
An important step in protecting your computer against malicious persons and applications is to keep up to date the operating system and the applications you regularly use. You should also consider disabling Windows settings that make the system more vulnerable to malware. Moreover, to prevent unauthorized physical access to your computer, strong passwords
(passwords that cannot be easily guessed) must be configured for each
Windows user account.
Bitdefender automatically checks your system for vulnerabilities and alerts you about them. System vulnerabilities include the following:
● outdated applications on your computer.
● missing Windows updates.
● weak passwords to Windows user accounts.
Bitdefender provides two easy ways to fix the vulnerabilities of your system:
●
You can scan your system for vulnerabilities and fix them step by step using the Vulnerability Scan option.
●
Using automatic vulnerability monitoring, you can check and fix detected vulnerabilities in the
window.
You should check and fix system vulnerabilities every one or two weeks.
21.1. Scanning your system for vulnerabilities
To fix system vulnerabilities using the Vulnerability Scan option, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Under the Vulnerability module, select Vulnerability Scan.
4. Wait for Bitdefender to check your system for vulnerabilities. To stop the scanning process, click the Skip button at the top of the window.
Or quicker, click the Vulnerability Scan action button from the Bitdefender interface.
●
Critical Windows updates
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Click View details to see the list of critical Windows updates that are not currently installed on your computer.
To initiate the installation of selected updates, click Install updates.
Please note that it may take a while to install the updates and some of them may require a system restart to complete the installation. If required, restart the system at your earliest convenience.
●
Application updates
If an application is not up to date, click the Download new version link to download the latest version.
Click View details to see information about the application that needs to be updated.
●
Weak Windows account passwords
You can see the list of the Windows user accounts configured on your computer and the level of protection their password provides.
Click Change password at login to set a new password for your system.
Click View details to modify the weak passwords. You can choose between asking the user to change the password at the next login or changing the password yourself immediately. For a strong password, use a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters (such as #, $ or @).
In the upper-right corner of the window you can filter the results according to your preferences.
21.2. Using automatic vulnerability monitoring
Bitdefender scans your system for vulnerabilities regularly, in the background, and keeps records of detected issues in the
window.
To check and fix the detected issues, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon at the top of the
and select Events from the drop-down menu.
2. In the Events window, select Vulnerability from the Select Events list.
3. You can see detailed information regarding the detected system vulnerabilities. Depending on the issue, to fix a specific vulnerability proceed as follows:
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●
If Windows updates are available, click Update now.
●
If automatic Windows update is disabled, click Enable.
●
If an application is outdated, click Update now to find a link to the vendor web page from where you can install the latest version of that application.
●
If a Windows user account has a weak password, click Change password to force the user to change the password at the next logon or change the password yourself. For a strong password, use a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters (such as #, $ or @).
●
If the Windows Autorun feature is enabled, click Fix to disable it.
To configure the vulnerability monitoring settings, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Vulnerability module.
4. Click the switch to turn on or off Vulnerability scan.
Important
To be automatically notified about system or application vulnerabilities, keep the Vulnerability scan option enabled.
5. Choose the system vulnerabilities you want to be regularly checked by using the corresponding switches.
Critical Windows updates
Check if your Windows operating system has the latest critical security updates from Microsoft.
Application updates
Check if applications installed on your system are up-to-date. Outdated applications can be exploited by malicious software, making your PC vulnerable to outside attacks.
Weak passwords
Check whether the passwords of the Windows accounts configured on the system are easy to guess or not. Setting passwords that are hard to guess (strong passwords) makes it very difficult for hackers
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Media autorun
Check the status of the Windows Autorun feature. This feature enables applications to be automatically started from CDs, DVDs, USB drives or other external devices.
Some types of malware use Autorun to spread automatically from removable media to the PC. This is why it is recommended to disable this Windows feature.
Note
If you turn off monitoring of a specific vulnerability, related issues will no longer be recorded in the Events window.
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22. FIREWALL
The Firewall protects your computer from inbound and outbound unauthorized connection attempts, both on local networks and on the
Internet. It is quite similar to a guard at your gate - it keeps track of connection attempts and decides which to allow and which to block.
The Bitdefender firewall uses a set of rules to filter data transmitted to and from your system. The rules are grouped into 2 categories:
Rules that determine the protocols over which communication is allowed.
A default set of rules that provides an optimal protection is used. You can edit the rules by allowing or denying connections over certain protocols.
Rules that determine how each application can access network resources and the Internet.
Under normal conditions, Bitdefender automatically creates a rule whenever an application tries to access the Internet. You can also manually add or edit rules for applications.
Bitdefender automatically assigns a network type to every network connection it detects. Depending on the network type, the firewall protection is set to the appropriate level for each connection.
To find out more about the firewall settings for each network type and how you can edit the network settings, please refer to
22.1. Turning on or off firewall protection
To turn firewall protection on or off, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Firewall module, then click the Firewall switch.
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Warning
Because it exposes your computer to unauthorized connections, turning off the firewall should only be a temporary measure. Turn the firewall back on as soon as possible.
22.2. Managing firewall rules
22.2.1. General rules
Whenever data is transmitted over the Internet, certain protocols are used.
The general rules allow you to configure the protocols over which traffic is allowed. By default, general rules are not displayed when you open Firewall.
To edit the rules, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Firewall module.
4. In the Firewall window, select the Rules tab.
5. Check the Show general rules box in the left-lower corner of the window.
The default rules are displayed. To edit the priority of a rule, click the corresponding arrow in the Permission column and select Allow or Deny.
DNS over UDP / TCP
Allow or deny DNS over UDP and TCP.
By default, this type of connection is allowed.
Sending E-mails
Allow or deny sending e-mails over SMTP.
By default, this type of connection is allowed.
Web Browsing HTTP
Allow or deny HTTP web browsing.
By default, this type of connection is allowed.
Incoming ICMP / ICMPv6
Allow or deny ICMP / ICMPv6 messages.
ICMP messages are often used by hackers to carry out attacks against computer networks. By default, this type of connection is denied.
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Incoming Remote Desktop Connections
Allow or deny other computers' access over Remote Desktop
Connections.
By default, this type of connection is allowed.
Windows Explorer traffic on HTTP / FTP
Allow or deny HTTP and FTP traffic from Windows Explorer.
By default, this type of connection is denied.
22.2.2. Application rules
To view and manage the firewall rules controlling applications' access to network resources and the Internet, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Firewall module.
4. In the Firewall window, select the Rules tab.
You can see the programs (processes) for which firewall rules have been created in the table. To see the rules created for a specific application, simply double-click it.
For each rule the following information is displayed:
●
Name - the name of the process the rules applies to.
●
Network Type - the process and the network adapter types the rule applies to. Rules are automatically created to filter network or Internet access through any adapter. By default, the rules apply to any network. You can manually create rules or edit existing rules to filter an application's network or Internet access through a specific adapter (for example, a wireless network adapter).
●
Protocol - the IP protocol the rule applies to. By default, the rules apply to any protocol.
●
Permission - whether the application is allowed or denied access to the network or Internet under the specified circumstances.
To manage the rules, use the buttons above the table:
●
Add rule - opens a window where you can create a new rule.
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●
Remove rule - deletes the selected rule.
●
Reset rules - opens a window where you can choose to remove the current set of rules and restore the default ones.
Adding / editing application rules
To add or edit an application rule, click the Add rule button above the table or click a current rule. A new window appears. Proceed as follows:
In the Settings tab you can apply the following changes:
●
Program Path. Click Browse and select the application the rule applies to.
●
Network Type. Select the type of network the rule applies to. You can change the type by opening the Network Type drop-down menu and selecting one of the available types from the list.
Network Type
Trusted
Home/Office
Public
Untrusted
Description
Disable the firewall for the respective adapter.
Allow all traffic between your computer and computers in the local network.
All traffic is filtered.
Completely block network and Internet traffic through the respective adapter.
●
Permission. Select one of the available permissions:
Permission Description
Allow
Deny
The specified application will be allowed network / Internet access under the specified circumstances.
The specified application will be denied network / Internet access under the specified circumstances.
In the Advanced tab you can customize the following settings:
●
Custom Local Address. Specify the local IP address and port the rule applies to.
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●
Custom Remote Address. Specify the remote IP address and port the rule applies to.
●
Direction. Select from the menu the traffic direction the rule applies to.
Direction
Outbound
Inbound
Both
Description
The rule applies only for the outgoing traffic.
The rule applies only for the incoming traffic.
The rule applies in both directions.
●
Protocol. Select from the menu the IP protocol the rule applies to.
●
If you want the rule to apply to all protocols, select Any.
●
If you want the rule to apply to TCP, select TCP.
●
If you want the rule to apply to UDP, select UDP.
●
If you want the rule to apply to a specific protocol, type the number assigned to the protocol you want to filter in the blank edit field.
Note
IP protocol numbers are assigned by the Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority (IANA). You can find the complete list of assigned IP protocol numbers at http://www.iana.org/assignments/protocol-numbers .
22.3. Managing connection settings
For each network connection you can configure special trusted or untrusted zones.
A trusted zone is a device that you fully trust, for example a computer or a printer. All traffic between your computer and a trusted device is allowed.
To share resources with specific computers in an unsecured wireless network, add them as allowed computers.
An untrusted zone is a device that you do not want to communicate with your computer at all.
To view and manage zones on your network adapters, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
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2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Firewall module.
4. In the Firewall window, select the Adapters tab.
The network adapters with active connections and the current zones, if any, are displayed in this tab.
For each zone the following information is displayed:
●
Network Type - the type of network your computer is connected to.
●
Stealth Mode - whether you can be detected by other computers.
To configure the Stealth Mode, select the desired option from the corresponding drop-down menu.
Stealth option
On
Off
Description
Stealth Mode is on. Your computer is invisible from both the local network and the Internet.
Stealth Mode is off. Anyone from the local network or the Internet can ping and detect your computer.
●
Generic - whether generic rules are applied to this connection.
If the IP address of a network adapter is changed, Bitdefender modifies the network type accordingly. If you want to keep the same type, select
Yes from the corresponding drop-down menu.
Adding / editing exceptions
To add or edit an exception, click the Network exceptions button above the table. A new window displaying the available Adapters connected to the network will appear. Proceed as follows:
1. Select the IP address of the computer you want to add, or type an address or address range in the provided text box.
2. Select the permission:
●
Allow - to allow all traffic between your computer and the selected computer.
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●
Deny - to block all traffic between your computer and the selected computer.
3. Click the + button to add the exception and close the window.
If you want to remove an IP, click the corresponding button and close the window.
22.4. Configuring advanced settings
To configure advanced firewall settings, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Firewall module.
4. In the Firewall window, select the Settings tab.
The following feature can be enabled or disabled.
●
Block port scans in the network - detects and blocks attempts to find out which ports are open.
Port scans are frequently used by hackers to find out which ports are open on your computer. They might then break into your computer if they find a less secure or vulnerable port.
22.5. Configuring alert intensity
Bitdefender Total Security 2016 was designed to be as unintrusive as possible. Under normal conditions, you do not have to make decisions on whether to allow or deny connections or actions attempted by the applications running on your system.
If you want to be in complete control of the decision making, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon at the top of the
and select General
Settings from the drop-down menu.
2. In the General Settings window select the General Settings tab.
3. Turn on Paranoid mode by clicking the corresponding switch.
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Note
When Paranoid mode is turned on, the
and
features are automatically switched off.
Paranoid mode can be used simultaneously with Battery Mode.
As long as Paranoid mode is on, you will be prompted for action every time one of the following situations occurs:
●
An application tries to connect to the Internet.
●
An application tries to perform an action considered suspicious by the
or the
The alert contains detailed information regarding the application and the detected behavior. Select to Allow or Deny the action using the corresponding button.
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23. INTRUSION DETECTION
Bitdefender Intrusion Detection monitors the network and system activities for malicious activities or policy violations. It can detect and block attempts to change critical system files, Bitdefender files or registry entries, the installation of malware drivers and attacks performed by code injection (DLL injection).
To configure the Intrusion Detection, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Intrusion Detection module.
4. To turn on the Intrusion Detection, click the corresponding switch.
5. Drag the slider along the scale to set the desired aggressiveness level.
Use the description on the right side of the scale to choose the level that better fits your security needs.
You can check what applications have been detected by the Intrusion
Detection in the
window.
If there are applications you trust and do not want the Intrusion Detection to scan, you can add exclusion rules for them. To exclude an application from scanning, follow the steps described in section
Note
The operation of the Intrusion Detection is related to that of the
. Process exclusion rules apply to both systems.
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24. RANSOMWARE PROTECTION
Ransomware is a malicious software that attacks vulnerable systems by locking them, and asks for money to let the user take back the control of his system. This malicious software acts intelligent by displaying false messages to panic the user, urging him to proceed with the asked payment.
The infection can be spread via spam e-mails, by downloading attachments, or by visiting infected websites and installing malicious applications without letting the user know what is happening on his system.
Ransomware can have one of the following behaviors preventing the user from accessing his system:
●
Encrypts sensitive and personal files without giving the possibility of decryption until a ransom is paid by the victim.
