This is how you install and configure Bitdefender on your PC

Published on 09 december 2019
The PC version of Bitdefender's Total Security is packed with features. Some you will use a lot, others you will not. This is how you install and configure Bitdefender security on your PC.
 
Before you get started, you'll need a license key from Bitdefender. You can purchase this on this site (click here). To then install the software, click on the link in the email, create an account and enter the code at My Subscriptions. You can then see at Activity which products are linked to your license code and immediately download and install them.

 

Using Bitdefender

During installation, Bitdefender immediately scans the PC, so you and Bitdefender can be sure that the security software is installed on a clean system. After installation, the program can be found in the system tray at the bottom right.
 
When you open Bitdefender you will see a clear screen with the current status and buttons to immediately perform a quick scan or vulnerability analysis. Feel free to leave the Autopilot slider turned on so that Bitdefender takes care of security automatically. Now let's configure! To do this, click View features. Here you can switch components on and off and configure them yourself. First of all, Antispam. If you use webmail such as Hotmail or Gmail, feel free to turn it off.
 
It is better to leave the checkboxes for Advanced Threat Defense, Safe files and Vulnerability checked for optimal malware protection. You can turn off the firewall, because Windows has its own firewall on board. However, if you want to configure in detail which program is allowed access to the internet and network, leave it on and set it by pressing the gear icon. If you would rather not have Bitdefender nesting in your browser, press the gear icon next to Web Protection and disable the unwanted sliders. For example, the Search Advisor, which assesses your search engine results.

Keep an eye on things

We continue to the next part, press the eye icon on the left. If you press Safepay, an extra secure browser will open from which you can log in to internet banking or other payment services such as PayPal. If you press VPN, you can choose to set up a secure VPN connection with this PC. Useful, for example, on public WiFi networks or to circumvent country restrictions. Please note that Bitdefender only allows 200MB of data traffic per day.

Key set

If you click on the key set on the left, you will arrive at the system optimization. It is better to ignore the One-Clik Optimizer. You can use the Startup Optimizer to determine which programs can be started automatically with Windows. Useful if your Windows starts a bit slowly.

Anti-theft is useful if you have installed Bitdefender on a laptop or have lost a laptop with Bitdefender on it. A press of a button takes you to the Bitdefender website, where you log in and see all your registered devices. Select the laptop you lost and press Anti-Theft. Here you can then locate the device (which works best if your VPN is turned off), remotely lock or wipe it, or set off an alarm.

Back to the optimization settings in Bitdefender, where finally the Disk Cleanup section is still available if you want to free up extra disk space.

Gear

The last part of Bitdefender that we will go through are the general settings. To do this, press the gear on the left. Here you can set things like password protection for Bitdefender, forwarding anonymous data, disabling offers, etc. Click on Profiles at the top. Here you can configure multiple profiles so that Bitdefender does not disturb you while you are working, gaming or watching a movie - and also does not slow down your system and protects your laptop battery.

Windows Defender

When you use Windows 8 and Windows 10, Windows Defender is enabled as the default virus protector. You cannot disable this yourself, but when you install other security software (such as Bitdefender), Windows Defender disables itself. When you uninstall the other security software or stop it from working, Defender will automatically become active again.

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