Bitdefender: You Are Protected

Having not subscribed to ANY antivirus programs since the past 5 - 6 years, I've never had any security issues with any of my systems, mobile included. Not to brag, but I am with an advanced IT background and ALWAYS adhere strictly to safe ethics over the internet. This includes spending over a minute making sure that that "Download" button is the correct button amongst the many impostors on screen.

That is until recently.

My partnership with Bitdefender could not have come at a better time. After setting up my own website - let's talk about that in a different post - and making public one of the emails I used to receive inquiries, my Outlook was literally flooded with unsolicited emails - which is expected. Normally these would be marked as spam, deleted, and purged instantly.

How I got Attacked?
Emails, both solicited and unsolicited, is after all written by humans. Even the template emails that tells you that you've won a million dollars, all you need to do is reply to that email with your bank details to claim the winning - was designed by human. Normally, email service providers are able to filter out these emails by analysing the subject and content using advanced algorithms that determines the legitimacy of such emails. However, sometimes, they fail.

Casting Doubt..
Yep, I was tricked. I received an email saying that there is a package coming my way and that the details are in the zipped attachment. I did not open it intentionally - I had the email content preview window open so once I launched Outlook, I can instantly read the content of the most recent email I received.

Then I questioned myself, is there really a package coming for me? I mean, Eid'ul Fitr is coming soon, maybe one of my friends sent me something and forgot to inform me to expect it. That was when I clicked the attachment tab, and proceeded to download the zipped file.

Locked Out!
Downloading the zipped file caused my default protection - Windows Defender* - to pop out and warn me of dangerous file. I realised then that if my friends were to send packages my way, they would go to my personal emails instead, because logic! And details of such delivery would be in the email content AND in attachment.

So the file was removed, I checked through my web browsers for any changes and reverted, checked the Program Files list for recent installs, checked the running tasks and processes and registries. I spent quite a while on it, because of one zipped file.

Once satisfied, I restarted my pc, and resumed work as usual - which involves opening my Outlook app. Guess what, I got locked out! There was a failure to recognise my Outlook data files. I realised I haven't checked my user accounts to confirm that it has not been tempered with.

A Case of Identity Theft

In that small window of opportunity, the first thing that that downloaded zip file changed was my Windows account settings. I guess I was lucky that Windows Defender managed to pick up the threat and stopped further damages and prevented what could have been a hijack on my system.

Imagine if the dangerous file was able to make extensive changes to my Windows account settings, it could've relayed the information to a third-party and they could then use my online identity to do whatever!

Bitdefender to the rescue!
After that incident, and with the opportunity to partner with Bitdefender, I immediately installed Bitdefender Internet Security 2015 - ran a complete scan over my system and tweaked to optimise the performance of Bitdefender on my PC, and the overall performance of my PC.

Then I ran all the programs I have on my PC to ensure that they are all compatible with their new family member, and it turns out there was no issue at all. So far I saw no performance degrade. Save for the minimal widget on my desktop that ensures me Bitdefender has my system protected (I keep my desktop clean and tidy), everything is just they was it was. Bitdefender integrates itself into my system without much intervention.

A Step Further
Naturally, I'm still using Outlook. I did not notice at first, but when I realised that Bitdefender took a step further and integrates itself into Outlook, I was psyched. There on the last tab, Bitdefender Antispam! Next time I received a spam in my inbox, I'll just click on the 'Is Spam' button, perhaps click the 'Add Spammer' button too to stop future spams from making it into my inbox.

Honestly, I am pretty thrilled to see how far antivirus softwares has progressed. It used to be clunky, took up loads of RAM and processing power, and at times rendering some existing softwares on your pc to stop working for false detection.

At least for now, I'm happy with antispam protection. I'll explore the features and tools in Bitdefender in upcoming posts, so do subscribe!


*footnote: I personally don't consider Windows Defender an antivirus program. Only a mere protection against common security threats. You're welcomed to debate on this in the comments section.