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BullGuard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

BullGuard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

by / February 15, 2022/ Brand Review, BullGuard Review/

BullGuard Antivirus Review: Quick Expert Summary

BullGuard has advanced anti-malware security, some useful extra features, as well as a game booster that boosts gaming performance.

BullGuard is a leading anti-malware scanner. It utilizes a database of malware and dynamic machine-learning to block both zero-day and known threats.

BullGuard offers a variety of security features that include:

  • Network scanner & Firewall.
  • Game booster & PC tune-up.
  • Parental control.
  • Secure Browser.
  • ID protection for the United States, Canada, and Western Europe.
  • VPN is a virtual private network that can be purchased separately.

BullGuard’s most popular feature is the Game Booster, which increases CPU performance while playing GPU-intensive games. BullGuard has made it much easier to play GPU-intensive games than before. The game booster is also available on all BullGuard plans.

BullGuard identity theft protection is something that I really enjoy. It uses Experian’s international monitoring database to monitor a wide array of personally identifiable information (PII), including credit card numbers, home addresses, email addresses, driver’s licence numbers, and email addresses.

However I don’t love all of BullGuards’ features — parental controls could use some improvement, and the VPN isn’t good enough for me to justify a separate buy. It is also difficult to navigate the user interface (UI), with many settings hidden under drop-down menus and windows. BullGuard does not offer an iOS app. I also don’t like the macOS app of BullGuard (it only offers a virus scanner), but I do not find it to be very user-friendly. You can find the best Mac and iOS antiviruses here.

BullGuard, despite these limitations, provides outstanding protection against malware, trojan sites and network attacks. Additionally, it offers helpful performance-enhancing features. BullGuard’s plans have a reasonable cost and come with a 30-day no-risk money-back guarantee.

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

BullGuard Full Review

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

BullGuard is a Windows anti-virus that has all the features I’m looking for in 2022.

BullGuard’s features can be a significant boost to your cybersecurity protections. They are intuitively designed and extremely useful. BullGuard plans are affordable and offer premium protection for less money than other providers.

BullGuard’s Mac App lacks many of those extra features that make the Windows app so amazing. That is my biggest complaint. BullGuard should offer an iOS version of its app. BullGuard is a great choice for protecting your Android and Windows phones.

BullGuard Security Features

Virus Scanner

BullGuard’s virus scanner is the best on the market. It employs advanced machine learning to detect all types and uses a large malware database. The malware database matches user files with a large number of known malware. The machine-learning engine analyzes file behavior in order to detect zero day threats as well rootkits, which can fool traditional malware scanners.

BullGuard has 3 scan options

  • Quick Scan. It scans all areas of the system that are susceptible to viruses, including temporary files, running programs, and registry.
  • Full Scan Scans the entire disk.
  • Scans can be customized. Scans a single folder or file, or any particular disk location.

To test, I downloaded a large archive of 997 malware samples, which included viruses, trojans worms ransomware and spyware to my PC. It also contained keyloggers rootkits, rootkits, cryptojackers, trojans, worms and keyloggers. These samples were saved to different places on my computer, and I changed their file names. Some of the malware files were compressed into a ZIP folder.

After that, I ran BullGuard Quick Scan. The scan took less time than any other antivirus (Bitdefender took about 5 minutes to complete).

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

BullGuard suggested that I run a Full Scan to confirm the detection of malware on my system. The Full Scan took 45 minutes. It detected all malware files found on my computer, including ransomware files and zipped malware.

However, I experienced a significant CPU drain while running both BullGuard’s scans. I even had to restart the computer after it crashed during one of the scans. Cloud-based scanners like Bitdefender didn’t take up much CPU power in my testing. This allowed me to continue using my devices during full disk checks.

BullGuard was able to schedule scans in a way that didn’t affect my system’s performance. BullGuard performed a Full Scan twice a day at 3:00 in the morning, when I was not using my computer.

BullGuard is an excellent malware scanner. It detected malware nearly as quickly and effectively than top-ranked scanners. I did not find the scan speed to be as quick or as effective as my competitors. However, BullGuard has 100% of my trust and I will continue to use it until 2022 to protect computers from any type of malware.

Real-Time Protection

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

BullGuard’s real-time protection works really well. It offers excellent anti-malware security and runs in background with virtually no downtime. BullGuard’s real-time protection actively monitors downloadings and web activity. It scans every file you open before opening it. Additionally, it monitors running processes in order to prevent any new malware files being downloaded or opened.

I tried to download 997 malicious files to check the real-time protection. BullGuard’s actual-time protection detected all 997 Malware sampl files, blocking them from downloading and flagging their activity before they could inflict any damage on my computer.