●
Locks the computer’s screen and displays a message asking for money.
In this case, no file is encrypted, only the user is forced to proceed with the payment.
●
Blocks applications from running.
Using the latest technology, Bitdefender Ransomware Protection ensures system integrity by protecting critical system areas against damages without impacting the system. However, you may also want to protect your personal files such as documents, photos, movies, or the files you keep stored in the cloud.
24.1. Turning on or off Ransomware Protection
To turn off the Ransomware Protection module, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click Ransomware Protection.
4. Click the switch to turn on or off Ransomware Protection.
Each time an application will try to access a protected file, a Bitdefender pop-up is displayed. You can allow or deny the access.
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24.2. Protect personal files from ransomware attacks
If you want to settle personal files to a shelter, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Ransomware Protection module, then click the Protected Folders button.
4. Click Add, and then go to the folder you want to protect.
5. Click OK to add the selected folder to the protection environment.
By default, the folders My Documents, My Pictures, Public documents, and
Public Pictures are protected against malware attacks. Personal data stored in online file hosting services such as Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, and
OneDrive are also included to the protection environment, provided that their applications are installed on the system.
Note
Custom folders can be protected only for current users. System and application files cannot be added to exceptions.
24.3. Configuring trusted applications
Disable ransomware protection for specific applications, but only the ones you trust should be added to the list.
To add trusted applications to exclusions, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Under the Ransomware Protection module, select Trusted applications.
4. Click Add and browse to the applications you want to protect.
5. Click OK to add the selected application to the protection environment.
24.4. Configuring blocked applications
Among the applications you have installed on your computer, some may want to access your personal files.
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To restrict those applications, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Under the Ransomware Protection module, select Blocked applications.
4. Click Add and browse to the applications you want to restrict.
5. Click OK to add the selected application to the restricted list.
24.5. Protection at boot
It is known that many malware applications are set to run at system startup, a fact which can seriously damage a machine. Bitdefender Boot time protection scans all critical system areas before all files are being loaded, with zero impact on the system. At the same time, protection is provided from certain attacks that rely on stack or heap code execution, code injections or hooks inside certain core dynamic libraries.
To disable Protection at boot, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click Ransomware Protection.
4. Click the switch to turn on or off Protection at boot.
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25. SAFEPAY SECURITY FOR ONLINE TRANSACTIONS
The computer is fast becoming the main tool for shopping and banking.
Paying bills, transferring money, buying pretty much anything you can imagine has never been quicker or easier.
This involves sending personal information, account and credit card data, passwords and other types of private information over the Internet, in other words exactly the type of information flow that cyber-criminals are very interested to tap into. Hackers are relentless in their efforts to steal this information, so you can never be too careful about securing online transactions.
Bitdefender Safepay™ is first of all a protected browser, a sealed environment that is designed to keep your online banking, e-shopping and any other type of online transaction private and secure.
For the best privacy protection, Bitdefender Password Manager has been integrated into Bitdefender Safepay™ to secure your credentials whenever you want to access private online locations. For more information, please refer to
“Password Manager protection for your credentials” (p. 144) .
Bitdefender Safepay™ offers the following features:
●
It blocks access to your desktop and any attempt to take snapshots of your screen.
●
It protects your secret passwords while browsing online with Password
Manager.
●
It comes with a virtual keyboard which, when used, makes it impossible for hackers to read your keystrokes.
●
It is completely independent from your other browsers.
●
It comes with built-in hotspot protection to be used when your computer is connected to unsecured Wi-fi networks.
●
It supports bookmarks and allows you to navigate between your favorite banking/shopping sites.
●
It is not limited to banking and e-shopping. Any website can be opened in
Bitdefender Safepay™.
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25.1. Using Bitdefender Safepay™
By default, Bitdefender detects when you navigate to an online banking site or online shop in any browser on your computer and prompts you to launch it in Bitdefender Safepay™.
To access the main interface of Bitdefender Safepay™, use one of the following methods:
●
From the
:
1. Click the Safepay action button from the Bitdefender interface.
●
From Windows:
●
In Windows 7:
1. Click Start and go to All Programs.
2. Click Bitdefender.
3. Click Bitdefender Safepay™.
●
In Windows 8 and Windows 8.1:
Locate Bitdefender Safepay™ from the Windows Start screen (for example, you can start typing "Bitdefender Safepay™" directly in the
Start screen) and then click the icon.
●
In Windows 10:
Type "Bitdefender Safepay™" in the search box from the taskbar and click its icon.
Note
If the Adobe Flash Player plugin is not installed or is outdated, a Bitdefender message will be displayed. Click the corresponding button to continue.
After the installation process is completed, you will have to manually reopen the Bitdefender Safepay™ browser to continue your work.
If you are used to web browsers, you will have no trouble using Bitdefender
Safepay™ - it looks and behaves like a regular browser:
● enter URLs you want to go to in the address bar.
● add tabs to visit multiple websites in the Bitdefender Safepay™ window by clicking .
● navigate back and forward and refresh pages using respectively.
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● access Bitdefender Safepay™
by clicking and choosing Settings.
● protect your passwords with
by clicking
● manage your
by clicking next to the address bar.
.
● open the virtual keyboard by clicking .
● increase or decrease the browser size by pressing simultaneously Ctrl and the +/- keys in the numeric keypad.
● view information about your Bitdefender product by clicking choosing About.
and
● print important information by clicking .
25.2. Configuring settings
Click and choose Settings to configure Bitdefender Safepay™:
General Settings
Choose what will happen when you access an online shop or Internet banking site in your regular web browser:
●
Automatically open websites in Safepay.
●
Recommend me to use Safepay.
●
Do not recommend me to use Safepay.
Domains list
Choose how Bitdefender Safepay™ will behave when you visit websites from specific domains in your regular web browser by adding them to the domains list and selecting the behavior for each one:
●
Automatically open in Bitdefender Safepay™.
●
Have Bitdefender prompt you for action each time.
●
Never use Bitdefender Safepay™ when visiting a page from the domain in a regular browser.
Blocking pop-ups
You can choose to block pop-ups by clicking the corresponding switch.
You can also create a list of web sites to allow pop-ups from. The list should contain only web sites you fully trust.
To add a site to the list, provide its address in the corresponding field and click Add domain.
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To remove a web site from the list, select it in the list and click the corresponding Remove link.
Enable Hotspot protection
You can enable an extra layer of protection when connected to unsecured
Wi-fi networks by enabling this feature.
Access
“Hotspot protection for unsecured networks” (p. 142)
for more information.
25.3. Managing bookmarks
If you disabled the automatic detection of some or all websites, or Bitdefender simply doesn't detect certain websites, you can add bookmarks to Bitdefender
Safepay™ so that you can easily launch favorite websites in the future.
Follow these steps to add a URL to Bitdefender Safepay™ bookmarks:
1. Click the icon next to the address bar to open the Bookmarks page.
Note
The Bookmarks page is opened by default when you start Bitdefender
Safepay™.
2. Click the + button to add a new bookmark.
3. Enter the URL and the title of the bookmark and click Create. Check the
Automatically open in Safepay option if you want the bookmarked page to open with Bitdefender Safepay™ each time you access it. The URL is also added to the Domains list on the
page.
25.4. Hotspot protection for unsecured networks
When using Bitdefender Safepay™ while connected to unsecured Wi-fi networks (for example, a public hotspot) an extra layer of security is offered by the Hotspot protection feature. This service encrypts Internet communication over unsecured connections, helping you maintain your privacy no matter what network you are connected to.
The Hotspot protection works only if your computer is connected to an unsecured network.
The secure connection will be initialized and a message will be displayed in the Bitdefender Safepay™ window when the connection is established. The
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To improve your visual browsing experience, you can choose to enable Adobe
Flash and Java plugins by clicking Show advanced settings.
You may need to acknowledge the action.
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26. PASSWORD MANAGER PROTECTION FOR YOUR
CREDENTIALS
We use our computers to shop online or pay our bills, to connect to social media platforms or log in with instant messaging applications.
But as everybody knows, it’s not always easy to remember the password!
And if we are not careful while browsing online, our private information, such as our e-mail address, our instant messaging ID or our credit card data can be compromised.
To keep your passwords or your personal data on a sheet of paper or in the computer can be dangerous because they can be accessed and used by people who want to steal and use that information. And to remember each password you have set for your online accounts or for your favorite websites is not an easy task.
Therefore, is there a way to make sure that we find our passwords when we need them? And can we rest assured that our secret passwords are always safe?
Password Manager helps you keep track of your passwords, protects your privacy and provides a secure browsing experience.
Using a single master password to access your credentials, Password
Manager makes it easy for you to keep your passwords safe in a Wallet.
To offer the best protection for your online activities, Password Manager is integrated with Bitdefender Safepay™ and provides a unified solution for the various ways in which your private data can be compromised.
Password Manager protects the following private information:
●
Personal information, such as the e-mail address or the phone number
●
Login credentials for the websites
●
Bank account information or the credit card number
●
Access data to the e-mail accounts
●
Passwords for the applications
●
Passwords for the Wi-Fi networks
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26.1. Configuring the Password Manager
Once the installation is finished and you open your browser, you will be notified through a pop-up window that you can use Wallet for an easier browsing experience.
Bitdefender Wallet is the place where you can store your personal data.
Click Explore to start the setup wizard for the Wallet. Follow the wizard to complete the setup process.
Two tasks can be performed during this step:
●
Create a new Wallet database to protect your passwords.
During the setup process, you will be asked to protect your Wallet with a master password. The password should be strong and contain at least 7 characters.
To create a strong password use minimum one number or symbol, and one upper case character. Once you have set a password, anyone trying to access the Wallet will first have to provide the password.
After setting the master password, you are given the possibility to synchronize the Wallet information in the cloud so you can use it on all your devices.
At the end of the setup process, the following Wallet settings are enabled by default:
●
Save credentials automatically in Wallet.
●
Ask for my master password when I login to my computer.
●
Automatically lock Wallet when I leave my PC unattended.
●
Import an existing database if you previously used Wallet on your system.
Export the Wallet database
To export your Wallet database, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. Click the Password Manager module, then select the Wallets tab.
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4. Select the desired Wallet database from the My Wallets section, then click the Export button.
5. Follow the steps to export the Wallet database to a location on your system.
Note
The Wallet needs to be opened in order for the Export button to be available.
Create a new Wallet database
To create a new Wallet database, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. Click the Password Manager module, then select the Wallets tab.
4. Click the + icon in the window that appears.
5. In the Start Fresh area, click Create New.
6. Type the required information in the corresponding fields.
●
Wallet label - type a unique name for your Wallet database.
●
Master Password - type a password for your Wallet.
●
Retype Password - retype the password you set.
●
Hint - type a hint to remember the password.
7. Click Continue.
8. At this step you can choose to store your information in the cloud. If you select Yes, banking information will remain stored locally on your device.
Choose the desired option, then click Continue.
9. Select the web browser you want to import credentials from.
10. Click Finish.
Synchronize your wallets in the cloud
To turn the wallets synchronization in the cloud on or off, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
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2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. Click the Password Manager module, then select the Wallets tab.
4. Select the desired Wallet database from the My Wallets section, then click the Settings button.
5. Choose the desired option in the window that appears, then click Save.
Note
The Wallet needs to be opened in order for the Settings button to be available.
Manage your Wallet credentials
To manage your passwords, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. Click the Password Manager module, then select the Wallets tab.
4. Select the desired Wallet database from the My Wallets section, then click the Open button.
A new window appears. Select the desired category from the upper part of the window:
●
Identity
●
Websites
●
Online banking
●
Emails
●
Applications
●
Wi-Fi Networks
Adding/ editing the credentials
●
To add a new password, choose the desired category from the top, click
+ Add item, insert the information in the corresponding fields and click the
Save button.
●
To edit an entry from the table, select it and click the Edit button.
●
To exit, click Cancel.
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●
To remove an entry, select it, click the Edit button and choose Delete.
26.2. Turning on or off the Password Manager protection
To turn the Password Manager protection on or off, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. Click the Password Manager module.
4. Click the Module status switch to turn Password Manager on or off.
26.3. Managing the Password Manager settings
To configure the master password in detail, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. Click the Password Manager module, then select the Security Settings tab.
The following options are available:
●
Ask for my master password when I login to my PC - you will be prompted to insert your master password when you access the computer.
●
Ask for my master password when I open my browsers and apps - you will be prompted to insert your master password when you access a browser or an application.
●
Automatically lock Wallet when I leave my PC unattended - you will be prompted to insert your master password when you return to your computer after 15 minutes.
Important
Be sure to remember your master password or keep a record of it in a safe place. If you forget the password, you will have to reinstall the program or contact Bitdefender for support.
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Improve your experience
To select the browsers or the applications where you want to integrate
Password Manager, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. Click the Password Manager module, then select the Plugins tab.
