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Review: BullGuard Internet Security v10 |
Preface added by MyCE
This hands-on BullGuard Internet Security v10 review has been performed by Mr. Belvedere, a long-time and valued MyCE member. We thank Mr. Belvedere for taking the time and opportunity to provide for this 'guest' review.
BullGuard was kind enough to send us a license for their Internet Security product. BullGuard Internet Security promises a complete total software package ready to protect, support and backup your computer.
This is what BullGuard says about their Internet Security
Key features
What do you get?
The main focus of this review will be on the AntiVirus, AntiSpyWare and Firewall functionalities of the product. The 32-bit version was used on Windows XP Professional SP3 and Windows 7 Ultimate.
Installation and updating BullGuard Internet Security
The complete setup package is about 135 megabytes in size, depending if you require the 32-bit or 64-bit system. It contains one big executable (.exe) file which you just double-click to start the installation.
Installation on Windows XP
In order to test BullGuard Internet Security on Windows XP Professional, I used an old HP laptop. I had removed Microsoft Security Essentials earlier and had no other virus scanner running. Only the Windows Firewall was running.
I started to execute the file from a Dropbox shared folder , but I wish I didn’t. During the installation the Wifi Network Interface Card (NIC) was disabled and installation could not continue.
I tried to reinstall, but the product only came up with a notification that the current active firewall was some product that was not supported with BullGuard. It was quite a strange notification, since BullGuard was the product who installed that firewall itself!
Long story short: It took me a lot of registry hacking and re-enabling the NIC to get my laptop up and running again. Products that do such terrible things to your operating system, without earlier warnings whatsoever, should not exist in the first place. I quit testing BullGuard on Windows XP. Major disappointment. After contacting BullGuard they offered a removal tool, but I already got my system running again by myself. I reinstalled Microsoft Security Essentials and all was good.
Installation on Windows 7 Ultimate
The installation itself works like a charm on Windows 7 Ultimate. Double-click, accept the license agreements and just wait for a while. BullGuard shows itself as a small icon in the lower right corner.
After installation the product forces you to register with a valid email account. No registration? Then no updates, no configuration, no nothing. So we better register:
See anything scary in the above screenshot? Well I do. The password is revealed by default!
I don’t care how insignificant a password is, you just NEVER show it on screen!
Most people use more-or-less the same kind of password (system), so it can be very beneficial for prying eyes to check what you have used as a password.
Somewhat disappointing.
After that strange registering procedure (with an automatic login you don’t have any fuss entering the configuration of the product) you proceed to update the product.
Updating goes flawless and pops up with the message that you need to reboot your computer. Note that you do not have a button present to do so, but we assume anybody who has a Windows machine knows how to reboot their computer.
Let’s head to the next page to check out scanning for threats…..
Scanning for threats
As you can see in the above screenshot BullGuard Internet Security does not leave a very big footprint in your system as well. BullGuard Internet Security is about 62 megs in memory size and takes up about 43% of your CPU time when you are both scanning for viruses and vulnerabilities. The memory size rarely grows and is usually somewhat smaller.
In idle mode it takes about 1% of your CPU utilization and about the same size in memory. BullGuard can also protect its own files, but by default this option is not activated.
Overall, we can say that BullGuard is very good in scanning for threats and vulnerabilities of your operating system.
Firewall
The firewall works perfectly. It does warn you when products have been added to the list automatically and doesn’t annoy that much. For smaller resolution screens it might seem like a big warning, but after a second it already disappears. In the configuration screen you can manage any firewall rule.
Detecting viruses
To test BullGuard in how well it protects you against known virus threats it was subjected to the EICAR test. The EICAR test contains a file which is a test virus. You can download it as a text file, executable file or zip file.
BullGuard caught ALL variations (including within a zip file) of the EICAR test file before it could even be placed somewhere on a disk. Most awesome!
Discovering vulnerabilities and solutions
As already mentioned earlier, BullGuard can also scan your entire computer for vulnerabilities. Initial tests show it is very good at it:
It immediately found lots of Adobe vulnerabilities and checked if there were other system updates present online.
The only drawback was that the recommended “download update’ did not work for Flash. This is not really a fault of BullGuard, but more a problem with how Adobe.com has set up its website.
After all the updates were installed, a second scan result showed no threats.
Extra: Firefox plugin
By default BullGuard also installs a plug-in for Mozilla Firefox to help with safe browsing. It protects you by blocking malicious sites while you browse. The plug-in can be disabled in Firefox, if you don't like it.
Let’s head to the next page to check out our conclusion for the BullGuard Internet Security AntiVirus, AntiSpyWare and Firewall functionality …..
Positive
- Flawless installation on Windows 7 Ultimate
- Small footprint in system
- Caught all variations of EICAR test file
- Scans for and finds vulnerabilities in other software
Negative
- Major problems when installing from Dropbox
- Reveals password by default at registration page
Conclusion
Important to notice in this hands-on review of BullGuard Internet Security is that only the AntiVirus, AntiSpyWare and Firewall functionalities of this product were tested.
To sum it up, this is what we would say for the BullGuard Internet Security AntiVirus, AntiSpyWare and Firewall functionalities:
BullGuard Internet Security is a comprehensive, impressive, set of tools to protect your computer.
Although it does not work rather well with Microsoft Windows XP, it does work quite well within Windows Vista and/or Windows 7. We believe it’s not targeted for the expert PC user who wants to control everything. We have to ask though, what antivirus product is?
BullGuard Internet Security does offer a complete total package, including offline backup, spam filter, next to all the antivirus software. It’s excellent for the beginner or PC user who just wants to be protected.
Price: € 59,99 per year, including 5GB backup, for 3 computers.
Want to test BullGuard Internet Security for yourself? Download the 60 day trial here for free.
