Bitdefender Total Security 2024 Review & Bitdefender Premium VPN 2024 Review

One “Internet security package” to rule them all – welcome to the latest 2024 incarnation of Bitdefender Total Security that provides users with one of the most comprehensive PC security suites available and designed by one of the world’s top internet security firms. Bitdefender was established in 2001 and they have become a leader in the field of internet security, ensuring that their software stays ahead of cyber criminals.

Their latest version of Bitdefender Total Security protects the user from a wide gamut of online dangers such as viruses, Trojans, malware, zero-day attacks, anti-phishing, firewall and ransomware to ensure your system, privacy and files are protected from all attacks, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days per year. Unfortunately, it is a never-ending battle, so consider Bitdefender Total Security your digital guardian.

It also comes with a secure Virtual Private Network or VPN (200MB per day per device) that offers another level of defense which is ideal for online banking, shopping or protecting your identity while surfing the net. Add in parental controls and Bitdefender Total Security 2024 is a world-class security package that silently runs in the background while your PC is connected to the net.

Given our reliance on the internet, a security package is a must for your computer and although some companies offer “free” software, these are extremely limited in what they can offer which is why a subscription is required. Bitdefender does however offer a trial version of their Total Security software if you are unsure of committing to a purchase– we do however recommend a subscription in order to prevent a digital apocalypse of your system or systems.

According to AV-TEST who are an independent research institute for IT security from Germany with over 20-years of experience, they have ranked Bitdefender Total Security as one of their highest performing security suites when compared to its competitors.

As you can see, Bitdefender definitely has a lead with Norton and McAfee.

Once you have purchased Bitdefender Total Security, it will give you a product key and a link to download the software to your computer. The install process is fast and requires minimal input from the user as the software installs onto your computer. You do need to create a Bitdefender account which provides a nice overview of your subscription or subscriptions called Bitdefender Central plus the software will perform an initial scan of your system once installed to ensure that you are safe.

The preliminary scan …

The interface of Bitdefender does have a few layers involved; however, you generally get to your intended destination in just one or two clicks.

As mentioned, and once installed, BitDefender quietly sits in the background (using minimal system resources) with its multi-layered protection to monitor and defend your system. Whether you are downloading a file from the internet, accessing a hijacked website or purchasing an item from Amazon, BitDefender Internet Security is protecting your system, files, online banking and identity from cyber criminals.

The main tab or dashboard of Total Security is broken into 5 main areas that includes Quick Scan (fast scan of your system), System Scan (comprehensive scan of your system), Vulnerability Scan (e.g. weak passes or security updates are not up to date), VPN (Virtual Private Network) and Safepay (a Bitdefender browser protected by VPN).

Upon that is protection tab for real-time antivirus protection, crypto mining protection that ensures your device is not used to generate cryptocurrency plus advanced threat defense and online threat prevention which monitors for zero-day exploits and protecting your computer as the software goes through Bitdefender’s cloud-based system to prevent the best real-time protection possible.

The program will even protect your passwords through its password manager and even video and audio protection so cybercriminals can’t gain control of these devices.

Under utilities, there is anti-theft protection which allows you to remotely locate, lock, wipe or send a message to your device if it has been stolen. A one click optimizer that offers disk cleanup, registry cleanup and removing traces of deleted files from your computer.

If you want to see what Bitdefender is doing, notifications it the place to find out

Lastly settings gives you additional control from password protection of Bitdefender Total Security and other notification settings, including a useful dark mode to protect your eyes.

Two other highlights of BitDefender Internet Security are its parental control options to ensure your children are safe while surfing the net plus VPN. Opposed to protecting your online shopping or online banking access, the VPN can also be used to protect your privacy on the net and while the base version of Internet Security comes with 200MB per day, you can upgrade to a larger data plan.

BitDefender Premium VPN 2024

The VPN through BitDefender Premium VPN 2024 is powered by Hotspot Shield and uses 256-bit AES encryption with no logs and it offers a kill switch should you lose the internet. The premium version also provides up to 10 connections from a single account.

BitDefender Premium VPN has a super simple interface and it connects to the closest and log-free server.

Although it works as-in, there are also some more in-depth features if you want to take your VPN to the next level such as the internet kill switch and automatically connected to this server if you are connected to a public or unsecured Wi-Fi network.

Another clever feature is split tunneling which allows you to exclude certain apps from using the VPN such as a streaming service like Netflix or a game like Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. Although it offers unparalleled protection, there is also a double-hop feature which moves your traffic through two VPN servers opposed to one.

If you have limited bandwidth, app traffic optimizer also allows you to choose up to 3 apps to dedicate the connection which is great for streaming or gaming. I also like the Ad blocker and Anti-tracker feature which blocks ads and tracking which both worked spectacularly. It’s bad enough that Google knows everything about you, including tailoring ads that are no longer relevant to you because you searched for flights or how to fix a blocked sink. Say goodbye of that with Bitdefender VPN!

Speed Test

When you do connect to a VPN, there is an expected speed drop as all your data is being directed through another server. As a test, we ran Speedtest by Ookla and running the Bitdefender Premium VPN 2024, there was a 30.82% decrease with the download speed from 513Mbps to 376.17513Mbps and no real difference between uploads at 46.95Mpbs vs 44.76Mbps.

All in all, I cannot fault the VPN feature of Bitdefender that offers excellent protection and fast speeds which is perfect for streaming and gaming.

Bitdefender Total Security 2024 Review (Part 2)

Speaking of streaming and gaming, there is a setting for Bitdefender Total Security to prevent pop-ups so you can continue your entertainment without being interrupted. Although the software is predominantly Windows (PC) based, it also provides support for Android, iOS and macOS devices giving you a true holistic package to protect all your devices (see below how Bitdefender Internet Security supports each operating system).

In terms of costs, Bitdefender has a special price of $89.99AUD for 5 licenses, down from $149.99AUD or for 10 licenses for $95.99AUD, which is down from $159.99AUD. However, by purchasing a 2-year or 3-year plan, this cost drops even more.

Final Thoughts?

The 2024 version of Bitdefender Total Security provides users with world-class security for your PC and other devices. Best of all, it has low resource utilisation of your Windows PC that means you won’t even notice that this security suite is installed.

Highly Recommended and Bitdefender Total Security receives one our limited Editor’s Choice Awards for 2024.