August 29, 2019. - The CyberWire

August 29, 2019. - The CyberWire


August 29, 2019. - The CyberWire

Posted: 29 Aug 2019 07:06 AM PDT

Cyber Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities

U.S. Cyberattack Hurt Iran's Ability to Target Oil Tankers, Officials Say (New York Times) The strike came on the same day that President Trump called off a retaliatory airstrike against Iran after it shot down an American drone.

American Cyber Command hamstrung Iran's paramilitary force (MIT Technology Review) American officials say that a US cyberattack against Iran that was launched earlier this summer has had a lingering impact on the Iranian military's ability to target oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, according to a new report in the New York Times.Iranians are reportedly still recovering targeted systems, networks, and data after the cyberattack which was launched in June at a peak in tensions between Iran and American allies.The players: The attack was launched by US Cyber Command.

Fancy Bear Dons Plain Clothes to Try to Defeat Machine Learning (Dark Reading) An analysis of a sample published by the US government shows Russian espionage group APT28, also known as Fancy Bear, has stripped down its initial infector in an attempt to defeat ML-based defenses.

Inside the APT28 DLL Backdoor Blitz (ThreatVector) This report is a follow-up to 'Flirting With IDA and APT28.' This time, researchers perform a deep dive on capabilities found in an APT28 sample that reveals a backdoor capability...

Botnet TrickBot Modifications Target U.S. Mobile Users (Secureworks) The long-running botnet TickBot added functionality to solicit PIN codes from mobile customers, which could allow threat actors to access victims' voice and text communications.

New TrickBot Variant Targets Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint Users (BleepingComputer) A new Trickbot Trojan variant was spotted while focusing on stealing PIN codes from Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, and Sprint users, marking a new step in this malware's development.

TrickBot, today's top trojan, adds feature to aid SIM swapping attacks (ZDNet) TrickBot trojan seen collecting credentials and PIN codes for Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless accounts.

Ransomware Trains Its Sights on Cloud Providers (Dark Reading) Ransomware writers are now targeting cloud service providers with network file encryption attacks as a way to hold hostage the maximum number of customers that they can, notes Chris Morales, head of security analytics for Vectra. He also discusses Vectra's new ransomware report, which offers tips for protecting against virtual hostage taking.

iovation Prepares for U.S. Online Gambling Fraud and Legal Complications With Rush to Onboard Players | Press Release (iovation) With American football season beginning and more states legalizing online gambling, TransUnion company anticipates challenges with bonus abuse, fraud, self-exclusion and underage gambling that it's seen in Europe for decades.

Magecart Shops for Victims as E-Commerce Market Grows (Dark Reading) In 2.5 hours of research, one security expert uncovered more than 80 actively compromised ecommerce websites.

Research Reveals eCommerce Retailers Experiencing Active Security Leaks Heading into Holiday Shopping Season (PR Newswire) Arxan Technologies, the trusted provider of application protection solutions, is calling on eCommerce retailers to...

Cisco UCS Vulnerabilities Allow Complete Takeover of Affected Systems (SecurityWeek) A researcher has disclosed details and created Metasploit modules for Cisco UCS vulnerabilities that can be exploited to take complete control of affected systems.

Video, reports of machines automatically changing votes in Mississippi GOP Governor runoff (USA TODAY) There have been at least three instances of voting machines changing a voter's selection to a different candidate in the state's runoff for governor.

Ransomware attacks on cities are rising (Techxplore) A ransomware campaign that targeted 23 US cities across Texas has raised serious concerns about the vulnerability of local governments and public services to cyber-attacks.

City approves $5M more for ongoing cyberattack remediation (Baltimore Business Journal) Members of the city's spending panel also voted to delay to purchase of cyber insurance for two weeks. Mayor Young said he hasn't "the slightest idea" why the city didn't already have this kind of insurance in place before.