Check an application to use Password Manager and improve your experience:
●
Internet Explorer
●
Mozilla Firefox
●
Google Chrome
●
Safepay
●
Skype
●
Yahoo! Messenger
Configuring the Autofill
The Autofill feature makes it easy for you to connect with your favorite websites or to log in with your online accounts. The first time you enter your login credentials and personal information into your web browser, they are automatically secured into the Wallet.
To configure the Autofill settings, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. Click the Password Manager module, then select the Autofill settings tab.
4. Configure the following options:
●
Autofill login credentials:
●
Autofill login credentials every time - the credentials are inserted automatically into the browser.
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●
Let me choose when I want to autofill my login credentials - you can choose when to autofill the credentials into the browser.
●
Configure how Password Manager secures your credentials:
●
Save credentials automatically in Wallet - the login credentials and other identifiable information such as your personal and credit card details are automatically saved and updated into the Wallet.
●
Ask me every time - you will be asked every time if you want to add your credentials to the Wallet.
●
Do not save, I will update the information manually - the credentials can be added only manually into the Wallet.
●
Autofill forms:
●
Prompt my fill options when I visit a page with forms - a popup with the fill options will appear every time Bitdefender detects that you want to perform an online payment or to sign up.
Manage the Password Manager information from your browser
You can easily manage the Password Manager details directly from your browser, to have all the important data at hand. The Bitdefender Wallet add-on is supported by the following browsers: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox, and is also also integrated with Safepay.
To access the Bitdefender Wallet extension, open your web browser, allow the add-on to be installed and click the icon on the toolbar.
The Bitdefender Wallet extension contains the following options:
●
Open Wallet - opens the Wallet.
●
Lock Wallet - locks the Wallet.
●
Websites - opens a submenu with all the websites logins stored in the
Wallet. Click Add website to add new websites into the list.
●
Fill forms - opens a submenu containing the information you added for a specific category. From here you can add new data to your Wallet.
●
Password Generator - enables you to generate random passwords you can use for new or existing accounts. Click Show advanced settings to customize the complexity of the password.
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●
Settings - opens the Password Manager settings window.
●
Report issue - report any issue you encounter with the Bitdefender
Password Manager.
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27. PARENTAL ADVISOR
The Parental Advisor feature allows you to control the access to the Internet and to specific applications for each device the feature is installed on. Once you have configured Parental Advisor, you can easily find out what your child is doing on the devices he uses and where he has been in the last 24 hours.
Moreover, to help you know better what your child is doing, the app gives you statistics about his activities and interests.
All you need is a computer with Internet access and a web browser.
You can configure Parental Advisor to block:
● inappropriate web pages.
● applications like games, chat, filesharing programs or others.
● block specific contacts that are not allowed to come in contact by phone with your child.
Check your children's activities and change the Parental Advisor settings using Bitdefender Central from any computer or mobile device connected to the Internet.
27.1. Accessing Parental Advisor - My Children
Once you access the Parental Advisor section, the My Children window is available. Here you can view and edit all the profiles you have created for your children. The profiles are displayed as profile cards, allowing you to quickly manage them and check their statuses at a glance.
As soon as you create a profile, you can start customizing more detailed settings to monitor and control the access to the Internet and to specific applications for your children.
You can access Parental Advisor settings from Bitdefender Central account on any computer or mobile device connected to the Internet.
Access your online account:
●
On any device with Internet access:
1. Access your
.
Make sure that you are logged in with your credentials.
2. Select the Parental Advisor panel.
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3. In the My Children window that appears, you can manage and configure the Parental Advisor profiles for each device.
●
From your Bitdefender interface:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Privacy tab.
3. Under the Parental Advisor module, select Configure.
You are redirected to the Bitdefender Central web page. Make sure that you are logged in with your credentials.
4. Select the Parental Advisor panel.
5. In the My Children window that appears, you can manage and configure the Parental Advisor profiles for each device.
Note
Make sure you are logged on to the computer with an administrator account.
Only users with administrative rights on the system (system administrators) can access and configure Parental Advisor.
27.2. Adding your child's profile
To start monitoring your child's activities, you need to configure a profile and install the Bitdefender Parental Advisor Agent on devices he uses.
To add your child's profile to Parental Advisor:
1. Access the
panel from your Bitdefender Central account.
2. Click ADD PROFILE on the right-side of the My Devices window.
3. Set specific information in the corresponding fields, such as: name, e-mail, gender, and date of birth, and then click CONTINUE.
Based on children development standards, setting the child's date of birth automatically loads specifications considered appropriate for his age category.
4. If your child's device already has Bitdefender Total Security 2016 installed, select his device from the available list, and then click CONTINUE.
If your child's device has no Bitdefender product with the Parental Advisor feature included, click Add a new device. Select the operating system of his device, then click CONTINUE.
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Type the e-mail address where we should send the installation download link of the Bitdefender Parental Advisor application.
On Windows based devices, the Bitdefender Total Security 2016 you have included in your subscription has to be downloaded and installed. On
Android devices, the Bitdefender Parental Advisor Agent has to be downloaded and installed.
27.2.1. Linking Parental Advisor to Bitdefender Central
To monitor your child's online activity on Android, you must link his device to your Bitdefender Central account by logging in to the account from the app.
To link the device to your Bitdefender Central account, follow these steps:
1. Open the Parental Advisor app.
2. Check the I declare that I'm the legal owner of the device box and tap Next.
3. Log in to your existing Bitdefender Central account.
If you do not have an account, choose to create a new account using the corresponding button.
Note
You may also enter a name for your device. If you link more than one device to your account, this will help you identify the devices more easily.
4. Tap Link.
5. Select the profile of the child you wish to monitor from the list and tap
Continue.
Alternatively, tap Add new child to create a new profile and fill in the required fields.
6. Activate device administrator rights for the app by tapping Activate.
This will prevent your child from uninstalling the Parental Advisor Agent.
27.2.2. Monitoring the child's activity
Bitdefender helps you keep track of what your children are doing online.
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In this way, you can always find out exactly what websites they have visited, what applications they have used or what activities have been blocked by the Parental Advisor.
Depending on the settings you make, the reports may contain detailed information for each event, such as:
●
The status of the event.
●
The notification severity.
●
The device name.
●
The date and time when the event occurred.
To monitor the Internet traffic, the accessed applications or the Facebook activity for your child, follow these steps:
1. Access the
panel from your Bitdefender Central account.
2. Select the desired device card.
In the Timeline window you can view the information you are interested in.
27.2.3. Configuring the General Settings
By default, when Parental Advisor is enabled, your children's activities are logged.
To receive e-mail notifications, follow these steps:
1. Access the
panel from your Bitdefender Central account.
2. Click the icon on the top right corner.
3. Enable the corresponding option to receive activity reports.
4. Enter the e-mail address where the e-mail notifications are to be sent.
5. Adjust the frequency by selecting: weekly or monthly.
6. Receive e-mail notifications for the following:
●
Blocked websites
●
Blocked apps
●
Blocked IM contact
●
SMS from a blocked contact
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Call received from a blocked phone number
●
Removal of Parental Advisor Facebook app
7. Click Save.
27.2.4. Editing a profile
To edit an existing profile:
1. Access your
.
2. Select the Parental Advisor panel.
3. Click the icon on the desired profile card, and then select Edit.
4. After customizing the desired settings, select Save.
27.2.5. Removing a profile
To remove an existing profile:
1. Access your
.
2. Select the Parental Advisor panel.
3. Click the icon on the desired profile card, and then select Remove.
27.3. Configuring Parental Advisor profiles
To start monitoring your child, a profile needs to be assigned to the device that has installed the Bitdefender Parental Advisor Agent.
After adding a profile for your child, you can customize more detailed settings to monitor and control the access to the Internet and to specific applications.
To start configuring a profile, select the desired profile card from the My
Children window.
Click a tab to configure the corresponding Parental Advisor feature for the device:
●
- displays all the activities, interests, locations, and interactions with friends, from the current day.
●
- allows you to block the access to certain applications, such as games, messaging software, movies, etc.
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●
- allows you to filter web navigation and set time restrictions on
Internet access.
●
- here you can specify which contacts from your child's list are allowed to come in contact with him by phone.
●
- here you can set locations that are safe or not for your child.
●
- allows you to block the access to social networks.
27.3.1. Timeline
The Timeline window gives you detailed information about your children's activities from the last 24 hours, inside and outside the home.
The Timeline window includes information about:
●
Locations - here you can view the locations where your child was during the day. Click the Set Sleep Time link to set a time when the activities monitoring shall be automatically switched to the standby mode.
●
Interests - here you can view info about what the categories of websites that your child visited. Click the Review inappropriate content link to have access to the inappropriate content that he watched.
●
Social Interactions - here you can view a bar diagram with a top of the activities over the day.
●
Activities - here you can view the contacts who called your child, the info he shared on Facebook and the new friends he added to his network.
●
Applications - here you can see the applications your child used.
Note
For detailed information, click the desired option located in the right corner of every section.
27.3.2. Activities
The Activities window helps you block applications from running. Games, media and messaging software, as well as other categories of software can be blocked this way.
The module can be enabled or disabled by using the corresponding switch.
To configure Application control for a specific user account, follow these steps:
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1. A list with cards is displayed. The cards represent the apps your child uses.
2. Select the card with the app you want your child to stop using.
The check mark symbol that appears indicates that your child will not be able to use the app.
27.3.3. Interests
The Interests window helps you block websites with inappropriate content.
Websites that host videos, games, media and messaging software, as well as other categories of negative content can be blocked this way.
The module can be enabled or disabled by using the corresponding switch.
Depending on the age you set for your child, the Interests list comes by default with a selection of categories enabled. To allow or deny the access to a specific category, click it.
The check mark symbol that appears indicates that your child will not be able to access content related to a specific category.
Allowing or blocking a website
To allow or restrict the access to certain web pages, you have to add them to the Exclusions list, as follows:
1. Click the MANAGE button.
2. Type the web page you want to allow or block in the corresponding field.
3. Select Allow or Deny.
4. Click Done to save the changes.
27.3.4. Friends
The Friends window gives you the possibility to specify which friends from your child's list are allowed or not to come in contact with him by phone.
To restrict a specific phone number of a friend, first you need to add the phone number of your child to his profile:
1. Select the Parental Advisor tab in your Bitdefender Central account.
2. Click the icon on the desired profile card, and then select Edit.
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3. Type in the corresponding field the phone number of your child, then click
SAVE.
4. Select the profile of the child you want to set restrictions.
5. Select the Friends tab.
A list with cards is displayed. The cards represent the contacts from your child's phone.
6. Select the card with the phone number you want block.
The check mark symbol that appears indicates that your child will not be reached by the selected phone number.
To block unknown phone numbers, enable the Block no caller ID interactions switch.
27.3.5. Places
View the device's current location on Google Maps. The location is refreshed every 5 seconds, so you can track it if it is on the move.
The accuracy of the location depends on how Bitdefender is able to determine it:
●
If the GPS is enabled on the device, its location can be pinpointed to within a couple of meters as long it is in the range of GPS satellites (i.e. not inside a building).
●
If the device is indoors, its location can be determined to within tens of meters if Wi-Fi is enabled and there are wireless networks available in its range.
●
Otherwise, the location will be determined using only information from the mobile network, which can offer an accuracy no better than several hundred meters.
To be sure that your child goes to certain locations, you can make a list of safe and unsafe places.
To configure a location:
1. Click Devices in the frame you have in the Places window.
2. Click CHOOSE DEVICES, and then select the device you want to configure.
3. In the Areas window, click the ADD AREA button.
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4. Choose the type of the location, Safe or Restricted.
5. Type a valid name for the area where your child has permissions to go or not.
6. In the Original Location, type the town where your child should be located, and then choose the district from the list that appears.
7. Set the range that should be applied for monitoring from the Radius slide bar.
8. Click ADD AREA to save your settings.
27.3.6. Social
Parental Advisor monitors your child's Facebook account and reports the main activities taking place.
These online activities are verified and you are warned if they prove to be a threat for your child's privacy.
The monitored elements of the online account include:
● the number of friends
● comments of the child or his friends on his photos or posts
● messages
● wall posts
● uploaded photos and videos
● account privacy settings
To configure Facebook protection for a specific user account:
1. Type the e-mail of your monitored child account, and then click SEND.
Inform your child about your intentions, and ask him to click the activation link he received from us in his e-mail.
2. To protect the child's Facebook account, he should click the INSTALL
APPLICATION button that appears as soon as he access his Facebook account.
To stop monitoring the Facebook account, use the Unlink account button from the top.
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28. DEVICE ANTI-THEFT
Laptop theft is a major issue that affects individuals and organizations alike.
Even more than losing the hardware itself, the data lost with it can cause significant damage, both financially and emotionally.
Yet few people take the proper steps to secure their important personal, business and financial data in the case of theft or loss.
Bitdefender Anti-Theft helps you be better prepared for such an event by allowing you to remotely locate or lock your computer and even wipe all data from it, should you ever part with your computer against your will.
To use the Anti-Theft features, the following prerequisites must be met:
●
The commands can only be sent from the Bitdefender Central account.
