As every security aware Internet user knows that the Internet is full of malicious web sites. These sites include malware sites, phishing sites and many more types of attack sites. The only way to stay protected online is to scan all your web browsing traffic as you visit various sites. The BitDefender Browser Security is a free software which can scan the web traffic from all the web sites you visit and can block all the malicious content before it can harm your computer.
The BitDefender Browser Security is a small Windows based web content scanner that relies on a simple server program that intercepts all traffic originating from a browser or headed for one. So it can scan the web traffic (HTTP traffic) before it can reach your browser and thus you stay protected. Many antivirus software packages already have a component like this (for example, avast! Web Scanner). If you wish to use BitDefender Browser Security, then you should disable the other web scanner software first.
You can download the BitDefender Browser Security from http://labs.bitdefender.com/project/bitdefender-browser-security-beta-14.html. The download is just a boot-strapper and it downloads the actual setup file from the BitDefender servers.
During the setup you are asked if you want it to scan the HTTPS traffic too. The HTTPS is the secure web traffic and is used for exchanging sensitive information (like your passwords, financial information etc.) securely over the Internet. By checking this option you allow the BitDefender Browser Security to access all this sensitive information. You should choose carefully as this is a personal choice. In general, sites offering HTTPS connections are not malicious. When you select this option, you may get wrong SSL certificate errors in your browser.
After the installation is completed, BitDefender Browser Security opens up a browser window and starts updating its malware database. This may take a long time.
Because the BitDefender Browser Security scans all the HTTP traffic by tunneling it through a local server, it works for all the web browsers and you do not need to install any add-ons. When you accidentally hit upon a malicious site, it blocks the site from loading and shows a warning.
When you hover the mouse cursor near the location bar in your browser, you can see a BitDefender Browser Security toolbar. It auto-hides so you may have to try a few times. There are many tools and settings available on this bar. Here is a gist of all the settings and options available from this toolbar.
- Saf.li – URL shortening service from BitDefender. This service scans every URL for malware before redirecting.
- Ad-Block – Block ads on web sites.
- Link Scanner – Choose all the links on which web sites should be scanned for malicious content. You can add and remove domains. Facebook and Twitter are already added by default.
- Word Filter – Filter web sites based on words that appear on a web page.
- White/Black Listing – Choose which sites to always block or always allow.
Other than these, you can also block the current web site and switch off the BitDefender Browser Security from this settings toolbar.
BitDefender Browser Security is absolutely free and adds an extra layer of security to prevent you from malware, phishing and other kinds of attack web sites. This is very useful for protecting yourself online specially if your anti-virus package does not have an HTTP traffic (web traffic) scanner.