BOE Delays Purchase Of Cyber Attack Insurance, Approves $6.2M To Pay For Agencies Affected By Attack (WJZ 3 CBS Baltimore) A vote will be scheduled in a couple of weeks, as more people in city government say they need to be briefed on it. 

Cyber attack affects Wolcott Public Schools (WFSB) A cyber attack hit Wolcott Public Schools causing the district's files and information to become encrypted before summer started.

Cyber criminals hacking remote-controlled medical devices could kill patients, conference hears (Fin24) Hackers could potentially kill patients wearing remote-controlled pacemakers or insulin pump devices, warns the executive officer of the SA Medical Technology Industry Association.

Security Patches, Mitigations, and Software Updates

Google patches high-severity Chrome browser engine security flaw (Computing) The flaw could enable attackers to carry out remote code-execution or denial-of-service attacks

Emergency iOS patch fixes jailbreaking flaw for second time (Naked Security) With iOS 13 nearing release, Apple users perhaps thought they were done with iOS 12 updates for good. If so, they were wrong.

Cisco critical-flaw warning: These two bugs in our data-center gear need patching now (ZDNet) Cisco is warning enterprise admins to install security updates for two critical flaws.

DLL Hijacking Flaw Patched in Check Point Endpoint Security (SecurityWeek) After disclosing DLL hijacking flaws in software from Bitdefender and Trend Micro, SafeBreach researchers reported finding a similar vulnerability in Check Point Endpoint Security.

Microsoft removes August patch block on Win7/2008R2 systems running Norton, Symantec AV (Computerworld) Symantec and Microsoft have come to an agreement about Symantec/Norton AV problems with the August Win7 and Server 2008 R2 patches. The block is gone, but questions remain. Nothing has changed, so why was it blocked in the first place?

Android 10 coming soon, with important privacy upgrades (Naked Security) It's semi-official: Android 10 (née Q), the next version of the Android operating system, could start shipping 3 September.

Cyber Trends

New Research from CriticalStart Finds that 8 out of 10 Security Analysts Report Annual Security Operation Center Turnover is Reaching 10% to More than 50% (CriticalStart) Data shows the number of alerts is up, longer times to investigate and high false-positive rates

Cost of data breaches to surpass $5 trillion in 2024 (Help Net Security) A new report from Juniper Research found that the cost of data breaches will rise from $3 trillion each year to over $5 trillion in 2024, an average

Business Losses to Cybercrime Data Breaches to Exceed $5 trillion by 2024 (BusinessWire) Juniper Research found that the cost of data breaches will rise from $3 trillion each year to over $5 trillion in 2024

The Future of Cybercrime & Security Research Report (Juniper Research) The Future of Cybercrime & Security research report examines the state of cybersecurity legislation, key player strategies and overall trends

The Extortion Economy: How Insurance Companies Are Fueling a Rise in Ransomware Attacks (ProPublica) Even when public agencies and companies hit by ransomware could recover their files on their own, insurers prefer to pay the ransom. Why? The attacks are good for business.

Apple co-founder joins calls to break up Big Tech — including Apple itself (Silicon Valley Business Journal) Wozniak acknowledged the idea that large tech companies tend to abuse monopolies.

1 in 4 employees would steal company information to secure their next job - Help Net Security (Help Net Security) Watch out for insider data theft. Nearly one in four security pros said they would take company information to help apply for a position at a competitor.

Black Hat 2019: Bounties, Breaches and Deepfakes, Oh My! (SecurityWeek) When Black Hat first began 22 years ago, it was intended to be a place where hackers and cybersecurity professionals alike could get together and share ideas or demonstrate vulnerabilities.

Marketplace

Elastic buys endpoint security firm Endgame for $234 million (ZDNet) Going forward, the plan is to combine Endgame's endpoint product with Elastic's search technology.

VMware COO Sanjay Poonen on the acquisition of Carbon Black and plans to transform security (SiliconANGLE) The acquisition of Carbon Black by VMware Inc., announced last week, did not come cheap. The price tag was $2.1 billion, but one of VMware's top executives feel strongly that the company got its money's worth in the deal.

