Having more than an antivirus product installed on the same computer may lead to software conflicts and cause system errors, slow-downs crashes and other stability issues. Good news is, BitDefender launched a free security tool, called 60-Seconds Virus Scanner specifically created to work on top of an already installed antivirus. That being said, what harm could it do to pair up your “default” security solution with this fast, efficient and unobtrusive virus scanner?
Installation & Requirements
BitDefender 60-Seconds Virus Scanner setup only has two options: reading the end-user license agreement and choosing whether you want to send anonymous usage reports or not. The actual installation takes just a few seconds.
This lightweight virus scanner runs on Windows XP (SP2), Vista, 7 and 8, requiring a computer with at least 512 MB of RAM, 1 GHz processor, 50 MB free hard disk space, Internet Explorer 8 or newer and a working Internet connection.
Interface
BitDefender 60-Seconds Virus Scanner has a shiny, sleek gadget instead of an actual interface. Clicking on the magnifying glass will launch the scan process right away, which is indeed as fast as BitDefender promised. Besides scanning, the gadget has three other options.
The first one is viewing the last scan report that shows much more than found viruses (if any). The virus scanner analyzes all security aspects of your computer such as antivirus protection, antispyware, User Account Control and others. When any of these components are missing /disabled, the program will highlight them and offer a fix.
The second option is accessing the program’s settings. Here, you can set the scan frequency (daily, weekly or monthly) and enable/disable real-time scan of critical system areas, autostart with Windows, send anonymous usage data and automated update check. There are not many settings one can tweak, but too many options would defy the purpose of this small antivirus scanner.
Last, but not least, the third option is exiting the gadget, which would make the program run discretely in the system tray. From the system tray icon right-click menu you can choose to show/hide the gadget or exit the program.
Pros
– Very fast installation with no user settings required.
– The gadget is a simple interface that offers a quick way to start the scan process, a report with scan results and a basic settings window.
– Automated scanning and update check are provided.
– The program can be set to start at system boot automatically and run unobtrusively in the system tray.
Cons
– None worth mentioning
Conclusion
BitDefender 60-Seconds Virus Scanner was certainly not designed to offer complete antivirus protection, but as an extra layer of security it’s one of the best tools around. The application is free, unobtrusive and user-friendly. Moreover, its fast virus scanner might be not the most thorough but it is a good way to ensure your regular antivirus didn’t miss anything.
