BitMedic vs Bitdefender: In-depth antivirus comparison

Reading time icon 10 min. read


Readers help support Windows Report. We may get a commission if you buy through our links. Tooltip Icon

Read our disclosure page to find out how can you help Windows Report sustain the editorial team Read more

Key notes

  • BitMedic and Bitdefender are some of the most popular antivirus solutions for Mac, but which one is better?
  • BitMedic is simple to use and it offers basic protection, so it’s perfect for less demanding users.
  • Bitdefender offers advanced security features, so it’s more suitable for advanced users.
  • If you’re looking for a reliable Mac antivirus, this guide will surely help you find the best choice for your Mac.
bitmedic vs bitdefender
ESET HOME comes with all the security tools that you may ever need to protect your data and privacy, including:
  • Anti-theft support
  • Banking-level encryption
  • Advanced digital threat protection

Your Mac is susceptible to malware and to ensure that you’re safe from online threats, it’s advised to use antivirus software.

Although Mac is generally safer than the Windows platform when it comes to malware, you can still get a severe infection, or get your personal information can get stolen if you’re not careful.

There are many great antivirus applications for Mac, but the two most popular ones are BitMedic and Bitdefender.

Each application has its pros and cons, and in today’s guide, we’re going to compare the two.

BEST ANTIVIRUS WE RECOMMEND

BitMedic vs Bitdefender, which one should you use?

A quick introduction

BitMedic: A simple antivirus software for Mac

BitMedic is antivirus software for macOS, designed to deal with all sorts of threats that you may encounter on your Mac computer.

The software has been optimized for over 3 years, and it currently protects over 2,000,000 users worldwide.

Bitdefender: A cybersecurity veteran

Bitdefender started in 2001, and as a security company, it develops antivirus software, endpoint protection, and IoT security.

The software is installed on 500 million systems worldwide, and it’s available for all major desktop and mobile platforms.

Feature comparison

BitMedic: Simple but powerful

BitMedic offers triple protection, and it will scan your PC for malware, but it can also remove adware and protect your privacy during browsing sessions.

The software supports two scanning types, and a quick scan will scan the most critical locations for malware infections. For more in-depth scanning, there’s a Deep Scan feature that will scan all files on your Mac.

BitMedic also has real-time scanning, so it will detect new malware immediately. It’s worth mentioning that the software offers high-performance thanks to the multi-thread support so it will perform virus scans quickly.

The software supports automatic updates, so you can rest assured that your Mac is perfectly safe at all times.

As you can see, BitMedic is simple antivirus software, and some would say that it offers only the most basic features.

Nevertheless, it’s still a decent antivirus software that will surely protect your Mac against most malware types.

Bitdefender: An antivirus powerhouse

The first thing that you’ll notice about Bitdefender is its sleek user interface. All features are sorted into categories, and you can access different categories from the left pane with ease.

The software comes with an Autopilot feature that will analyze your usage patterns and recommend security actions. Bitdefender offers two scan types, as well as a rescue environment that you can use to remove resilient malware.

The custom scan feature is available as well, and it allows you to choose which drives and directories you want to scan.

You can also configure this scan to scan your registry, memory, cookies, boot sectors, to ensure that you don’t miss any malware.

Just like with all other antivirus applications, scan scheduling is also available, and you can perform scans on a daily, monthly, or weekly basis.

Advanced Threat Defense is available as well, and it will scan applications for any suspicious behavior, thus blocking any zero-day attacks.

The software also has a useful Vulnerability scan that will analyze the security of your Wi-Fi network and inform you if your applications or system are out of date.

This feature will also check all your passwords, and ensure that they meet the security standards. Overall, Bitdefender offers great protection, and it should be able to block and remove any type of malware with ease.

Bitdefender also offers more security features, but we’ll analyze them in their section. For a quick overview, here’s a quick feature comparison chart between BitMedic and Bitdefender.

BitMedicBitdefender
Real-time protection
Adware removal
Browser privacy
Ransomware protection
Secure browsing and online purchasing
Anti-tracking features
Phishing protection

Phishing protection

BitMedic: No actual phishing protection

BitMedic doesn’t have phishing protection, but it does have a couple of features that should somewhat protect you from malicious websites.

The software has an Adware Cleaning feature, so it will detect and remove adware and harmful browsing extensions that may try to steal your personal data.

In addition, there’s a Browser Privacy feature that should secure your browser by removing private information that your browser is storing.

These features aren’t actual phishing protection, but they may provide you with an additional layer of online security.

Malwarebytes: Made for secure online browsing

Bitdefender comes with Online Threat Prevention feature built-in, and this feature can detect fraudulent and phishing websites with ease.

In addition, it will analyze search results and inform you about dangerous pages before you access them. The Web scan feature is also available, and it will make sure that websites are using legitimate certificates.

This feature will also scan all web pages, downloads, and emails for harmful content, and it can also block network exploits.

The software also has a built-in anti-tracking feature that will stop advertisers from collecting your browsing data. However, you need to install a Bitdefender browser add-on before you can use this feature.

With this feature, you can rest assured that your sensitive information won’t ever be stolen. There’s also a built-in Password Manager feature, so you can rest assured that all your passwords and sensitive information are safe from hackers.

If you tend to make online purchases frequently, you’ll be pleased to know that Bitdefender offers the Safepay feature, which is a web browser that runs in a secure environment.

The last feature that deserves a mention is a VPN feature, but this feature requires you to download and install the Bitdefender VPN client.