Opinion | Dear Tech Workers, U.S. Service Members Need Your Help (New York Times) You have the power to help your fellow Americans survive on the battlefield and carry out military missions without harming civilians.

After blacklisting, U.S. receives 130-plus license requests to sell to Huawei: sources (Reuters) The U.S. Commerce Department has received more than 130 applications from compan...

New Huawei phones can't use Android, report says (CNET) Google has reportedly said the temporary licenses don't apply to new Huawei products.

Startup Foundry DataTribe Announces Second-Annual Cybersecurity Startup Challenge (PRWeb) DataTribe, a global cyber foundry that invests in and co-builds next-generation cybersecurity and data science companies with nation-state experienced technical

18 Cyber Security Startups to Watch in 2019 (eSecurity Planet) Here are 18 hot IT security startups addressing everything from IoT security and blockchain to artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Lockheed is Assisting with the Navy's Radiant Mercury Data Transfer Effort (SIGNAL Magazine) Lockheed Martin Corp. Rotary and Mission Systems, Littleton, Colorado, is awarded an estimated $44,308,222 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity hybrid contract with cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract line item numbers.

An Undeterred Facebook Plans A Bug Bounty in Association with HackerOne (Inside Bitcoins) Facebook in collaboration with Hackerone has announced a bug bounty program. Despite the growing regulatory concern about Libra, the social network seems unphased and undeterred by criticism. It is continuing to develop Libra.

Bricata and Atlantic Data Forensics Formalize Strategic Partnership (Bricata) Two Howard County, Maryland Cybersecurity Businesses Form Strategic Partnership

"5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became the CEO of vArmour", With Tim Eades (Thrive Global) Raising money: Always raise more than you think (by 25–30%) you will need and assume it will take a few months longer than you think to raise a certain round. When it comes to your funding, you always want to err on the side of caution and be as conservative in your predictions as possible […]

Exclusive Networks: Vanessa Delrieu Appointed Vice President of Finance and Operations North America (EIN News) Vanessa leads the financial management and operations aspects of Exclusive Networks North America's, encompassing operations, finance, accounting and budgeting.

Products, Services, and Solutions

Protecting Ever More Inboxes With a 99.99% Inbox Protection Rate in Q2 2019 (SendGrid) Learn about SendGrid's inbox protection rate and how it helps keep spam email out and wanted email in the inbox.

Introducing Instart Zero Trust Access (Instart) Instart announces its zero trust solution to provide the enterprise with an easier, yet more secure, solution for providing end users access to their applications.

Splunk Results Exporter Integration (Opsview) The Splunk Results Exporter is a toolkit for extracting, filtering, reformatting, and exporting events from Opsview Monitor's event bus.

ITS Partners With Radiflow to Add OT Cybersecurity Services for its Process Manufacturing Customers in the UK (PR Newswire) Radiflow, a leading provider of industrial cybersecurity solutions for industrial...

Combating TRISIS with the MITRE ATT&CK Framework (ThreatQuotient) MITRE ATT&CK dives deep into adversaries' actions so security analysts can use that information to their advantage. It is a huge step forward in creating a knowledgebase of adversaries and associated tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) so you can start your threat hunt at the actor level.

Coalfire Named as Launch Partner Under AWS Authority to Operate Program (ExecutiveBiz) Amazon Web Services has included Coalfire to its list of launch partners under the Authority to Operate program.

Siemens releases new hosting platform addressing cybersecurity challenges (Hydrocarbon Engineering) Siemens has announced the release of a new industrial application hosting platform aiming to address complex cybersecurity threats.