●
The computer must be connected to the Internet to receive the commands.
Anti-Theft features work in the following way:
Locate
View your device's location on Google Maps.
The accuracy of the location depends on how Bitdefender is able to determine it. The location is determined to within tens of meters if Wi-fi is enabled on your computer and there are wireless networks in its range.
If the computer is connected to a wired LAN with no Wi-fi based location available, the location will be determined based on the IP address, which is considerably less accurate.
Alert
Send a remote alert on the device.
The feature is only available on mobile devices.
Lock
Lock your computer and set a 4 digit PIN for unlocking it. When you send the Lock command, the computer reboots and logging back into Windows is only possible after entering the PIN you have set.
Wipe
Remove all data from your computer. When you send the Wipe command, the computer reboots and the data on all hard drive partitions is erased.
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Anti-Theft is activated after the installation and can be accessed exclusively through your Bitdefender Central account from any device connected to the
Internet, anywhere.
Using Anti-Theft features
To access the Anti-Theft features, use one of the following possibilities:
●
From the Bitdefender main interface:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Tools tab.
3. Under the Anti-Theft module, select Manage devices.
4. In the Bitdefender Central window that opens, click the desired device card, then select Anti-Theft.
●
On any device with Internet access:
1. Open a web browser and go to: https://central.bitdefender.com
.
2. Log in to your account using your e-mail address and password.
3. Select the My Devices panel.
4. Click the desired device card, then select Anti-Theft.
5. Select the feature you want to use:
Locate - display your device's location on Google Maps.
Wipe - delete all data from your computer.
Important
After you wipe a device, all Anti-Theft features cease to function.
Lock - lock your computer and set a PIN code for unlocking it.
Alert - send an alert on the device.
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29. USB IMMUNIZER
The Autorun feature built into Windows operating systems is a very useful tool that allows computers to automatically execute a file from media connected to it. For example, software installations can start automatically when a CD is inserted into the optical drive.
Unfortunately, this feature can also be used by malware to automatically launch and infiltrate your computer from rewritable media such as USB flash drives and memory cards connected through card readers. Numerous Autorun based attacks have been created in recent years.
With USB Immunizer you can prevent any NTFS, FAT32 or FAT formatted flash drive from automatically executing malware ever again. Once an USB device is immunized, malware can no longer configure it to run a certain application when the device is connected to a computer running Windows.
To immunize an USB device, follow these steps:
1. Connect the flash drive to your computer.
2. Browse your computer to locate the removable storage device and right-click its icon.
3. In the contextual menu, point to Bitdefender and select Immunize this
drive.
Note
If the drive has already been immunized, the message The USB device is
protected against autorun-based malware will appear instead of the
Immunize option.
To prevent your computer from launching malware from unimmunized USB devices, disable the media autorun feature. For more information, please refer to
“Using automatic vulnerability monitoring” (p. 124)
.
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SYSTEM OPTIMIZATION
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30. TUNE-UP
Bitdefender comes with a Tune-Up module that helps you maintain the integrity of your system. The maintenance tools offered are critical for the improvement of your system's responsiveness and the efficient management of the hard drive space.
Bitdefender provides the following PC tune-up tools:
●
analyzes and improves your system speed by running multiple tasks with a single click on a button.
●
reduces your system startup time by stopping unnecessary applications from running when the PC is rebooted.
30.1. Optimizing your system speed with a single click
Issues such as hard disk failures, leftover registry files and browser history, may slow down your computer work, which may become nagging for you.
All these can now be fixed with one single click on a button.
OneClick Optimizer allows you to identify and remove useless files, by running multiple cleaning tasks at the same time.
To start the OneClick Optimizer process, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Tools tab.
3. Under the Tune-Up module, select OneClick Optimizer. To exit, click Cancel.
a. Analyzing
Wait for Bitdefender to finish searching for system issues.
●
Disk Cleanup - identifies old and useless system files.
●
Registry Cleanup - identifies invalid or outdated references in the
Windows Registry.
●
Privacy Cleanup - identifies temporary Internet files and cookies, browser cache and history.
The number of found issues is displayed. It is recommended to review them before proceeding with the cleaning process. Click Optimize to continue.
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Wait for Bitdefender to finish optimizing your system.
c. Issues
This is where you can view the operation result.
If you want comprehensive information on the optimization process, click the View detailed report link.
Or quicker, click the OneClick Optimizer action button from the Bitdefender interface.
30.2. Optimizing your PC's boot time
Extended system startup is a real problem due to applications that are set to run without being necessary. Waiting several minutes for a system to boot can cost you valuable time and productivity.
The Startup Optimizer window displays what applications are running during system startup and lets you manage their behavior at this step.
To start the Startup Optimizer process, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Tools tab.
3. Under the Tune-Up module, select Startup Optimizer.
a. Select applications
You can see a list of the applications that are running at system startup.
Select the ones you want to disable or delay at startup.
b. Community choice
See what other Bitdefender users have decided to do with the app you have selected.
c. System boot time
Check the slider at the top of the window to see the time required by both your system and the selected applications to run at startup.
A system restart is required to be able to retrieve information about system and applications startup time.
d. Startup status
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●
Enable. Select this option when you want an application to start running at system startup. This option is enabled by default.
●
Delay.
Select this option to postpone a program from running at system startup. This means that the selected applications will start with a five-minute delay after user logins on system.
The Delay functionality is predefined and cannot be configured by user.
●
Disable. Select this option to disable a program from running at system startup.
e. Results
Information such as the estimated system boot time after delaying or disabling programs is displayed.
A system restart may be required in order to see all this info.
Click OK to save the changes and close the window.
Or quicker, click the Startup Optimizer action button from the Bitdefender interface.
Note
In case your subscription expires or you decide to uninstall Bitdefender, the programs that you scheduled to stop running from startup will be restored to their default startup settings.
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31. PROFILES
Daily job activities, watching movies or playing games may cause system slow down, especially if they are running simultaneously with Windows update processes and maintenance tasks. With Bitdefender, you can now choose and apply your preferred profile, which makes system adjustments suited to increase the performance of specific installed applications.
Bitdefender provides the following profiles:
●
●
●
If you decide to not use Profiles, a default profile called Standard is enabled and it brings no optimization to your system.
According to your activity, the following product settings are applied when a profile is activated:
●
All Bitdefender alerts and pop-ups are disabled.
●
Automatic Update is postponed.
●
Scheduled scans are postponed.
●
is disabled.
●
is set to the Permissive protection level.
●
Special offers and product notifications are disabled.
According to your activity, the following system settings are applied when a profile is activated:
●
Windows Automatic Updates are postponed.
●
Windows alerts and pop-ups are disabled.
●
Unnecessary background programs are suspended.
●
Visual effects are adjusted for best performance.
●
Maintenance tasks are postponed.
●
Power plan settings are adjusted.
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31.1. Work Profile
Running multiple tasks at work, such as sending e-mails, having a video communication with your distant colleagues or working with design applications may affect your system performance. Work Profile has been designed to help you improve your work efficiency, by turning off some of your background services and maintenance tasks.
Configuring Work profile
To configure the actions to be taken while in Work Profile, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Tools tab.
3. Click the Profiles module.
4. In the Profiles Settings window, click the Configure button from the Work
Profile area.
5. Choose the system adjustments you would like to be applied by checking the following options:
●
Boost performance on work apps
●
Optimize product settings for Work profile
●
Postpone background programs and maintenance tasks
●
Postpone Windows Automatic Updates
6. Click Save to save the changes and close the window.
Manually adding applications to the Work Profile list
If Bitdefender does not automatically enter Work Profile when you launch a certain work application, you can manually add the application to the
Applications list.
To manually add applications to the Applications list in Work Profile:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Tools tab.
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3. Click the Profiles module, then click the Configure button from the Work profile area.
4. In the Work profile window, click the Applications list link.
5. Click Add to add a new application to the Applications list.
A new window appears. Browse to the application's executable file, select it and click OK to add it to the list.
31.2. Movie Profile
Displaying high quality video content, such as high definition movies, requires significant system resources. Movie Profile adjusts system and product settings so you can enjoy an uninterrupted and seamless movie experience.
Configuring Movie Profile
To configure the actions to be taken while in Movie Profile:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Tools tab.
3. Click the Profiles module.
4. In the Profiles Settings window, click the Configure button from the Movie profile area.
5. Choose the system adjustments you would like to be applied by checking the following options:
●
Boost performance on video players
●
Optimize product settings for Movie profile
●
Postpone background programs and maintenance tasks
●
Postpone Windows Automatic Updates
●
Adjust power plan settings for movies
6. Click Save to save the changes and close the window.
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Manually adding video players to the Movie Profile list
If Bitdefender does not automatically enter Movie Profile when you launch a certain video player application, you can manually add the application to the Players list.
To manually add video players to the Players list in Movie Profile:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Tools tab.
3. Click the Profiles module, then click the Configure button from the Movie
Profile area.
4. In the Movie Profile window, click the Players list link.
5. Click Add to add a new application to the Players list.
A new window appears. Browse to the application's executable file, select it and click OK to add it to the list.
31.3. Game Profile
Enjoying an uninterrupted gaming experience is all about reducing system interruption and diminishing slowdowns. By using behavioral heuristics along with a list of known games, Bitdefender can automatically detect running games and optimize your system resources so that you can enjoy your gaming break.
Configuring Game Profile
To configure the actions to be taken while in Game Profile, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Tools tab.
3. Click the Profiles module.
4. In the Profiles Settings window, click the Configure button from the Game
Profile area.
5. Choose the system adjustments you would like to be applied by checking the following options:
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●
Boost performance on games
●
Optimize product settings for Game profile
●
Postpone background programs and maintenance tasks
●
Postpone Windows Automatic Updates
●
Adjust power plan settings for games
6. Click Save to save the changes and close the window.
Manually adding games to the Game list
If Bitdefender does not automatically enter Game Profile when you launch a certain game or application, you can manually add the application to the
Games list.
To manually add games to the Games list in Game Profile:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Tools tab.
3. Click the Profiles module, then click the Configure button from the Game
Profile area.
4. In the Game Profile window, click the Games list link.
5. Click Add to add a new game to the Games list.
A new window appears. Browse to the game's executable file, select it and click OK to add it to the list.
31.4. Real-Time Optimization
Bitdefender Real-Time Optimization is a plugin that improves your system performance silently, in the background, making sure that you are not interrupted while you are in a profile mode. Depending on the CPU load, the plugin monitors all processes, focusing on those that take up a higher load, to adjust them to your needs.
To turn on or off Real-Time Optimization, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Tools tab.
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3. Click the Profiles module, then select the Profiles Settings tab.
4. Turn on or off automatic Real-Time Optimization by clicking the corresponding switch.
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32. SOLVING COMMON ISSUES
This chapter presents some problems you may encounter when using
Bitdefender and provides you with possible solutions to these problems.
Most of these problems can be solved through the appropriate configuration of the product settings.
●
“My system appears to be slow” (p. 175)
●
●
“I can no longer use an application” (p. 179)
●
“What to do when Bitdefender blocks a safe website or online application” (p.
●
“How to update Bitdefender on a slow Internet connection” (p. 184)
●
“My computer is not connected to the Internet. How do I update Bitdefender?”
●
“Bitdefender services are not responding” (p. 185)
●
“Antispam filter does not work properly” (p. 186)
●
“The Autofill feature in my Wallet doesn't work” (p. 191)
●
“Bitdefender removal failed” (p. 192)
●
“My system doesn't boot up after installing Bitdefender” (p. 193)
If you cannot find your problem here, or if the presented solutions do not solve it, you can contact the Bitdefender technical support representatives as presented in chapter
.
32.1. My system appears to be slow
Usually, after installing a security software, there may appear a slight slowdown of the system, which to a certain degree is normal.
If you notice a significant slowdown, this issue can appear for the following reasons:
●
Bitdefender is not the only security program installed on the system.
Though Bitdefender searches and removes the security programs found during the installation, it is recommended to remove any other antivirus
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“How do I remove other security solutions?” (p. 80) .
●
The Minimum System Requirements for running Bitdefender are not met.
If your machine does not meet the Minimum System Requirements, the computer will become sluggish, especially when multiple applications are running at the same time. For more information, please refer to
●
You have installed applications that you do not use.
Any computer has programs or applications that you do not use. And many unwanted programs run in the background taking up disk space and memory. If you do not use a program, uninstall it. This is also valid for any other pre-installed software or trial application you forgot to remove.
Important
If you suspect a program or an application to be an essential part of your operating system, do not remove it and contact Bitdefender Customer Care for assistance.
●
Your system may be infected.
Your system speed and its general behavior can also be affected by malware. Spyware, viruses, Trojans and adware all take a toll on your computer’s performance. Make sure to scan your system periodically, at least once a week. It is recommended to use the Bitdefender System Scan because it scans for all types of malware threatening the security of your system.
To start the System Scan, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Under the Antivirus module, select System Scan.
4. Follow the wizard steps.
32.2. Scan doesn't start
This type of issue can have two main causes:
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A previous Bitdefender installation which was not completely removed or
a faulty Bitdefender installation.
