Junkware: Antivirus companies add additional programs (or "offers") to their installers that are automatically installed by default.Some companies use a rebranded version of the Ask Toolbar with their own name on it, but one that is still the Ask toolbar. Ask Toolbars and Rebranded Ask Toolbars: Many programs want to install the terrible Ask toolbar.Changing Your Homepage: Antivirus companies also want to change your homepage, driving traffic to websites that make money by advertising to you.This may sometimes be branded something like "secure search," but you're actually just using an inferior search engine that makes the company money. They then make money when you click ads on these search results pages. Changing Your Default Search Engine: Antivirus companies attempt to change your browser's search engine to one of their own choosing.It's similar to how "freeware" applications on Windows attempt to make a buck by loading your computer down with junk. Here's a quick summary of the ways antivirus companies are attempting to make money. ![]() ![]() Bitdefender, like other antivirus tools, is more than just an antivirus that quietly protects your PC.Related: Here's What Happens When You Install the Top 10 Apps Install Bitdefender and you’ll get a password manager, separate web browser, and a variety of other notifications and advertisements you might not want to see. The following steps were performed with Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2017, and should be similar with other paid editions of Bitdefender. Bitdefender software bundle free#īitdefender’s free antivirus is very minimal compared to other free antivirus tools and doesn’t show any notifications, although you may see occsional ads for Bitdefender’s paid antivirus software. But you can’t disable them, so we’ll focus on the paid version of Bitdefender for this guide. To learn more about which antivirus programs we recommend, check out this guide. Get Rid of Bitdefender’s Browser Extensionsīitdefender installs a “Bitdefender Wallet” browser extension in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Internet Explorer. Bitdefender software bundle password#īitdefender Wallet is a password manager built into the Bitdefender antivirus software, but we recommend other password managers. In fact, we don’t recommend using any browser extensions included with antivirus software. In Google Chrome, click the menu and select More Tools > Extensions. Click the trash can to the right of the Bitdefender Wallet extension to remove it. In Mozilla Firefox, click the menu button and select “Add-ons”. Click the “Disable” button to the right of the Bitdefender Wallet add-on. In Internet Explorer, click the menu button and select “Add-ons”. Disable Most of Bitdefender’s Notifications and Advertisements Select each “Bitdefender Wallet” entry under Toolbars and Extensions and click the “Disable” button at the bottom of the window to disable them. The rest of Bitdefender’s options are available in its interface. To open it, locate the Bitdefender icon in your notification area end either double-click it or right-click it and select “Show”. ![]() The icon may be hidden behind the up arrow to the left of your system tray icons. To ensure Bitdefender automatically does its job in the background and makes security decisions without bothering you with popups, ensure the “Autopilot” slider is enabled. In Autopilot mode, Bitdefender will automatically configure itself and won’t show popups or notifications.Įven after you enable Autopilot mode, Bitdefender will display weekly “Security Report” notifications and “special offers” for other Bitdefender products. To disable these, click the gear-shaped Settings icon at the bottom left corner of the Bitdefender window. ![]() Disable the “Notify me when a new Security Report is available” and “Display notifications with special offers” options here. You can still view weekly security reports from the “Activity” pane in Bitdefender’s interface, if you like.īitdefender wants you to use its own built-in browser, known as “Bitdefender Safepay,” to perform online banking and other transactions. To ensure you do this, it pops up notification messages when you visit online banking websites. To prevent these notification messages from appearing, visit an online banking website and you’ll see the SAFEPAY prompt. Select “Remember for all banking websites” in the prompt and click “No”. Stop Bitdefender From Modifying īitdefender offers a “Search Advisor” service that jumps into action when you perform a search on Google, Bing, Yahoo, or Baidu. This isn’t implemented as a browser extension. Instead, the Bitdefender software intercepts your connection and rewrites the web page to add its own information about whether search results are safe.
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