Technologies, Techniques, and Standards

Opinion: Why 5G will make cybersecurity so much more difficult (The Globe and Mail) There is little doubt that fifth generation networks are about to transform the world. Whether that transformation is for the better will depend on rethinking not only these networks, but also the methods we use to keep them safe, David Masson writes

Ready or Not, Here Comes FIDO: How to Prepare for Success (SecurityWeek) A phased rollout of FIDO-certified authenticators and FIDO-enabled applications, along with training for both users and help desk personnel, can help ensure a positive experience and transition

What the education industry must do to protect itself from cyber attacks (Help Net Security) Hackers are becoming more sophisticated in their attacks, and they are increasingly viewing schools and higher education institutions as easy targets.

Design and Innovation

Army wants a more secure dev environment for cyber tools (Fifth Domain) The Army is beginning to work with the Pentagon on Unified Platform.

Facebook updates political ad rules with eyes on '20 election (Seeking Alpha) Facebook (FB -1.1%) is continuing to get ready for the 2020 U.S. election with new rules for political advertising.

Updates to Ads About Social Issues, Elections or Politics in the US (Facebook Newsroom) We're sharing additional steps we're taking to protect elections and prepare for the US 2020 election.

Apple is turning Siri audio clip review off by default and bringing it in house (TechCrunch) The top line news is that Apple is making changes to the way that Siri audio review, or "grading," works across all of its devices. First, it is making audio review an explicitly opt-in process in an upcoming software update. This will be applicable for every current and future user of …

Apple to stop storing Siri recordings without permission after privacy backlash (The Telegraph) Apple will stop storing audio recordings of what users say to Siri unless they explicitly opt in, following a privacy backlash against the widespread practice of humans listening to users' voice clips without their knowledge.

Academia

Every Computer Science Degree Should Require a Course in Cybersecurity (Harvard Business Review) Just one of the top 24 U.S. undergraduate programs does.

New master's in computer information systems approved for Northwestern State (KALB) A Master's of Science in Computer Information Systems at Northwestern State University has been approved by the State Board of Regents.

Durham College announces new Certified Threat Intelligence Analyst training program (EC-Council Official Blog) Durham College (DC) is pleased to announce that its Hub for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence for Business Solutions (the AI Hub) and the School of Continuing Education will be delivering the first Canadian training session of the Certified Threat Intelligence Analyst (CTIA) course.

SMCC Cyber Security program earns national award (Press Herald) The program, which has had a steady increase in enrollment, and can lead to a variety of employment opportunities for graduates.

The UTSA Academy of Distinguished Researchers inducts three faculty members (UTSA Today) The UTSA Academy of Distinguished Researchers (ADR) has selected three senior faculty members for induction this calendar year.

Legislation, Policy, and Regulation

Australia Tries to Curb Foreign Interference at Universities (SecurityWeek) Australia has formed a task force that includes a cybersecurity working group to crack down on attempts by foreign governments to meddle in Australian universities.

Real China threat isn't trade. It's national security and intellectual property theft. (USA TODAY) Trump's trade war and tariffs are costly and misguided. His top priorities when it comes to China should be IP theft, security, North Korea and Iran.

Scrapped intelligence pact draws United States into deepening South Korea-Japan dispute (Reuters) South Korea's decision to scrap a military intelligence-sharing pact with J...

Trump's National Security Advisor to Visit Belarus (Foreign Policy) The highest-level trip this century will likely anger the Kremlin, even as the U.S. president tries to bring Russia back into the G-7.

DHS questions vulnerability disclosure program (Fedscoop) The Department of Homeland Security plans to collect information on security vulnerabilities in its information systems and wants to know if its methods are sound.

Agency Information Collection Activities: Vulnerability Discovery Program (Federal Register) The Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Chief Information Security Officer, will submit the following Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement

Avast, French Police Remove Retadup Malware From 850,000 PCs (SecurityWeek) Avast and French police have cleaned up 850,000 computers infected with Retadup malware after taking control of its C&C server.

Malware Operation Making Millions Defeated by Design Flaw (BleepingComputer) The reign of Retadup botnet over more than 850,000 systems has reached an end as its command and control server (C2) was taken down by security researchers from antivirus maker Avast working with the French National Gendarmerie.