In this case, follow these steps:
1. Remove Bitdefender completely from the system:
●
In Windows 7: a. Click Start, go to Control Panel and double-click Programs and
Features.
b. Find Bitdefender Total Security 2016 and select Uninstall.
c. Click Remove in the window that appears, and then select I want
to reinstall it.
d. Click Next to continue.
e. Wait for the uninstall process to complete, then reboot your system.
●
In Windows 8 and Windows 8.1: a. From the Windows Start screen, locate Control Panel (for example, you can start typing "Control Panel" directly in the Start screen) and then click its icon.
b. Click Uninstall a program or Programs and Features.
c. Find Bitdefender Total Security 2016 and select Uninstall.
d. Click Remove in the window that appears, and then select I want
to reinstall it.
e. Click Next to continue.
f. Wait for the uninstall process to complete, then reboot your system.
●
In Windows 10: a. Click Start, then click Settings.
b. Click the System icon in the Settings area, then select Installed
apps.
c. Find Bitdefender Total Security 2016 and select Uninstall.
d. Click Uninstall again to confirm your choice.
e. Click Remove in the window that appears, and then select I want
to reinstall it.
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g. Wait for the uninstall process to complete, then reboot your system.
2. Reinstall your Bitdefender product.
●
Bitdefender is not the only security solution installed on your system.
In this case, follow these steps:
1. Remove the other security solution. For more information, please refer to
“How do I remove other security solutions?” (p. 80) .
2. Remove Bitdefender completely from the system:
●
In Windows 7: a. Click Start, go to Control Panel and double-click Programs and
Features.
b. Find Bitdefender Total Security 2016 and select Uninstall.
c. Click Remove in the window that appears, and then select I want
to reinstall it.
d. Click Next to continue.
e. Wait for the uninstall process to complete, then reboot your system.
●
In Windows 8 and Windows 8.1: a. From the Windows Start screen, locate Control Panel (for example, you can start typing "Control Panel" directly in the Start screen) and then click its icon.
b. Click Uninstall a program or Programs and Features.
c. Find Bitdefender Total Security 2016 and select Uninstall.
d. Click Remove in the window that appears, and then select I want
to reinstall it.
e. Click Next to continue.
f. Wait for the uninstall process to complete, then reboot your system.
●
In Windows 10: a. Click Start, then click Settings.
b. Click the System icon in the Settings area, then select Installed
apps.
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Bitdefender Total Security 2016 c. Find Bitdefender Total Security 2016 and select Uninstall.
d. Click Uninstall again to confirm your choice.
e. Click Remove in the window that appears, and then select I want
to reinstall it.
f. Click Next to continue.
g. Wait for the uninstall process to complete, then reboot your system.
3. Reinstall your Bitdefender product.
If this information was not helpful, you can contact Bitdefender for support as described in section
32.3. I can no longer use an application
This issue occurs when you are trying to use a program which was working normally before installing Bitdefender.
After installing Bitdefender you may encounter one of these situations:
●
You could receive a message from Bitdefender that the program is trying to make a modification to the system.
●
You could receive an error message from the program you're trying to use.
This type of situation occurs when Active Threat Control mistakenly detects some applications as malicious.
Active Threat Control is a Bitdefender module which constantly monitors the applications running on your system and reports those with potentially malicious behavior. Since this feature is based on a heuristic system, there may be cases when legitimate applications are reported by Active Threat
Control.
When this situation occurs, you can exclude the respective application from being monitored by Active Threat Control.
To add the program to the exclusions list, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Antivirus module, then select the Exclusions tab.
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4. Click the Excluded Processes link. In the window that appears, you can manage the Active Threat Control process exclusions.
5. Add exclusions by following these steps: a. Click the Add button, located at the top of the exclusions table.
b. Click Browse, find and select the application you want to be excluded and then click OK.
c. Keep the Allow option selected to prevent Active Threat Control from blocking the application.
d. Click Add.
If this information was not helpful, you can contact Bitdefender for support as described in section
32.4. What to do when Bitdefender blocks a safe website or online application
Bitdefender offers a secure web browsing experience by filtering all web traffic and blocking any malicious content. However, it is possible that
Bitdefender considers a safe website or online application as unsafe, which will cause Bitdefender HTTP traffic scanning to block them incorrectly.
Should the same page or application be blocked repeatedly, they can be added to a whitelist so that they will not be scanned by the Bitdefender engines, thus ensuring a smooth web browsing experience.
To add a website to the Whitelist, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Web Protection module.
4. In the Settings tab, click the Whitelist link.
5. Provide the address of the blocked website or online application in the corresponding field and click Add.
6. Click Save to save the changes and close the window.
Only websites and applications that you fully trust should be added to this list. These will be excluded from scanning by the following engines: malware, phishing and fraud.
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If this information was not helpful, you can contact Bitdefender for support as described in section
32.5. I cannot connect to the Internet
You may notice that a program or a web browser can no longer connect to the Internet or access network services after installing Bitdefender.
In this case, the best solution is to configure Bitdefender to automatically allow connections to and from the respective software application:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Firewall module, then select the Rules tab.
4. To add an application rule, click the Add rule button.
5. A new window appears where you can add the details. Make sure to select all the network types available and in the Permission section select Allow.
Close Bitdefender, open the software application and try again to connect to the Internet.
If this information was not helpful, you can contact Bitdefender for support as described in section
32.6. I cannot access a device on my network
Depending on the network you are connected to, the Bitdefender firewall may block the connection between your system and another device (such as another computer or a printer). As a result, you may no longer share or print files.
In this case, the best solution is to configure Bitdefender to automatically allow connections to and from the respective device. For each network connection you can configure a special trusted zone.
A trusted zone is a device that you fully trust. All traffic between your computer and the trusted device is allowed. To share resources with specific devices, such as computers or printers, add them as trusted zones.
To add a trusted zone on your network adapters, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
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2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Firewall module, then select the Rules tab.
4. To add a zone, click the Add rule button. A new window displaying the IP addresses of the devices connected to the network will appear.
5. Select the IP address of the computer or the printer you want to add, or type an address or address range in the provided text box.
6. In the Permission field select Allow and then click OK.
If you still cannot connect to the device, the issue may not be caused by
Bitdefender.
Check for other potential causes, such as the following:
●
The firewall on the other computer may block file and printer sharing with your computer.
●
If the Windows Firewall is used, it can be configured to allow file and printer sharing as follows:
●
In Windows 7:
1. Click Start, go to Control Panel and select System and Security.
2. Go to Windows Firewall and click Allow a program through Windows
Firewall.
3. Select File and Printer Sharing check box.
●
In Windows 8 and Windows 8.1:
1. From the Windows Start screen, locate Control Panel (for example, you can start typing "Control Panel" directly in the Start screen) and then click its icon.
2. Click System and Security, go to Windows Firewall and select Allow
an app through Windows Firewall.
3. Select File and Printer Sharing check box and click OK.
●
In Windows 10:
1. Type "Allow an app through Windows Firewall" in the search box from the taskbar and click its icon.
2. Click Change settings.
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3. In the Allowed apps and features list select the File and Printer
Sharing check box and click OK.
●
If another firewall program is used, please refer to its documentation or help file.
●
General conditions that may prevent using or connecting to the shared printer:
●
You may need to log on to a Windows administrator account to access the shared printer.
●
Permissions are set for the shared printer to allow access to specific computer and users only. If you are sharing your printer, check the permissions set for the printer to see if the user on the other computer is allowed access to the printer. If you are trying to connect to a shared printer, check with the user on the other computer if you have permission to connect to the printer.
●
The printer connected to your computer or to the other computer is not shared.
●
The shared printer is not added on the computer.
Note
To learn how to manage printer sharing (share a printer, set or remove permissions for a printer, connect to a network printer or to a shared printer), go to the Windows Help and Support Center (in the Start menu, click Help
and Support).
●
Access to a network printer may be restricted to specific computers or users only. You should check with the network administrator if you have permission to connect to that printer.
If this information was not helpful, you can contact Bitdefender for support as described in section
32.7. My Internet is slow
This situation may appear after you install Bitdefender. The issue could be caused by errors in the Bitdefender firewall configuration.
To troubleshoot this situation, follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
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2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Click the Firewall module, then click the switch to turn off Firewall.
4. Check if your Internet connection improved with the Bitdefender firewall disabled.
●
If you still have a slow Internet connection, the issue may not be caused by Bitdefender. You should contact your Internet Service Provider to verify if the connection is operational on their side.
If you receive confirmation from your Internet Service Provider that the connection is operational on their side and the issue still persists, contact Bitdefender as described in section
.
●
If the Internet connection improved after disabling the Bitdefender firewall, follow these steps: a. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
b. Select the Protection tab.
c. Click the Firewall module, then select the Settings tab.
d. Go to Block port scans in the network and click the switch to turn it off.
e. Go to the Adapters tab and select your Internet connection.
f. In the Network Type column and select Home/Office.
g. In the Stealth Mode column select ON. Set the Generic column to
On.
h. Close Bitdefender, reboot the system and check the Internet connection speed.
If this information was not helpful, you can contact Bitdefender for support as described in section
32.8. How to update Bitdefender on a slow Internet connection
If you have a slow Internet connection (such as dial-up), errors may occur during the update process.
To keep your system up to date with the latest Bitdefender malware signatures, follow these steps:
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1. Click the icon at the top of the
and select General
Settings from the drop-down menu.
2. In the General Settings window, select the Update tab.
3. Next to Update processing rules, select Prompt before downloading from the drop-down menu.
4. Go back to the main window and click the Update action button from the
Bitdefender interface.
5. Select only Signatures updates and then click OK.
6. Bitdefender will download and install only the malware signature updates.
32.9. My computer is not connected to the Internet.
How do I update Bitdefender?
If your computer is not connected to the Internet, you must download the updates manually to a computer with Internet access and then transfer them to your computer using a removable device, such as a flash drive.
Follow these steps:
1. On a computer with Internet access, open a web browser and go to: http://www.bitdefender.com/site/view/Desktop-Products-Updates.html
2. In the Manual Update column, click the link corresponding to your product and system architecture. If you do not know whether your Windows is running on 32 or 64 bits, please refer to
“Am I using a 32 bit or a 64 bit
version of Windows?” (p. 78) .
3. Save the file named weekly.exe to the system.
4. Transfer the downloaded file on a removable device, such as a flash drive, and then to your computer.
5. Double-click the file and follow the wizard steps.
32.10. Bitdefender services are not responding
This article helps you troubleshoot the Bitdefender Services are not
responding error. You may encounter this error as follows:
●
The Bitdefender icon in the
is grayed out and you are informed that the Bitdefender services are not responding.
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The Bitdefender window indicates that the Bitdefender services are not responding.
The error may be caused by one of the following conditions:
● temporary communication errors between the Bitdefender services.
● some of the Bitdefender services are stopped.
● other security solutions running on your computer at the same time with
Bitdefender.
To troubleshoot this error, try these solutions:
1. Wait a few moments and see if anything changes. The error may be temporary.
2. Restart the computer and wait a few moments until Bitdefender is loaded.
Open Bitdefender to see if the error persists. Restarting the computer usually solves the problem.
3. Check if you have any other security solution installed as they may disrupt the normal operation of Bitdefender. If this is the case, we recommend you to remove all of the other security solutions and then reinstall
Bitdefender.
For more information, please refer to
“How do I remove other security
.
If the error persists, please contact our support representatives for help as described in section
.
32.11. Antispam filter does not work properly
This article helps you troubleshoot the following problems concerning the
Bitdefender Antispam filtering operation:
●
A number of legitimate e-mail messages are marked as [spam].
●
Many spam messages are not marked accordingly by the antispam filter.
●
The antispam filter does not detect any spam message.
32.11.1. Legitimate messages are marked as [spam]
Legitimate messages are marked as [spam] simply because they look like spam to the Bitdefender antispam filter. You can normally solve this problem by adequately configuring the Antispam filter.
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Bitdefender automatically adds the receivers of your e-mail messages to a
Friends List. The e-mail messages received from the contacts in the Friends list are considered to be legitimate. They are not verified by the antispam filter and, thus, they are never marked as [spam].
The automatic configuration of the Friends list does not prevent the detection errors that may occur in these situations:
●
You receive a lot of solicited commercial mail as a result of subscribing on various websites. In this case, the solution is to add the e-mail addresses from which you receive such e-mail messages to the Friends list.
●
A significant part of your legitimate mail is from people to whom you never e-mailed before, such as customers, potential business partners and others.
Other solutions are required in this case.
If you are using one of the mail clients Bitdefender integrates into,
Note
Bitdefender integrates into the most commonly used mail clients through an easy-to-use antispam toolbar. For a complete list of supported mail clients, please refer to
“Supported e-mail clients and protocols” (p. 108) .
Add contacts to Friends List
If you are using a supported mail client, you can easily add the senders of legitimate messages to the Friends list. Follow these steps:
1. In your mail client, select an e-mail message from the sender that you want to add to the Friends list.
2. Click the Add Friend button on the Bitdefender antispam toolbar.
3. You may be asked to acknowledge the addresses added to the Friends list. Select Don't show this message again and click OK.