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

Advanced users can adjust BullGuard’s “security level” in the antivirus settings. However, I do not recommend changing the real-time protection settings. In my testing however, I found that raising the security level resulted in an annoying number of false positives while lowering it allowed some sketchy files to get through.

Overall, I was very impressed with BullGuard’s real-time protection. It prevented me from downloading any malicious malware files, and stopped my computer opening these suspicious malware files before they could do any damage to my computer.

Firewall

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

BullGuard firewall is silently running in the background. It monitors both inbound and output traffic and provides protection against various threats including exploits. Man-in-the -middle attacks. Backdoor intrusions. Rootkits. The firewall is always in operation. You don’t have to change anything or open it.

BullGuard firewall detected every network intrusion that I attempted to run through in my testing. It also caught the ones that got through Windows 10’s default firewall.

Although the default firewall settings will be sufficient for most users, BullGuard has customization options that can be used by more advanced users. You can access the BullGuard dashboard by clicking on the drop-down menu. It contains 4 security options.

  • Set Rules. Tells BullGuard what programs can access internet.
  • Logs. Logs all traffic to and from your network.
  • Network Activity. Displays the IP addresses of your network.
  • Settings. This allows you to block specific hosts and choose which notifications are to be received.

BullGuard’s Logs function and Network Activity function record all activity on your network. This makes it easy for tech-savvy users, such as you, to look into and diagnose any potential issues. BullGuard firewall will run for most users. When Bullguard sends security alerts, the user can just allow it to work and select either “Allow” (or “Block”) when they are available.

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

BullGuard’s firewall provides excellent protection. I was able to block every network intrusion. The interface is simple for most users. Advanced users can also customize it.

Network Scanner

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

BullGuardnetwork scannerlists every device connected to Wi Fi networks and evaluates them for security concerns.

BullGuard’s network scanner is able to tell you if you have open ports, which can be exploited or not by hackers, and if you are unable to password-protect them. It can also inform you if the network that you’re connecting to is insecure. It can perform real-time monitoring as well as on-demand scans.

A notification is sent by the network scanner whenever a new device logs onto you network. This can be useful, especially if your Wi-Fi is being hijacked by others.

BullGuard showed me a list with all my devices and information about their security settings. You can also compare reports to see if there have been any changes in the scans.

A network scanner is a handy feature that analyzes and alerts users to potential vulnerabilities in their Wi Fi networks. It provides an additional layer of protection for Wi-Fi users.

PC Tune-Up

BullGuard’s PC tune-up provides 4 different performance-enhancing options.These are:

  • Optimize. Labels and erases unwanted background processes and PUPs.
  • Cleanup helper. Cleanup tool that indexes junk and provides graphic information about your computer.
  • Boot manager. Displays all apps that are running automatically upon startup and their load times so you can optimize the boot sequence.
  • Duplicate files. Quickly scan all drives for duplicates.

BullGuard’s system cleaner tools were very useful. The Cleanup Helper was quick to scan my 3TB hard drives and removed 1.5 GB of unnecessary data and bloatware.

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

Overall, the PC tune up is a useful feature that can free up gigabytes of space and speed up your system.

Parental Controls

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

BullGuard There are a lot parental controls out there, but only a handful of them really work.

BullGuard offers four main features to protect desktop users.

  • Filters. Filters online content and blocks certain types of sites
  • Access. Limits device usage to certain hours of the day or week
  • Applications. Certain apps can be blocked by locking them behind a password.
  • Privacy. Protects data and keywords from being sent to browsers.

BullGuard blocks a variety of websites with options from pornography or pirated programs. Unfortunately, BullGuard is inconsistent with its filtering. It blocked almost all pornographic websites, but it also blocked access sites with kid-friendly content, like Kotaku, which is a popular pop culture and gaming site. BullGuard did not block some pornographic content in Google Images.

I was able, however, to add unsafe sites to a blocked site list and to whitelist sites that BullGuard did not need to block.

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

Access allows you to restrict device usage, internet access, and/or both. I found the feature simple and easy to use. But I would like to be able time limits on certain applications. Norton 360’s parental control features allow me to do this.

Privacy filters prevent children from entering credit card and phone numbers online. Unfortunately, the Privacy filter did not work as I expected. It allowed me to enter my credit card details into Amazon and Gmail.

BullGuard offers parental controls for Android users. These can be managed through BullGuard’s online dashboard.

  • To start an anti-virus scan, send a message to the phone.
  • Track the location of the phone.
  • Send commands to locate or wipe the phone.
  • View photos and monitor installed apps on your child’s smartphone.

I found parental controls on mobile too limited. You can check which apps are installed on your child’s phone, as well as see what photos they have saved. But there is no way for your kids to uninstall or prevent them from accessing the apps. Bitdefender and other parental controls for mobile users have the same functionality, as their PC counterparts. They also block certain websites or apps.