Putting an end to Retadup: A malicious worm that infected hundreds of thousands (Avast Threat Labs) Retadup is a malicious worm affecting Windows machines throughout Latin America. Its objective is to achieve persistence on its victims' computers, to spread itself far and wide and to install additional malware payloads on infected machines. In the vast majority of cases, the installed payload is a piece of malware mining cryptocurrency on the malware …

Microsoft's lead EU data watchdog is looking into fresh Windows 10 privacy concerns (TechCrunch) The Dutch data protection agency has asked Microsoft's lead privacy regulator in Europe to investigate ongoing concerns it has attached to how Windows 10 gathers user data. Back in 2017 the privacy watchdog found Microsoft's platform to be in breach of local privacy laws on account of h…

Facebook Gets German Data Probe Into Voice Transcriptions (Bloomberg) Social network is facing intense regulatory scrutiny in Europe. Speech recognition forms new front for tech privacy probes.

Bitdefender vs McAfee Antivirus: Greenhorn Fights Veteran in 2019 - Cloudwards

Posted: 28 Aug 2019 12:29 AM PDT

There's plenty of good free antivirus software out there, but the best protection, features and support are available for those who pay. Finding the right antivirus software can be tricky, though, especially with big names, like Bitdefender and McAfee Antivirus, dominating the market.

To help you find the right protection, we're testing Bitdefender and McAfee to see which is the best antivirus software of the two. We're big fans of Bitdefender here at Cloudwards.net, but McAfee has been in the antivirus game for 30 years, so it's got a big reputation to keep. You'll have to read on, though, to see whether it performs as well as Bitdefender.

It'll be worth taking a look at both our Bitdefender review and McAfee Antivirus review, either before or after you read this Bitdefender vs. McAfee Antivirus comparison, to give you a clearer idea of the pros and cons of both software.

Setting Up a Fight: Bitdefender vs. McAfee Antivirus

To give both McAfee and Bitdefender a fair shot, we're testing both in five rounds. We'll start by looking at features and pricing, before evaluating how user-friendly both are to use, ending our comparison with a look at the quality of protection and customer support.

We'll round up each section by declaring a winner, which will earn a point. The first to three points or more will be declared the overall winner. In our final-thoughts section, we'll explain why we've come to that conclusion, too.

If you don't agree with anything we've mentioned, leave a comment at the end of the article to kick-start a debate.

cloudwards rating
$ per month

Defending your equipment from cybercrime is a full-time business for antivirus developers. If they're not investing in newer, better protection features, you're not getting the best value for your money.

Let's see how Bitdefender and McAfee compare when we look at the features both companies offer.

Bitdefender

Bitdefender's product structure might be a little strange (or redundant) at first glance, but poke a little deeper and you'll see that it offers more features than most. 

Protecting your equipment with "multi-layer ransomware protection" comes as standard, with additional features like file shredding, anti-phishing and privacy tracking protection offered to sweeten the deal.

Bitdefender-Features

You've also got access to network analysis tools, a network firewall, webcam and microphone blocking, and additional browser extensions to protect you.

Bitdefender takes things up a notch to help you stay safe on the web with Safepay, an isolated browser with a virtual keyboard to let you securely access your most private websites, like your bank or social media profiles.

Combine Safepay with Bitdefender VPN and you'll remain secure, even on open Wi-Fi networks. One minor downside is the 200MB per day data cap, a limit you might see in some of the best free VPN services, rather than a premium product. You'd be better off combining Bitdefender with a service like ExpressVPN, instead (see our ExpressVPN review).

Privacy features take front and center stage with a password manager extending Safepay's usability, although you're free to use it with other browsers. It's a limited offering, and it won't compete with a full-blown password manager, like Dashlane, as you'll see from our Dashlane review.

File encryption tools, as well as vulnerability scanner, attempt to build extra protection. There are also anti-theft and speed optimization tools available on the most expensive Bitdefender plans.