You will always receive e-mail messages from this address no matter what they contain.
If you are using a different mail client, you can add contacts to the Friends list from the Bitdefender interface. Follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
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2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Under the Antispam module, select Manage Friends.
A configuration window appears.
4. Type the e-mail address you always want to receive e-mail messages from and then click Add. You can add as many e-mail addresses as you want.
5. Click OK to save the changes and close the window.
Indicate detection errors
If you are using a supported mail client, you can easily correct the antispam filter (by indicating which e-mail messages should not have been marked as
[spam]). Doing so helps improve the efficiency of the antispam filter. Follow these steps:
1. Open your mail client.
2. Go to the junk mail folder where spam messages are moved.
3. Select the legitimate message incorrectly marked as [spam] by Bitdefender.
4. Click the Add Friend button on the Bitdefender antispam toolbar to add the sender to the Friends list. You may need to click OK to acknowledge.
You will always receive e-mail messages from this address no matter what they contain.
5. Click the Not Spam button on the Bitdefender antispam toolbar (normally located in the upper part of the mail client window). The e-mail message will be moved to the Inbox folder.
32.11.2. Many spam messages are not detected
If you are receiving many spam messages that are not marked as [spam], you must configure the Bitdefender antispam filter so as to improve its efficiency.
Try the following solutions:
1. If you are using one of the mail clients Bitdefender integrates into,
indicate undetected spam messages.
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Note
Bitdefender integrates into the most commonly used mail clients through an easy-to-use antispam toolbar. For a complete list of supported mail clients, please refer to
“Supported e-mail clients and protocols” (p. 108) .
2.
Add spammers to the Spammers list.
The e-mail messages received from addresses in the Spammers list are automatically marked as [spam].
Indicate undetected spam messages
If you are using a supported mail client, you can easily indicate which e-mail messages should have been detected as spam. Doing so helps improve the efficiency of the antispam filter. Follow these steps:
1. Open your mail client.
2. Go to the Inbox folder.
3. Select the undetected spam messages.
4. Click the Is Spam button on the Bitdefender antispam toolbar (normally located in the upper part of the mail client window). They are immediately marked as [spam] and moved to the junk mail folder.
Add spammers to Spammers List
If you are using a supported mail client, you can easily add the senders of the spam messages to the Spammers list. Follow these steps:
1. Open your mail client.
2. Go to the junk mail folder where spam messages are moved.
3. Select the messages marked as [spam] by Bitdefender.
4. Click the Add Spammer button on the Bitdefender antispam toolbar.
5. You may be asked to acknowledge the addresses added to the Spammers list. Select Don't show this message again and click OK.
If you are using a different mail client, you can manually add spammers to the Spammers list from the Bitdefender interface. It is convenient to do this only when you have received several spam messages from the same e-mail address. Follow these steps:
1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
.
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2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Under the Antispam module, select Manage Spammers.
A configuration window appears.
4. Type the spammer's e-mail address and then click the Add. You can add as many e-mail addresses as you want.
5. Click OK to save the changes and close the window.
32.11.3. Antispam filter does not detect any spam message
If no spam message is marked as [spam], there may be a problem with the
Bitdefender Antispam filter. Before troubleshooting this problem, make sure it is not caused by one of the following conditions:
●
Antispam protection might be turned off. To verify the antispam protection status, click the arrow in the lower-left corner of the
select the Protection tab, click the Antispam module and check the switch in the Settings window.
If Antispam is turned off, this is what is causing your problem. Click the switch to turn on your antispam protection.
●
The Bitdefender Antispam protection is available only for e-mail clients configured to receive e-mail messages via the POP3 protocol. This means the following:
●
E-mail messages received via web-based e-mail services (such as Yahoo,
Gmail, Hotmail or other) are not filtered for spam by Bitdefender.
●
If your e-mail client is configured to receive e-mail messages using other protocol than POP3 (for example, IMAP4), the Bitdefender Antispam filter does not check them for spam.
Note
POP3 is one of the most widely used protocols for downloading e-mail messages from a mail server. If you do not know the protocol that your e-mail client uses to download e-mail messages, ask the person who configured your e-mail client.
●
Bitdefender Total Security 2016 doesn't scan Lotus Notes POP3 traffic.
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A possible solution is to repair or reinstall the product. However, you may want to contact Bitdefender for support instead, as described in section
.
32.12. The Autofill feature in my Wallet doesn't work
You have saved your online credentials in your Bitdefender Wallet and you noticed that the autofill is not working. Usually, this issue appears when the
Bitdefender Password Manager extension is not installed in your browser.
To fix this situation, follow these steps:
●
In Internet Explorer:
1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Click Tools.
3. Click Manage add-ons.
4. Click Toolbars and Extensions.
5. Point Bitdefender Password Manager and click Enable.
●
In Mozilla Firefox:
1. Open Mozilla Firefox.
2. Click Tools.
3. Click Add-ons.
4. Click Extensions.
5. Point Bitdefender Password Manager and click Enable.
●
In Google Chrome:
1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Go to the Menu icon.
3. Click Settings.
4. Click Extensions.
5. Point Bitdefender Password Manager and click Enable.
Note
The add-on will be enabled after you restart your web browser.
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Now check if the autofill feature in Wallet works for your online accounts.
If this information was not helpful, you can contact Bitdefender for support as described in section
32.13. Bitdefender removal failed
If you want to remove your Bitdefender product and you notice that the process hangs out or the system freezes, click Cancel to abort the action. If this does not work, restart the system.
When removal fails, some Bitdefender registry keys and files may remain in your system. Such remainders may prevent a new installation of Bitdefender.
They may also affect system performance and stability.
In order to completely remove Bitdefender from your system, follow these steps:
●
In Windows 7:
1. Click Start, go to Control Panel and double-click Programs and Features.
2. Find Bitdefender Total Security 2016 and select Uninstall.
3. Select Remove, and then select I want to permanently remove it.
4. Click Next to continue.
5. Wait for the uninstall process to complete, then reboot your system.
●
In Windows 8 and Windows 8.1:
1. From the Windows Start screen, locate Control Panel (for example, you can start typing "Control Panel" directly in the Start screen) and then click its icon.
2. Click Uninstall a program or Programs and Features.
3. Find Bitdefender Total Security 2016 and select Uninstall.
4. Select Remove, and then select I want to permanently remove it.
5. Click Next to continue.
6. Wait for the uninstall process to complete, then reboot your system.
●
In Windows 10:
1. Click Start, then click Settings.
2. Click the System icon in the Settings area, then select Installed apps.
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3. Find Bitdefender Total Security 2016 and select Uninstall.
4. Click Uninstall again to confirm your choice.
5. Select Remove, and then select I want to permanently remove it.
6. Click Next to continue.
7. Wait for the uninstall process to complete, then reboot your system.
32.14. My system doesn't boot up after installing
Bitdefender
If you just installed Bitdefender and cannot reboot your system in normal mode anymore there may be various reasons for this issue.
Most probably this is caused by a previous Bitdefender installation which was not removed properly or by another security solution still present on the system.
This is how you may address each situation:
●
You had Bitdefender before and you did not remove it properly.
To solve this, follow these steps:
1. Reboot your system and enter in Safe Mode. To find out how to do this, please refer to
“How do I restart in Safe Mode?” (p. 81) .
2. Remove Bitdefender from your system:
●
In Windows 7: a. Click Start, go to Control Panel and double-click Programs and
Features.
b. Find Bitdefender Total Security 2016 and select Uninstall.
c. Click Remove in the window that appears, and then select I want
to reinstall it.
d. Click Next to continue.
e. Wait for the uninstall process to complete.
f. Reboot your system in normal mode.
●
In Windows 8 and Windows 8.1:
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Bitdefender Total Security 2016 a.
From the Windows Start screen, locate Control Panel (for example, you can start typing "Control Panel" directly in the Start screen) and then click its icon.
b. Click Uninstall a program or Programs and Features.
c. Find Bitdefender Total Security 2016 and select Uninstall.
d. Click Remove in the window that appears, and then select I want
to reinstall it.
e. Click Next to continue.
f. Wait for the uninstall process to complete.
g. Reboot your system in normal mode.
●
In Windows 10: a. Click Start, then click Settings.
b. Click the System icon in the Settings area, then select Installed
apps.
c. Find Bitdefender Total Security 2016 and select Uninstall.
d. Click Uninstall again to confirm your choice.
e. Click Remove in the window that appears, and then select I want
to reinstall it.
f. Click Next to continue.
g. Wait for the uninstall process to complete.
h. Reboot your system in normal mode.
3. Reinstall your Bitdefender product.
●
You had a different security solution before and you did not remove it properly.
To solve this, follow these steps:
1. Reboot your system and enter in Safe Mode. To find out how to do this, please refer to
“How do I restart in Safe Mode?” (p. 81) .
2. Remove the other security solution from your system:
●
In Windows 7:
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Click Start, go to Control Panel and double-click Programs and
Features.
b. Find the name of the program you want to remove and select
Remove.
c. Wait for the uninstall process to complete, then reboot your system.
●
In Windows 8 and Windows 8.1: a. From the Windows Start screen, locate Control Panel (for example, you can start typing "Control Panel" directly in the Start screen) and then click its icon.
b. Click Uninstall a program or Programs and Features.
c. Find the name of the program you want to remove and select
Remove.
d. Wait for the uninstall process to complete, then reboot your system.
●
In Windows 10: a. Click Start, then click Settings.
b. Click the System icon in the Settings area, then select Installed
apps.
c. Find the name of the program you want to remove and select
Uninstall.
d. Wait for the uninstall process to complete, then reboot your system.
In order to correctly uninstall the other software, go to their website and run their uninstall tool or contact them directly in order to provide you with the uninstall guidelines.
3. Reboot your system in normal mode and reinstall Bitdefender.
You have already followed the steps above and the situation is not solved.
To solve this, follow these steps:
1. Reboot your system and enter in Safe Mode. To find out how to do this, please refer to
“How do I restart in Safe Mode?” (p. 81) .
2. Use the System Restore option from Windows to restore the computer to an earlier date before installing the Bitdefender product.
3. Reboot the system in normal mode and contact our support representatives for help as described in section
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33. REMOVING MALWARE FROM YOUR SYSTEM
Malware can affect your system in many different ways and the Bitdefender approach depends on the type of malware attack. Because viruses change their behavior frequently, it is difficult to establish a pattern for their behavior and their actions.
There are situations when Bitdefender cannot automatically remove the malware infection from your system. In such cases, your intervention is required.
●
“Bitdefender Rescue Mode” (p. 196)
●
“What to do when Bitdefender finds viruses on your computer?” (p. 198)
●
“How do I clean a virus in an archive?” (p. 199)
●
“How do I clean a virus in an e-mail archive? ” (p. 200)
●
“What to do if I suspect a file as being dangerous?” (p. 201)
●
“What are the password-protected files in the scan log?” (p. 202)
●
“What are the skipped items in the scan log?” (p. 202)
●
“What are the over-compressed files in the scan log?” (p. 203)
●
“Why did Bitdefender automatically delete an infected file?” (p. 203)
If you cannot find your problem here, or if the presented solutions do not solve it, you can contact the Bitdefender technical support representatives as presented in chapter
.
33.1. Bitdefender Rescue Mode
Rescue Mode is a Bitdefender feature that allows you to scan and disinfect all existing hard drive partitions outside of your operating system.
Once Bitdefender Total Security 2016 is installed, Rescue Mode can be used even if you are no longer able to boot into Windows.
Starting your system in Rescue Mode
You can enter Rescue Mode in one of two ways:
From the
To enter Rescue Mode directly from Bitdefender, follow these steps:
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1. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
2. Select the Protection tab.
3. Under the Antivirus module, select Rescue Mode.
A confirmation window appears. Click Yes to reboot your computer.
4. After the computer restarts, a menu will appear prompting you to select an operating system. Choose Bitdefender Rescue Mode and press the Enter key to boot into a Bitdefender environment from where you can clean up your Windows partition.
5. If prompted, press Enter and select the screen resolution closest to the one you normally use. Then press Enter again.
Bitdefender Rescue Mode will load in a few moments.
Boot your computer directly into Rescue Mode
If Windows no longer starts, you can boot your computer directly into
Bitdefender Rescue Mode by following the steps below:
1. Start / reboot your computer and start pressing the space key on your keyboard before the Windows logo appears.
2. A menu will appear prompting you to select an operating system to start. Press TAB to go to the tools area. Choose Bitdefender Rescue
Image and press the Enter key to boot into a Bitdefender environment from where you can clean up your Windows partition.
3. If prompted, press Enter and select the screen resolution closest to the one you normally use. Then press Enter again.
Bitdefender Rescue Mode will load in a few moments.