BullGuard parental controls are basic and provide functionality for users that do not require any additional restrictions. You have better options, like Kaspersky and McAfee. BullGuard’s parental control options are still a good option for users who want to increase their child’s online safety.

Secure Browser

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

BullGuard secure browser checks to make sure that websites you visit are using trusted domains and have valid security certificates. When you log in to sites such as Amazon, the secure browser stops hijackers stealing your credit card details or passwords.

I found that the secure browser blocked known phishing sites as well as sites known for hosting malicious scripts and files. It doesn’t support extensions, and it loads slower than Chrome. If you want a more secure browser than BullGuard’s, you can see our list.

BullGuard’s secure Web browser is overall a good browser for security, but it’s not recommended for everyday use.

Identity Protection

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

BullGuard’s ID protection scans forums, dark web, credit bureaus and breach databases looking for an incredible variety of personally identifying information. This feature only works for US, Canada, and a few European countries. Still, it is better than Norton, TotalAV, or TotalAV, which provide ID theft protection only to US users.

Here are the types PII BullGuard monitors

  • Email.
  • Phone.
  • Credit/debit cards.
  • Driving licence
  • Passport.
  • Store/membership cards.
  • National IDs
  • International bank accounts

Dark web monitoring services are limited to checking email addresses against haveibeenpwned.com’s public database of breached information. Experian, an international credit company, is BullGuard’s identity steal tool.

BullGuard ID protection does not come with Premium Protection. It is however a very good value. Experian IdentityWorks costs more than BullGuard Premium, and doesn’t offer any of BullGuards other security features.

BullGuard VPN (Separate Purchase)

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

BullGuards VPN is fast and secure. It also works with Netflix, as well as other streaming services. But it’s not available for purchase. It comes with all of the security features I expect to find in premium VPNs in 2022. This includes 256-bit AES encryption and no-logs policy. There is also a kill switch which will cut off your internet connection if it drops.

BullGuard VPN also has servers available in 16 countries. Antivirus VPNs like Norton Secure VPN are available in more than 30 countries around the world, while standalone VPNs like ExpressVPN can be found in 90+ countries.

BullGuard VPN offers very fast speeds. I was able access the internet and stream video content when I was connected with local servers. There was no slowdown or lags. However, there was a noticeable drop in speed when I was connected distantly. This is to be expected. I was also able to view video with minor buffering.

Here are the results of my speed testing without a VPN.

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

Here are the results for my speed tests, when connected to local servers:

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

Here are the results for my speed tests while connected to a remote server:

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

As you can clearly see from the above pictures, my internet speed was virtually unaffected by being connected to a local host. My download speed rose on the remote server, which was Australia. But my ping was much higher while streaming or browsing. Pages and videos took about 15-20 seconds to load.

BullGuard also makes it easy to access streaming services like Netflix.

BullGuard VPN is available separately from BullGuard antivirus packages at a comparable price to standalone VPN competitors. This is disappointing since many other antiviruses, such as TotalAV and Norton, offer VPNs in their internet security plans.

BullGuard VPN is overall one of my top antivirus VPNs. But it’s difficult to justify paying for it when you have a standalone VPN that has more servers and offers more features at a comparable price.

Additional Features

BullGuard has a few other features, including:

  • Vulnerability scanner. You can identify weaknesses on your computer like pending Windows upgrades and unsigned driver.
  • Cloud backup. This allows you to save documents, photos, music and other files to Google Drive. DropBox. OneDrive.

BullGuard’s vulnerability scanner is very useful. Unpatched weaknesses are one of the major vectors of malware infiltration, so it’s always a good idea have another layer to protect your software.

The cloud backup tool relies on users already being enrolled in a cloud-backup service. BullGuard does not need this subscription. Each cloud backup service offers its own user-friendly app.

BullGuard Ease of Use and Setup

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

BullGuard does not have the most appealing user interface. It packs many features into a small area and hides some of the important settings behind multiple dropdown menus.

Scheduling scans, as an example, can be much more complicated than it needs to.

Here’s how I scheduled a scan. First, select the Antivirus tab and click “Settings.”

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

After that, in the antivirus settings I had to go into Advanced Tab and click on Manage Profiles.

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

I was then taken into another window which allowed me to personalize and schedule scans.

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

The interface isn’t intuitive as you can see. The software was simple to use once I had figured everything out. BullGuard’s interface is clunky and confusing, especially when Kaspersky and Norton offer so much more user-friendly software.

BullGuard installation is very simple. It takes just a few mouse clicks to install BullGuard. Once you have created an account, it updates the virus definitions automatically so you can immediately start a scan.

BullGuard Mobile App

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

BullGuard Android Security premium includes an excellent Android security application. Premium protection also includes Internet Security.