McAfee Antivirus

McAfee's focus is in the name of its main security suite, Total Protection. It offers malware and spam protection, taking advantage of McAfee's "cloud-based threat analysis" to keep up to date with the latest threats.

Like Bitdefender, however, there's a clear sign that McAfee is trying to be an all-rounder, with features outside its malware protection. Standard across all McAfee packages are network security tools, including a network firewall and manager.

There's also file shredding, browser extensions and a vulnerability scanner included to help nudge you into better cybersecurity methods.

Mobile and Mac support is available as standard, with anti-theft and remote location and wiping tools for your mobile devices. McAfee also includes tools to help you perform remote camera snaps to catch thieves, although this is limited to Android.

Premium features do exist on McAfee products, though. You'll have to pay a little extra for an email anti-spam blocker, as well as parental controls to lock down devices for younger web users. 

McAfee subscribers on Internet Security, Total Security and LiveSafe packages also get a free subscription to True Key, McAfee's password management tool. It's better than Bitdefender's password manager, and it has an interface that LastPass users will find familiar (see our LastPass review).

Round One Thoughts

McAfee is following the market by offering a wider set of features designed to make it the main security suite you'll need. However, Bitdefender matches its offerings and offers more as standard.

If affordability is important to you — and it is for us — then you should consider the price of your antivirus before you commit to a one-, two- or three-year plan. 

Let's take a closer look at how affordable (or not) both Bitdefender and McAfee are by comparing their price plans.

Bitdefender

Bitdefender offers four main plans. Costs depend on the number of devices you're looking to protect, as well as the length of the plan, up to three years in total.

Antivirus Plus
  • One to 10 devices, Ransomware protection & restoration, PC only
Internet Security
  • One to 10 devices, Parental control, Network threat prevention, PC only
Total Security
  • Five to 10 devices, Improved parental control, Multi-device, Performance optimization

New customers are able to take advantage of large discounts on three-device plans, at around 50 percent. In some cases, these discounts make it cheaper for you to take out a three-device plan than a single-device plan.

Bitdefender features are spread pretty equally, but the cheapest plan offered, Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, lacks some of the extras, like webcam and microphone protection, file encryption or parental controls. It's also limited to Windows, as is their next plan, Bitdefender Internet Security. 

It's a shame that its cheaper packages are Windows only, especially as Bitdefender makes our best antivirus for Mac shortlist.

Both Antivirus Plus and Internet Security offer coverage for one to 10 devices for one to three years. If you need to take advantage of the best antivirus for Android, you'll need to pay around $5 more for Bitdefender Total Security.

This has everything you'd see in the other plans, in addition to anti-theft protection, with coverage for five or 10 devices. 

If coverage for 10 devices isn't enough, you can take out the Bitdefender Family Pack. This comes with 15 devices and costs around $20 per year extra compared to a Total Security subscription.

McAfee Antivirus

Of the 30+ products that McAfee sells, only five are identifiably related to antivirus production, and not all of them are strongly advertised on the McAfee website.

At the bottom of the pile, hidden away from view on the McAfee website, is McAfee Antivirus. It's limited to a single PC on Windows and comes with a $5 discount for new customers, retailing at $34.99.

If you're looking for mobile and Mac support, Antivirus Plus is the next product up. It offers coverage for 10 devices at around twice the price, but still with a $5 discount.

The main product in the McAfee lineup, however, is Total Protection with coverage for one, five and 10 devices. Thanks to the discounts, Total Protection is only $5 more expensive than McAfee Antivirus for a single year.

For your money, you get everything that McAfee offers with Antivirus and Antivirus Plus, while also gaining parental controls and anti-spam features. You also get a five-device license for True Key password manager, as well as ID theft protection.

Rather less value for your money is McAfee Internet Security, which is double the price of the discounted Total Protection, costing $84.99 per year. This is placed just below Total Protection in the pyramid of McAfee Antivirus products, with only a single True Key license and no access to McAfee File Lock, the encrypted vault protection for your files. 