Scanning your system in Rescue Mode
To scan your system in Rescue Mode, follow these steps:
1. Enter Rescue Mode, as described in
“Starting your system in Rescue
2. The Bitdefender logo will appear and the antivirus engines will start to be copied.
3. A welcome window will then appear. Click Continue.
4. An update of the antivirus signatures is started.
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5. After the update is completed, the Bitdefender On-demand Antivirus
Scanner window appears.
6. Click Scan Now, select the scan target in the window that appears and click Open to start scanning.
It is recommended to scan your entire Windows partition.
Note
When working in Rescue Mode, you are dealing with Linux-type partition names. Disk partitions will appear as sda1 probably corresponding to the
(C:)
Windows-type partition, sda2 corresponding to
(D:) and so on.
7. Wait for the scan to complete. If any malware is detected, follow the instructions to remove the threat.
8. To exit Rescue Mode, right-click in an empty area of the desktop, select
Exit in the menu that appears and then choose whether to reboot or shut down the computer.
33.2. What to do when Bitdefender finds viruses on your computer?
You may find out there is a virus on your computer in one of these ways:
●
You scanned your computer and Bitdefender found infected items on it.
●
A virus alert informs you that Bitdefender blocked one or multiple viruses on your computer.
In such situations, update Bitdefender to make sure you have the latest malware signatures and run a System Scan to analyze the system.
As soon as the system scan is over, select the desired action for the infected items (Disinfect, Delete, Move to quarantine).
Warning
If you suspect the file is part of the Windows operating system or that it is not an infected file, do not follow these steps and contact Bitdefender
Customer Care as soon as possible.
If the selected action could not be taken and the scan log reveals an infection which could not be deleted, you have to remove the file(s) manually:
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The first method can be used in normal mode:
1. Turn off the Bitdefender real-time antivirus protection: a. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
b. Select the Protection tab.
c. Click the Antivirus module, then select the Shield tab.
d. Click the switch to turn off On-access scanning.
2. Display hidden objects in Windows. To find out how to do this, please refer to
“How do I display hidden objects in Windows?” (p. 79)
.
3. Browse to the location of the infected file (check the scan log) and delete it.
4. Turn on the Bitdefender real-time antivirus protection.
In case the first method failed to remove the infection, follow these steps:
1. Reboot your system and enter in Safe Mode. To find out how to do this, please refer to
“How do I restart in Safe Mode?” (p. 81) .
2. Display hidden objects in Windows. To find out how to do this, please refer to
“How do I display hidden objects in Windows?” (p. 79)
.
3. Browse to the location of the infected file (check the scan log) and delete it.
4. Reboot your system and enter in normal mode.
If this information was not helpful, you can contact Bitdefender for support as described in section
33.3. How do I clean a virus in an archive?
An archive is a file or a collection of files compressed under a special format to reduce the space on disk necessary for storing the files.
Some of these formats are open formats, thus providing Bitdefender the option to scan inside them and then take appropriate actions to remove them.
Other archive formats are partially or fully closed, and Bitdefender can only detect the presence of viruses inside them, but is not able to take any other actions.
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If Bitdefender notifies you that a virus has been detected inside an archive and no action is available, it means that removing the virus is not possible due to restrictions on the archive’s permission settings.
Here is how you can clean a virus stored in an archive:
1. Identify the archive that includes the virus by performing a System Scan of the system.
2. Turn off the Bitdefender real-time antivirus protection: a. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
b. Select the Protection tab.
c. Click the Antivirus module, then select the Shield tab.
d. Click the switch to turn off On-access scanning.
3. Go to the location of the archive and decompress it using an archiving application, like WinZip.
4. Identify the infected file and delete it.
5. Delete the original archive in order to make sure the infection is totally removed.
6. Recompress the files in a new archive using an archiving application, like
WinZip.
7. Turn on the Bitdefender real-time antivirus protection and run a Full system scan in order to make sure there is no other infection on the system.
Note
It's important to note that a virus stored in an archive is not an immediate threat to your system, since the virus has to be decompressed and executed in order to infect your system.
If this information was not helpful, you can contact Bitdefender for support as described in section
33.4. How do I clean a virus in an e-mail archive?
Bitdefender can also identify viruses in e-mail databases and e-mail archives stored on disk.
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Sometimes it is necessary to identify the infected message using the information provided in the scan report, and delete it manually.
Here is how you can clean a virus stored in an e-mail archive:
1. Scan the e-mail database with Bitdefender.
2. Turn off the Bitdefender real-time antivirus protection: a. Click the icon in the lower-left corner of the
b. Select the Protection tab.
c. Click the Antivirus module, then select the Shield tab.
d. Click the switch to turn off On-access scanning.
3. Open the scan report and use the identification information (Subject, From,
To) of the infected messages to locate them in the e-mail client.
4. Delete the infected messages. Most e-mail clients also move the deleted message to a recovery folder, from which it can be recovered. You should make sure the message is deleted also from this recovery folder.
5. Compact the folder storing the infected message.
●
In Outlook Express: On the File menu, click Folder, then Compact All
Folders.
●
In Microsoft Outlook 2007: On the File menu, click Data File
Management. Select the personal folders (.pst) files you intend to compact, and click Settings. Click Compact Now.
●
In Microsoft Outlook 2010 / 2013: On the File menu, click Info and then
Account settings (Add and remove accounts or change existing connection settings). Then click Data File, select the personal folders
(.pst) files you intend to compact, and click Settings. Click Compact
Now.
6. Turn on the Bitdefender real-time antivirus protection.
If this information was not helpful, you can contact Bitdefender for support as described in section
33.5. What to do if I suspect a file as being dangerous?
You may suspect a file from your system as being dangerous, even though your Bitdefender product did not detect it.
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To make sure your system is protected, follow these steps:
1. Run a System Scan with Bitdefender. To find out how to do this, please refer to
“How do I scan my system?” (p. 58) .
2. If the scan result appears to be clean, but you still have doubts and want to make sure about the file, contact our support representatives so that we may help you.
To find out how to do this, please refer to
.
33.6. What are the password-protected files in the scan log?
This is only a notification which indicates that Bitdefender has detected these files are either protected with a password or by some form of encryption.
Most commonly, the password-protected items are:
●
Files that belong to another security solution.
●
Files that belong to the operating system.
In order to actually scan the contents, these files would need to either be extracted or otherwise decrypted.
Should those contents be extracted, Bitdefender's real-time scanner would automatically scan them to keep your computer protected. If you want to scan those files with Bitdefender, you have to contact the product manufacturer in order to provide you with more details on those files.
Our recommendation to you is to ignore those files because they are not a threat for your system.
33.7. What are the skipped items in the scan log?
All files that appear as Skipped in the scan report are clean.
For increased performance, Bitdefender does not scan files that have not changed since the last scan.
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33.8. What are the over-compressed files in the scan log?
The over-compressed items are elements which could not be extracted by the scanning engine or elements for which the decryption time would have taken too long making the system unstable.
Overcompressed means that Bitdefender skipped scanning within that archive because unpacking it proved to take up too many system resources.
The content will be scanned on real time access if needed.
33.9. Why did Bitdefender automatically delete an infected file?
If an infected file is detected, Bitdefender will automatically attempt to disinfect it. If disinfection fails, the file is moved to quarantine in order to contain the infection.
For particular types of malware, disinfection is not possible because the detected file is entirely malicious. In such cases, the infected file is deleted from the disk.
This is usually the case with installation files that are downloaded from untrustworthy websites. If you find yourself in such a situation, download the installation file from the manufacturer's website or other trusted website.
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CONTACT US
204
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34. ASKING FOR HELP
Bitdefender provides its customers with an unparalleled level of fast and accurate support. If you experience any issue or if you have any question about your Bitdefender product, you can use several online resources to find a solution or an answer. At the same time, you can contact the Bitdefender
Customer Care team. Our support representatives will answer your questions in a timely manner and will provide you with the assistance you need.
The
“Solving common issues” (p. 175)
section provides the necessary information regarding the most frequent issues you may encounter when using this product.
If you do not find an answer to your question in the provided resources, you can contact us directly:
●
“Contact us directly from your Bitdefender product” (p. 205)
●
“Contact us through our online Support Center” (p. 206)
Contact us directly from your Bitdefender product
If you have a working Internet connection, you can contact Bitdefender for assistance directly from the product interface.
Follow these steps:
1. Click the icon at the top of the
and select Help
& Support from the drop-down menu.
2. You have the following options:
●
Product Documentation
Access our database and search for the necessary information.
●
Contact Support
Use the Contact Support button to launch the Bitdefender Support Tool and contact the Customer Care Department. You can navigate through the wizard using the Next button. To exit the wizard, click Cancel.
a. Select the agreement check box and click Next.
b. Complete the submission form with the necessary data: i. Enter your e-mail address.
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iii. Enter a description of the issue you encountered.
iv. Check the Try to reproduce the issue before submitting option in case you are encountering a product issue. Continue with the required steps.
c. Please wait for a few minutes while Bitdefender gathers product related information. This information will help our engineers find a solution to your problem.
d. Click Finish to send the information to the Bitdefender Customer
Care Department. You will be contacted as soon as possible.
Contact us through our online Support Center
If you cannot access the necessary information using the Bitdefender product, please refer to our online Support Center:
1. Go to http://www.bitdefender.com/support/consumer.html
.
The Bitdefender Support Center hosts numerous articles that contain solutions to Bitdefender-related issues.
2. Use the search bar at the top of the window to find articles that may provide a solution to your problem. To search, just type a term in the
Search bar and click Search.
3. Read the relevant articles or documents and try the proposed solutions.
4. If the solution does not solve your problem, go to http://www.bitdefender.com/support/contact-us.html
and contact our support representatives.
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35. ONLINE RESOURCES
Several online resources are available to help you solve your
Bitdefender-related problems and questions.
●
Bitdefender Support Center: http://www.bitdefender.com/support/consumer.html
●
Bitdefender Support Forum: http://forum.bitdefender.com
●
The HOTforSecurity computer security portal: http://www.hotforsecurity.com
You can also use your favorite search engine to find out more information about computer security, the Bitdefender products and the company.
35.1. Bitdefender Support Center
The Bitdefender Support Center is an online repository of information about the Bitdefender products. It stores, in an easily accessible format, reports on the results of the ongoing technical support and bugfixing activities of the Bitdefender support and development teams, along with more general articles about virus prevention, the management of Bitdefender solutions with detailed explanations, and many other articles.
The Bitdefender Support Center is open to the public and freely searchable.
The extensive information it contains is yet another means of providing
Bitdefender customers with the technical knowledge and insight they need.
All valid requests for information or bug reports coming from Bitdefender clients eventually find their way into the Bitdefender Support Center, as bugfix reports, workaround cheatsheets or informational articles to supplement product helpfiles.
The Bitdefender Support Center is available any time at http://www.bitdefender.com/support/consumer.html
.
35.2. Bitdefender Support Forum
The Bitdefender Support Forum provides Bitdefender users with an easy way to get help and to help others.
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If your Bitdefender product does not operate well, if it cannot remove specific viruses from your computer or if you have questions about the way it works, post your problem or question on the forum.
Bitdefender support technicians monitor the forum for new posts in order to assist you. You may also get an answer or a solution from a more experienced Bitdefender user.
Before posting your problem or question, please search the forum for a similar or related topic.
The Bitdefender Support Forum is available at http://forum.bitdefender.com
, in 5 different languages: English, German, French, Spanish and Romanian.
Click the Home & Home Office Protection link to access the section dedicated to consumer products.
35.3. HOTforSecurity Portal
HOTforSecurity is a rich source of computer security information. Here you can learn about the various threats your computer is exposed to when connected to the Internet (malware, phishing, spam, cyber-criminals).
New articles are posted regularly to keep you up-to-date with the latest threats discovered, the current security trends and other information on the computer security industry.
The HOTforSecurity web page is http://www.hotforsecurity.com
.
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36. CONTACT INFORMATION
Efficient communication is the key to a successful business. During the past
10 years BITDEFENDER has established an unquestionable reputation by constantly striving for better communication so as to exceed the expectations of our clients and partners. Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.
36.1. Web addresses
Sales department: [email protected]
Support Center: http://www.bitdefender.com/support/consumer.html
Documentation: [email protected]
Local distributors: http://www.bitdefender.com/partners
Partner program: [email protected]
Media relations: [email protected]
Careers: [email protected]
Virus submissions: [email protected]
Spam submissions: [email protected]
Report abuse: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.bitdefender.com
36.2. Local distributors
The Bitdefender local distributors are ready to respond to any inquiries regarding their areas of operation, both in commercial and in general matters.
To find a Bitdefender distributor in your country:
1. Go to http://www.bitdefender.com/partners/partner-locator.html
.
2. Choose your country and city using the corresponding options.
3. If you do not find a Bitdefender distributor in your country, feel free to contact us by e-mail at [email protected]
. Please write your e-mail in English in order for us to be able to assist you promptly.
36.3. Bitdefender offices
The Bitdefender offices are ready to respond to any inquiries regarding their areas of operation, both in commercial and in general matters. Their respective addresses and contacts are listed below.
