Bullguard Antivirus Review - Good or bad?

[laurentio]

I have always believed that Bullguard is a decent developer. Until today when...but I won't tell you what happened. Just spend a few minutes, read the following online chat we had with one of their supervisors not long ago...See the screenshots too, which were taken as a proof, just in case Bullguard decides to deny the whole story.

Bullguard online chat (https://ba-twin1-1.bullguard.com/webchat/startchatanonymous.aspx?loc=support&language=en)



[Elmira]: Hello, welcome to BullGuard Live Support! How may I help you?
[liz]: hi there
[liz]: I have a problem with my AV
[liz]: I cannot scan my computer while it is offline and each time I type the username and the pass it won’t start
[Elmira]: I'm afraid that without an active internet connection, the login process cannot pe performed and therefore you do not have access to the BullGuard application
[liz]: what a joke
[liz]: and if the virus I have doesn't let me access the internet?
[liz]: how am I supposed to remove it??
[liz]: I was considering buying this bullguard..Thank God I didn't
[Elmira]: Is there anything else I can help you with?
[liz]: is this all you can say?
[liz]: what a joke.
[liz]: I have a username and a password
[liz]: I want to remove the virus that doesn't let me access the internet
[liz]: help me
[liz]: this is the problem I am asking you to help me with
[Elmira]: Please note that the Bullguard login window has a "login automatically" option. This option should be enabled while you have an internet connection, so that you are not asked for a username and password even when you go offline
[Elmira]: However, since this option has not been checkmarked, you will not be able to log in without an active internet connection
[liz]: this is a joke isn't it?
[liz]: honest now
[liz]: are you kidding me?
[Elmira]: No, this is not a joke.
[Elmira]: Please let me know whether liz****@googlemail.com is your valid e-mail address so that I can send you a diagnosis tool on the computer where the problem occurs
[liz]: yes
[liz]: that's the one
[liz]: presuming that I would have bought over 150 licenses for the whole business...the server side as well...wouldn't I be f...d without the possibility of scanning and removing the threats?
[liz]: having the whole business offline??
[liz]: this must be a joke
[Elmira]: Ok. The e-mail will be sent in a few moments. Once you receive the tool, please transfer it to the computer that has no internet connection, using a floppy or a flash drive
[Elmira]: Then run it as indicated in the e-mail
[liz]: how am I supposed to sort this problem out?
[liz]: elmira, I would like to talk to a supervisor or a manger as the situation is getting ridiculous
[Elmira]: The e-mail has been sent
[Elmira]: I am the supervisor of this shift.
[liz]: then let's find a solution please
[Elmira]: Please understand that without an active internet connection, BullGuard cannot authenticate your login details
[Elmira]: Without an authentication of the login details, access to the BullGuard application is not possible. I'm afraid this is how the software was designed
[Elmira]: For the time being, I have sent you a diagnosis tool which will provide us with more details regarding the malware that might reside in your system
[liz]: the software you've sent me. What is it supposed to do?
[Elmira]: Based on its results we will get back to you with a solution
[liz]: I still have not received it yet anyway
[Elmira]: The application is a diagnosis tool, as specified above. It offers details regarding startup entries, browser helper objects, running processes etc
[Elmira]: This will help us determine whether any malicious entries are present
[liz]: why don't you send it here? As I can see this window should let you send it here
[Elmira]: If you have not received the e-mail, please download the application from this link instead:
[Elmira]: http://www.bullguard.com/support/tech-guides/how-to-use-hijackthis.aspx
[Elmira]: Download the utility called HIJACKTHIS on your desktop.
- Transfer the file to the computer that has no access to the internet connection.
-Right click the zipped file and select the option EXTRACT HERE.
-A new file will appear called Hijackthis.exe.
-Double click the hijackthis.exe file and click on DO A SYSTEM SCAN AND SAVE LOG FILE.
- Transfer the log file to a computer that has an active internet connection.
-Send the resulted log file to support@bullguard.com for ****ysis.
[liz]: I cannot believe you are sending me
[liz]: to download and scan my pc with a tool developed by your competition
[liz]: trend micro
[liz]: Jesus...
[liz]: is this bullguard that bad as they have to rely on other vendors?
[Elmira]: The tool is a diagnosis tool, not an antivirus software. It is being used by all security support departments for diagnosis
[Elmira]: If you visit security forums you will notice that this tool is being used everywhere.
[liz]: yes. But it was developed by your competition! How can you make your customers use other vendor’s tools?
[liz]: what does that mean? That you are a bunch of incapable...
[Elmira]: If you are not satisfied with the Bullguard softare, please feel free to use another security product.
[Elmira]: Also, if you are unwilling to cooperate I'm afraid I am going to have to end this conversation
[liz]: be sure that I am going to use a different product and also let others know what this so called antivirus is good for....good bye.

[gordon brownish]

i really had a good laugh
how can they miss such an important feature and make such a big mistake like making the antivirus scan unavailable when you need it the most?

[annieblue]

Hi,
This is not funny at all. I live in Bicester and I have been recommended BullGuard Security Antivirus by a local "IT Engineer"
After reading your post (the one about the best antivirus software in 2008) I have suddenly started to see what you mean by resellers.
This guy is a reseller of BullGuard. Now it makes sense why he has obliged me to buy BullGuard. I have now realized that in fact he never had the intention of protecting my computer from viruses and online threats, all he did was to sell his product and make more money from his reseller account. I am utterly disgusted. I've just bought NOD32, removed Bullguard and installed NOD32. Guess what?! Nod32 has already found 2 trojans on my PC not to mention that the PC is much faster than before.
Thanks a lot for opening my eyes; I know where to ask from now on.
Annie Smith

[laurentio]

Hi Annieblue,

We know it is not funny and that's the reason we post them here. We fight back. We let them understand what we like and what we don't like hoping that it would help them make better products in future.

As a matter of fact I've just remember a few more things that I do not like at Bullguard:

When BullGuard finds malware, it first tries to disinfect the rogue files, then ‘turns up the heat’ to delete or quarantine those it can’t fix. It might be ok for a heavily infected system, but it’s overcomplicated for everyday use. And, annoyingly, you have to go through this process each time something’s found: You can’t change Bullguard's behaviour or set defaults in advance.

The firewall engine is stereotypic. I couldn't believe my eyes when it asked me if explorer.exe and iexplore.exe should be allowed to access the network. BullGuard default recommendation: not available’, it added, unhelpfully. If you don’t authorise a connection within 15 seconds it’s automatically denied, which is maddening if you’re away from your computer at the time. There’s no way to change this behaviour, either.

Overall, Bullguard covers the basics, but it’s far from versatile therefore I wouldn’t recommend it, at least not until they sort the above mentioned problems.