At the top is McAfee LifeSafe, which offers unlimited device coverage for $104.99 per year. It comes with all the Total Protection features, while adding cloud storage. 

Round Two Thoughts

McAfee clearly intends to push its customers into its more expensive plans, as it hides away many of the cheaper packages. Price plans for McAfee and Bitdefender are largely similar, but Bitdefender offers more generous discounts for new customers, making Bitdefender the winner here.

User Friendliness

Customers expect antivirus software to be as easy to use as possible, especially for beginners. That's why we're going to look at how user-friendly both Bitdefender and McAfee are, from installation to general usage.

Bitdefender

Bitdefender makes installation a simple and easy process. Within a few minutes, installation is complete, requiring very little user interaction. A reboot later and you'll be presented with the main client.

The Bitdefender client is based around a few key sections, but the first area you'll see is the dashboard. This is where you can find and easily access common functions, like quick scanning your PC or activating Bitdefender Safepay. 

You can customize this area to suit your own needs, but the default actions are likely to be the ones you'll want easy access to. Bitdefender likes to offer you helpful tips, like recommendations for switching to its VPN or to warn you about open Wi-Fi networks.

However, you can mute these in the settings area, which you can find in the left-hand menu. It's also where you'll find the bulk of your other options, listed under "protection," "privacy" and "utilities." Everything is laid out in a clear and consistent manner, with helpful tips offered where necessary.

If you need to customize Bitdefender, you can, thanks to individual profiles, which can help you mute your notifications during working hours, for instance.

There aren't many antivirus software that can match the simplicity of the Bitdefender client (our Avira review points out one of the few that can). With features laid out clearly and settings easily explained, it's a client that even a PC novice could navigate.

McAfee Antivirus

Downloading McAfee is a simple process, but installing it is another matter. Installing it on our test machine proved to be very slow, taking 20 to 30 minutes from start to finish.

It seemingly stalled at the very end of the installation process for quite some time before eventually completing, requiring a restart along the way. This may well have been an isolated incident during our test, but it's not a great way to start. 

Once you're up and running, the McAfee client is simple to look at, but navigating around it can be a little confusing.

At the top, you'll see sections for security, identity, privacy and your own account area. Simple enough, and to begin a typical virus scan, you just head to "PC security" to start things off.

Finding many of the features and settings you'll want, however, will require you to click the settings gear icon in the top-right area of the client. This isn't the most obvious place to find the bulk of your features, which you'd expect in the main "home" dashboard area. 

Certain elements, like your password manager, are independent of the main client. You'll need to access these separately. 

You'll also find that browser extensions are automatically installed, which you'll spot the next time you conduct a Google search. This can be irritating, as we found in our last review, but you're free to opt out by removing the extensions.

Round Three Thoughts

McAfee is simple enough to use, but a slow installation and the client's poor layout lets it down. In contrast, Bitdefender is simple, easy and quick to navigate around and install, making it an easy winner here.

Protection

Big brands like Bitdefender and McAfee exist because of their reputation, which was built over many years by offering quality antivirus protection.

To make sure both Bitdefender and McAfee are at the top of their game, we're analysing the lab reports from three independent security firms to see how well they performed in real-world testing.

Bitdefender

AV-TEST usually gives high scoring for Bitdefender, but there was a slight drop in its overall protection scores during their May-June 2019 tests, which show that 100 percent of threats were blocked in May, but only 98.8 percent in June. This meant that, overall, Bitdefender's protection scoring dropped to 5.5 out of 6.

Likewise, Bitdefender saw a slight drop in overall percentage scoring for performance, but was able to keep its 6 out of 6 score. Over at AV Comparatives, Bitdefender scored very highly, with a 99.9-percent rate of success for protection: only one miss with 751 successes.

This, as well as high performance scores in April 2019 testing, meant that Bitdefender received the Advanced+ award — the highest award that AV Comparatives offers — for both protection and performance.