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U.S.A
Bitdefender, LLC
6301 NW 5th Way, Suite 4300
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309
Phone (office&sales): 1-954-776-6262
Sales: [email protected]
Technical support: http://www.bitdefender.com/support/consumer.html
Web: http://www.bitdefender.com
Germany
Bitdefender GmbH
TechnoPark Schwerte
Lohbachstrasse 12
D - 58239 Schwerte
Office: +49 2304 9 45 - 162
Fax: +49 2304 9 45 - 169
Sales: [email protected]
Technical support: http://www.bitdefender.de/support/consumer.html
Web: http://www.bitdefender.de
Spain
Bitdefender España, S.L.U.
C/Bailén, 7, 3-D
08010 Barcelona
Fax: +34 93 217 91 28
Phone: +34 902 19 07 65
Sales: [email protected]
Technical support: http://www.bitdefender.es/support/consumer.html
Website: http://www.bitdefender.es
Romania
BITDEFENDER SRL
Complex DV24, Building A, 24 Delea Veche Street, Sector 2
Bucharest
Fax: +40 21 2641799
Sales phone: +40 21 2063470
Sales e-mail: [email protected]
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Technical support: http://www.bitdefender.ro/support/consumer.html
Website: http://www.bitdefender.ro
United Arab Emirates
Dubai Internet City
Building 17, Office # 160
Dubai, UAE
Sales phone: 00971-4-4588935 / 00971-4-4589186
Sales e-mail: [email protected]
Technical support: http://www.bitdefender.com/support/consumer.html
Website: http://www.bitdefender.com
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Glossary
Activation code
Is a unique key that can be bought from retail and used to activate a specific product or service. An activation code enables the activation of a valid subscription for a certain period of time and number devices and can also be used to extend a subscription with the condition to be generated for the same product or service.
ActiveX
ActiveX is a model for writing programs so that other programs and the operating system can call them. ActiveX technology is used with
Microsoft Internet Explorer to make interactive Web pages that look and behave like computer programs, rather than static pages. With ActiveX, users can ask or answer questions, use push buttons, and interact in other ways with the Web page. ActiveX controls are often written using
Visual Basic.
Active X is notable for a complete lack of security controls; computer security experts discourage its use over the Internet.
Advanced persistent threat
Advanced persistent threat (APT) exploits vulnerabilities of systems to steal important information to deliver it to the source. Big groups such as organizations, companies, or governments, are targeted by this malware.
The objective of an advanced persistent threat is to remain undetected for a long time being able to monitor and gather important information without damaging the targeted machines. The method used to inject the virus into the network is through a PDF file or an Office document that look harmless so that every user can run the files.
Adware
Adware is often combined with a host application that is provided at no charge as long as the user agrees to accept the adware. Because adware applications are usually installed after the user has agreed to a licensing agreement that states the purpose of the application, no offense is committed.
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However, pop-up advertisements can become an annoyance, and in some cases degrade system performance. Also, the information that some of these applications collect may cause privacy concerns for users who were not fully aware of the terms in the license agreement.
Archive
A disk, tape, or directory that contains files that have been backed up.
A file that contains one or more files in a compressed format.
Backdoor
A hole in the security of a system deliberately left in place by designers or maintainers. The motivation for such holes is not always sinister; some operating systems, for example, come out of the box with privileged accounts intended for use by field service technicians or the vendor's maintenance programmers.
Boot sector
A sector at the beginning of each disk that identifies the disk's architecture (sector size, cluster size, and so on). For startup disks, the boot sector also contains a program that loads the operating system.
Boot virus
A virus that infects the boot sector of a fixed or floppy disk. An attempt to boot from a diskette infected with a boot sector virus will cause the virus to become active in memory. Every time you boot your system from that point on, you will have the virus active in memory.
Browser
Short for Web browser, a software application used to locate and display
Web pages. Popular browsers include Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla
Firefox and Google Chrome. These are graphical browsers, which means that they can display graphics as well as text. In addition, most modern browsers can present multimedia information, including sound and video, though they require plug-ins for some formats.
Command line
In a command line interface, the user types commands in the space provided directly on the screen using command language.
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Cookie
Within the Internet industry, cookies are described as small files containing information about individual computers that can be analyzed and used by advertisers to track your online interests and tastes. In this realm, cookie technology is still being developed and the intention is to target ads directly to what you've said your interests are. It's a double-edge sword for many people because on one hand, it's efficient and pertinent as you only see ads about what you're interested in. On the other hand, it involves actually "tracking" and "following" where you go and what you click. Understandably so, there is a debate over privacy and many people feel offended by the notion that they are viewed as a
"SKU number" (you know, the bar code on the back of packages that gets scanned at the grocery check-out line). While this viewpoint may be extreme, in some cases it is accurate.
Disk drive
It's a machine that reads data from and writes data onto a disk.
A hard disk drive reads and writes hard disks.
A floppy drive accesses floppy disks.
Disk drives can be either internal (housed within a computer) or external
(housed in a separate box that connects to the computer).
Download
To copy data (usually an entire file) from a main source to a peripheral device. The term is often used to describe the process of copying a file from an online service to one's own computer. Downloading can also refer to copying a file from a network file server to a computer on the network.
Electronic mail. A service that sends messages on computers via local or global networks.
Events
An action or occurrence detected by a program. Events can be user actions, such as clicking a mouse button or pressing a key, or system occurrences, such as running out of memory.
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False positive
Occurs when a scanner identifies a file as infected when in fact it is not.
Filename extension
The portion of a filename, following the final point, which indicates the kind of data stored in the file.
Many operating systems use filename extensions, e.g. Unix, VMS, and
MS-DOS. They are usually from one to three letters (some sad old OSes support no more than three). Examples include "c" for C source code,
"ps" for PostScript, "txt" for arbitrary text.
Heuristic
A rule-based method of identifying new viruses. This method of scanning does not rely on specific virus signatures. The advantage of the heuristic scan is that it is not fooled by a new variant of an existing virus. However, it might occasionally report suspicious code in normal programs, generating the so-called "false positive".
IP
Internet Protocol - A routable protocol in the TCP/IP protocol suite that is responsible for IP addressing, routing, and the fragmentation and reassembly of IP packets.
Java applet
A Java program which is designed to run only on a web page. To use an applet on a web page, you would specify the name of the applet and the size (length and width, in pixels) that the applet can utilize. When the web page is accessed, the browser downloads the applet from a server and runs it on the user's machine (the client). Applets differ from applications in that they are governed by a strict security protocol.
For example, even though applets run on the client, they cannot read or write data onto the client's machine. Additionally, applets are further restricted so that they can only read and write data from the same domain that they are served from.
Keylogger
A keylogger is an application that logs anything you type.
Keyloggers are not malicious in nature. They can be used for legitimate purposes, such as monitoring employees or children activity. However,
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Macro virus
A type of computer virus that is encoded as a macro embedded in a document. Many applications, such as Microsoft Word and Excel, support powerful macro languages.
These applications allow you to embed a macro in a document, and have the macro execute each time the document is opened.
Mail client
An e-mail client is an application that enables you to send and receive e-mail.
Memory
Internal storage areas in the computer. The term memory identifies data storage that comes in the form of chips, and the word storage is used for memory that exists on tapes or disks. Every computer comes with a certain amount of physical memory, usually referred to as main memory or RAM.
Non-heuristic
This method of scanning relies on specific virus signatures. The advantage of the non-heuristic scan is that it is not fooled by what might seem to be a virus, and does not generate false alarms.
Packed programs
A file in a compression format. Many operating systems and applications contain commands that enable you to pack a file so that it takes up less memory. For example, suppose you have a text file containing ten consecutive space characters. Normally, this would require ten bytes of storage.
However, a program that packs files would replace the space characters by a special space-series character followed by the number of spaces being replaced. In this case, the ten spaces would require only two bytes.
This is just one packing technique - there are many more.
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Path
The exact directions to a file on a computer. These directions are usually described by means of the hierarchical filing system from the top down.
The route between any two points, such as the communications channel between two computers.
Phishing
The act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a Web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security, and bank account numbers, that the legitimate organization already has.
The Web site, however, is bogus and set up only to steal the user’s information.
Photon
Photon is an innovative non-intrusive Bitdefender technology, designed to minimize the performance impact of antivirus protection. By monitoring your PC’s activity in the background, it creates usage patterns that help optimize booting and scanning processes.
Polymorphic virus
A virus that changes its form with each file it infects. Since they have no consistent binary pattern, such viruses are hard to identify.
Port
An interface on a computer to which you can connect a device. Personal computers have various types of ports. Internally, there are several ports for connecting disk drives, display screens, and keyboards. Externally, personal computers have ports for connecting modems, printers, mice, and other peripheral devices.
In TCP/IP and UDP networks, an endpoint to a logical connection. The port number identifies what type of port it is. For example, port 80 is used for HTTP traffic.
Ransomware
Ransomware is a malicious program that tries to make money from users by locking their vulnerable systems. CryptoLocker, CryptoWall,
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The infection can be spread by accessing spam e-mail, downloading e-mail attachments, or installing applications, without letting the user know about what is happening on his system. Daily users and companies are targeted by ransomware hackers.
Report file
A file that lists actions that have occurred. Bitdefender maintains a report file listing the path scanned, the folders, the number of archives and files scanned, how many infected and suspicious files were found.
Rootkit
A rootkit is a set of software tools which offer administrator-level access to a system. The term was first used for the UNIX operating systems and it referred to recompiled tools which provided intruders administrative rights, allowing them to conceal their presence so as not to be seen by the system administrators.
The main role of rootkits is to hide processes, files, logins and logs. They may also intercept data from terminals, network connections or peripherals, if they incorporate the appropriate software.
Rootkits are not malicious in nature. For example, systems and even some applications hide critical files using rootkits. However, they are mostly used to hide malware or to conceal the presence of an intruder into the system. When combined with malware, rootkits pose a great threat to the integrity and the security of a system. They can monitor traffic, create backdoors into the system, alter files and logs and avoid detection.
Script
Another term for macro or batch file, a script is a list of commands that can be executed without user interaction.
Spam
Electronic junk mail or junk newsgroup postings. Generally known as any unsolicited e-mail.
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Spyware
Any software that covertly gathers user information through the user's
Internet connection without his or her knowledge, usually for advertising purposes. Spyware applications are typically bundled as a hidden component of freeware or shareware programs that can be downloaded from the Internet; however, it should be noted that the majority of shareware and freeware applications do not come with spyware. Once installed, the spyware monitors user activity on the Internet and transmits that information in the background to someone else. Spyware can also gather information about e-mail addresses and even passwords and credit card numbers.
Spyware's similarity to a Trojan horse is the fact that users unwittingly install the product when they install something else. A common way to become a victim of spyware is to download certain peer-to-peer file swapping products that are available today.
Aside from the questions of ethics and privacy, spyware steals from the user by using the computer's memory resources and also by eating bandwidth as it sends information back to the spyware's home base via the user's Internet connection. Because spyware is using memory and system resources, the applications running in the background can lead to system crashes or general system instability.
Startup items
Any files placed in this folder will open when the computer starts. For example, a startup screen, a sound file to be played when the computer first starts, a reminder calendar, or application programs can be startup items. Normally, an alias of a file is placed in this folder rather than the file itself.
Subscription
Purchase agreement that gives the user the right to use a particular product or service on a specific number of devices and for a certain period of time. An expired subscription can be automatically renewed using the information provided by the user at the first purchase.
System tray
Introduced with Windows 95, the system tray is located in the Windows taskbar (usually at the bottom next to the clock) and contains miniature icons for easy access to system functions such as fax, printer, modem,
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TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol - A set of networking protocols widely used on the Internet that provides communications across interconnected networks of computers with diverse hardware architectures and various operating systems. TCP/IP includes standards for how computers communicate and conventions for connecting networks and routing traffic.
Trojan
A destructive program that masquerades as a benign application. Unlike viruses, Trojan horses do not replicate themselves but they can be just as destructive. One of the most insidious types of Trojan horse is a program that claims to rid your computer of viruses but instead introduces viruses onto your computer.
The term comes from a story in Homer's Iliad, in which the Greeks give a giant wooden horse to their foes, the Trojans, ostensibly as a peace offering. But after the Trojans drag the horse inside their city walls, Greek soldiers sneak out of the horse's hollow belly and open the city gates, allowing their compatriots to pour in and capture Troy.
Update
A new version of a software or hardware product designed to replace an older version of the same product. In addition, the installation routines for updates often check to make sure that an older version is already installed on your computer; if not, you cannot install the update.
Bitdefender has it's own update module that allows you to manually check for updates, or let it automatically update the product.
Virus
A program or piece of code that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge and runs against your will. Most viruses can also replicate themselves. All computer viruses are manmade. A simple virus that can copy itself over and over again is relatively easy to produce.
Even such a simple virus is dangerous because it will quickly use all available memory and bring the system to a halt. An even more
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Virus signature
The binary pattern of a virus, used by the antivirus program to detect and eliminate the virus.
Worm
A program that propagates itself over a network, reproducing itself as it goes. It cannot attach itself to other programs.
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