VPN client comes with a data cap in the free version, but it should provide you with enough bandwidth to make a quick and secure online purchase.

Overall, Bitdefender offers great phishing protection and if you want a secure browsing experience, then Bitdefender is a perfect choice.

Ransomware protection

BitMedic: No ransomware protection

While BitMedic is a solid tool for protection against malware, it doesn’t have ransomware protection available.

That doesn’t mean that the software won’t stop ransomware, but since it doesn’t have a dedicated ransomware protection feature, it probably won’t provide sufficient ransomware protection to its users.

Bitdefender: Full protection against ransomware

Bitdefender does offer a Ransomware Remediation feature, and with it, you can restore encrypted files with relative ease. With this feature, you can also automatically restore files that are encrypted by ransomware.

Of course, you can set a list of exceptions for applications, and allow certain applications to modify your files, even if they exhibit behavior that is similar to ransomware.

As you can see, Bitdefender offers basic protection against ransomware, and it should make your computer safe from most ransomware threats.

Get Bitdefender

Spyware removal

BitMedic doesn’t offer a spyware removal feature, but that doesn’t mean that the software is incapable of dealing with spyware.

Since there’s no malware removal feature, BitMedic probably won’t be as effective in removing spyware as specialized spyware removal software.

Bitdefender also doesn’t have a specialized feature for malware removal, but the developers claim that all versions can deal with spyware, so you can rest assured that Bitdefender will keep you safe from spyware as well.

Get BitMedic

Additional features

When it comes to additional features, BitMedic doesn’t offer any special features, and what you see is what you get. The software does its job well, but it doesn’t have any special features besides malware protection.

Bitdefender does have a couple of unique features up its sleeve, and it comes with several predefined profiles. The application will switch to a specific profile based on your activity, but you can also activate any profile manually.

Of course, each profile can be configured, so you can fine-tune any of the available profiles. Bitdefender also has a useful File Shredder feature allowing you to permanently delete files.

Files that are stored on your hard drive can be recovered, and this can be a problem, especially if you’re working with sensitive files, so the file shredder feature can come more than useful in such circumstances.

Security comparison

BitMedic: Basic protection that needs some improvement

According to the AV-Test results that were taken in March 2020, BitMedic had a detection rate of only 31%, which is a lot less compared to other antivirus applications.

As for false detections for legitimate software, BitMedic had two false detections, which isn’t too bad. In terms of false warnings, there were none when using BitMedic software.

While BitMedic had a low number of false detections, the low detection rate could be a security concern. Keep in mind that these tests were performed almost a year ago, and the software may have improved since then.

Known malware detection rate:False detentions:False warnings:
31%20

Bitdefender: Perfectly safe

Bitdefender AV-Test from March 2021 states that Bitdefender managed to detect 100% of all prevalent malware threats, which is what we expected from Bitdefender.

Regarding the false detections, there were zero false detections during the system scan, and zero false warnings while using legitimate software.

As you can see, Bitdefender Antivirus is more than capable of protecting your Mac, so it’s a great antivirus choice for your Mac.

Known malware detection rate:False detentions:False warnings:
100%00

Conclusion

BitMedic: Simple with much to be desired

BitMedic is simple to use, and it offers basic malware protection, but when it comes to the actual malware protection, the AV-Test results say otherwise.

While the software is simple to use, the number of features seems limited, and the software just doesn’t have what it takes to deal with modern threats.

Moreover, the software doesn’t have a dedicated ransomware protection feature, and the number of extra features is non-existent, which makes this antivirus software a less than optimal choice.

Pros
Simple user interface
Real-time protection
Adware removal
Browser protection
Two scan types
Cons
Threat detection needs improvement

Bitdefender: Reliable and powerful antivirus solution

Bitdefender offers a wide array of features, and it should be able to detect any malware threat. The application also has several tools for privacy protection, so you can rest assured that your data is safe.

With the online threat protection, ransomware protection, and advanced threat detection features, your Mac will be safe even from zero-day threats.

If you’re looking for a reliable antivirus, Bitdefender is one of the best choices that you can make for your Mac.

Pros
Easy to use
Real-time protection
Safe browsing
Phishing protection
Ransomware protection
Cons
No major complaints

How can I install Bitdefender on Mac?

  1. Sign in to your Bitdefender Central account. In case you don’t have it, you’ll have to create it.
  2. Now select My Devices and click on Install Bitdefender products on your devices.
  3. Select Security and pick This device.
  4. Once the Bitdefender file is downloaded, double-click it.
  5. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the process.
  6. Now go to Security & Privacy section and click the lock icon.
  7. Click the Allow button and select Bitdefender SRL.
  8. Go to the Privacy tab, and select Full Disk Access from the left pane.
  9. Check Bitdefender.SPSE and Antivirus for Mac.
  10. Slick on Quit & Reopen and restart your Mac.

Bitdefender requirements for Mac:

  • Operating System: macOS Yosemite or newer
  • Storage space: 1GB
  • Network: Active Internet connection

BitMedic has no monthly fees

No, BitMedic doesn’t have any monthly fees or hidden costs, and the software offers free lifetime updates and support to its users.

Many users don’t use antivirus on their Mac, because the platform is pretty safe, but that’s not the best practice, and we hope that this guide helped you pick the right choice for your Mac.

What is your antivirus software of choice for Mac? Do you even use an antivirus on the Mac platform? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

More about the topics: antivirus, mac os