From our final lab, MRG-Effitas conducted a full-spectrum test in Q1 2019. Bitdefender did well, receiving their level 1 "certified" recommendation, with an overall 100-percent success rating with 339 samples.

This level 1 "certified" award put it in the same league as other big players, like Trend Micro Antivirus+ (see our Trend Micro Antivirus+ review).

McAfee Antivirus

McAfee had a lower score from AV-TEST than Bitdefender in their May-June 2019 test, scoring 5 out of 6. May saw a 99.3-percent success rate, while June saw 97 percent. Performance scores were better, though, matching Bitdefender's 6 out of 6.

In AV-Comparatives' real world protection testing from February-May 2019, with a sample size of 752, McAfee did slightly poorer than Bitdefender. It blocked 746 samples, but missed six, with an overall success rate of 99.2 percent, matching Avast's score (see our Avast Pro review).

Finally, in MRG-Effitas' full-spectrum testing in Q1 2019, McAfee was unable to meet the requirements to be certified with the same level 1 award as Bitdefender. 

It's scores were the worst out of all 11 antivirus software tested. With 339 samples used, 0.88 percent were missed entirely, even after 24 hours, and a further 2.65 percent required another attempt within 24 hours to be detected.

Round Four Thoughts

McAfee has a big name and reputation, but the scores reflect missed opportunities, with malware samples compromising the tests from each lab. Bitdefender did better, with typically high scores and only a few minor drops. It's an easy win for Bitdefender here.

Great customer support is fundamental to any successful business, and antivirus providers are no different. We'll look at the support that McAfee and Bitdefender offer to customers in this final round.

Bitdefender

Customer support from Bitdefender is spread across multiple methods. If you like to talk through a problem on the phone, you can speak to the company using one of 16 support lines across the globe.

You can also contact Bitdefender through live chat or by using the email ticketing system, with support offered 24/7. You could also resolve minor problems by taking a look at the knowledgebase and FAQ that Bitdefender offers. 

This has how-to guides and video instructions for customers to work through. Users can also take advantage of the community forum, where English and non-English users can ask questions and talk through issues with other users and support staff.

McAfee Antivirus

McAfee offers similar processes for customer support. Local phone support lines exist in dozens of countries, although some revert to larger call centers (like Afghanistan, which has a +1 dialing code number for the U.S.).

Live chat support is also available, but if you're facing technical problems, you can use the troubleshooting tool available on the McAfee website to attempt to automatically correct any technical issues.

Failing that, there's a text-heavy knowledgebase with guides to follow through. Navigating it can be a little difficult, but there is a search option available. If you're struggling, you can speak to the AI chatbot for guidance.

There's also a live chat support system, available 24/7. You don't have to wait long — only a few minutes in our tests — to speak to a support agent. Like Bitdefender, McAfee also offers a community forum to work through issues with other users and support staff.

As a last resort, you can also pay extra for McAfee TechMaster. This is a remote support service, where McAfee staff can install and resolve issues on your PC for you — for an extra fee.

Round Five Thoughts

As you'd expect from big brands, Bitdefender and McAfee offer every avenue of support service you could imagine. McAfee offers a little extra, however, with additional remote support, an AI chatbot and troubleshooting software to resolve common issues for you.

Final Thoughts

McAfee has a big name and reputation, but the scores we've seen show that the protection you receive doesn't live up to it. Bitdefender, in contrast, lives up to our recommendations, hitting near-perfect scores in lab tests.

McAfee has a lot of support options for customers, but Bitdefender beat it in every other round. Even on price, you'll find that Bitdefender offers a better value for your money, with more features and a simpler client to use and larger discounts for new customers.

Winner: Bitdefender

We're still giving Bitdefender our thumbs up as our top antivirus choice, but take a look at some additional antivirus articles to compare it to other big brands, like AVG.

Are you a McAfee fan, or do you prefer to use Bitdefender? Let us know which one you believe is best in our comments section below. Thanks again for reading.

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