BitSecure Anti-Virus is a new antivirus system designed with performance in mind. Even with the full antivirus loaded the memory consumption is well below most competitors. Even though the software has brisk resource usage, the program does not skimp on the features. The real time or “on the fly†scanner contains over 14 real-time shields ranging from a http scanner to a registry modification scanner. The program also includes removable drive protection and even a full function settings restorer. The detection rates were way above average.
The installation of BitSecure Anti-Virus was very straight forward. The download was 70 megabytes in size. Even though this is on the larger side for antivirus suites, the installation was ridiculously fast. No restart or hefty definition download was necessary. After the installation, the interface quickly launched. Unfortunately, this is where BitSecure tends to lag behind other competitors. There are really are no pretty graphics but, the interface still manages to get the job done.
The scanning process of BitSecure is superior. The quickscan detected a myriad of threats on the test computer. It seems that BitSecure detects all forms of threats whether serious or semi suspicious. The program detected CommView and Hotspot shield. One thing that’s great about the program is that it detects every possible trace of a virus or malware. Most free antivirus simply detect the main components of viruses and leave many traces. However, BitSecure finds every possible trace. A quick scan took approximately 6 minutes to complete. One annoying thing is that the results are quite repetitive as every trace is printed out. An expanding tree list would have been useful. Also, the quick scan automatically cleans the detected threats. However, there is a quarantine to restore modified programs.
Resource usage is where BitSecure really shines. While idle, the program uses approximately 23 megabytes of RAM and limited CPU power. When scanning, the program adds about 40 megabytes to the idle usage and about 13 percent CPU power. Since, the interface is barebones, impact on normal system resource usage is really quite minimal. It was hard to notice any slow down on the test system.
BitSecure includes several other features. The USB drive protection system is pretty robust and can be customized for Autorun.inf, thumb drive, floppy drive, and write protection. There is also a system restorer that can re enable the Run, Registry Editor, and Folder Options if they have been disabled by a virus or Trojan.