Unfortunately, iOS does not have an app. However, we do recommend our list of top internet security apps for iOS.

BullGuard’s Android app has many useful features.

  • Mobile malware scanner.
  • Anti-theft protection. Can be used to lock, wipe or locate your phone and set off an alarm for it to go off if it is lost, stolen, or damaged.
  • Parental controls. This includes location tracking and call monitoring.
  • Cloud backup. Backs messages, calendars, contacts to an encrypted Server.

I tested the Android app using my Huawei P30 Lite. The antivirus scanner performed well and caught all the malware I tested against. The mobile app is easier than the desktop version. The design is great and I had no trouble finding the features.

Furthermore, the mobile app offers excellent anti-theft capabilities that can be linked with BullGuard’s mobile security manager (BullGuard’s online dashboard).

I gave permission for the anti theft tools to locate and wipe me device. After these settings had been enabled, I navigated to BullGuard’s online dashboard.

BullGuard found my phone and pinpointed my exact location. It was incredible!

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

But I couldn’t find how to lock my device via the web application. This feature is only available to older Android models (versions 6.x – 4.x), which is unfortunate, given that Bitdefender and others allow you to remotely lock devices.

BullGuard’s mobile app is excellent overall. BullGuard worked great in my tests. The theft protections as well as the antivirus scanner were both excellent. My Android was also fast and responsive all the time that BullGuard was on.

BullGuard Customer Support

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

BullGuard offers several customer support options.

  • 24/7 Live Chat
  • Email support.
  • Prioritized help.
  • Blog.
  • Forum.
  • Guides for product.
  • Product release notes.

BullGuard has excellent live chat (available in English as well as Danish, Dutch and French), which is also available in German, French, German and Romanian. I tried the English customer support and connected in under one minute with a representative. This is really remarkable.

Bullguard Antivirus Review 2022: What Makes This Antivirus So Special?

I had a conversation with the live chat operator and tested the email support (available only in Chinese + the languages above). Unfortunately, my email received by email support took four days to respond. BullGuard’s live chat support is very prompt. I don’t believe there’s any reason to use BullGuard email support.

BullGuard’s priority help feature, which is especially useful for users who are less familiar with the software, is an amazing tool. BullGuard’s team of experts can remotely scan and identify vulnerabilities on your Android or PC. They can also remotely setup BullGuard for Android and PC, and tune-up devices.

I called to schedule an appointment, and was able get live help within an hour. The agent took control over my computer and ran an extensive malware scan. This caught the test files that were hidden within my system. Users who aren’t confident running antivirus software will appreciate the extra cost. However, it costs an additional $3 per month.

You can also use the forums to ask simple questions and get help. I posted a BullGuard problem on the forum and expected another BullGuard user will help me. But instead, I got a reply from an agent of BullGuard customer service within less than an hour.

I was impressed by BullGuard customer support. They have live chat that is quick and efficient, they have forums with detailed information and support for official issues, and the prioritized help tool is a wonderful resource for people who are not tech-savvy.

Is BullGuard One of the Best Antiviruses in 2022?

BullGuard features a powerful antimalware scanner, and the best gaming mode available.

BullGuard’s machine learning software is able to detect and eliminate 100% of malware. I also tested the game booster feature during gameplay.

BullGuard has many additional high-quality features. Its firewall and network monitor provide the best protection against back-door and network intrusion. The identity theft protections protect users from identity theft and give them up-to the minute updates on credit changes.

BullGuard’s Android app is excellent, offering a virus scanner, decent parental control, and some the best anti-theft software on the market.

There are some things I don’t like about BullGuard Mac’s antivirus. The program doesn’t have an iOS app, and it can be difficult to use. I feel that parental controls could also use some improvements.

BullGuard’s security is excellent for Android and Windows users. BullGuard is also my top choice for gamers. For a slightly more expensive price, premium rivals like McAfee or Norton provide comparable features.

BullGuard plans come with a 30-day guarantee. It’s risk-free, so it’s worth a look.

Is BullGuard’s VPN secure? Is it fast?

BullGuard’s VPN is very good. It is fast, secure, and compatible with Netflix and other streaming services.

BullGuard VPN cannot be purchased separately. Instead, you could purchase a subscription for ExpressVPN at a comparable price and have access to better features.

Is BullGuard good for macOS and iOS?

Not really. BullGuard is a macOS-based antivirus that scans for viruses and offers no iOS security software.

You can find a complete antivirus solution for Mac on our list. You can find a security application for iOS here.

Source : #safetydetectives
Editor by : BEST Antivirus KBS Team
BullGuard 2022

Name: Review BullGuard 2022

Description: Although the plan is fairly basic, it's very inexpensive and includes BullGuard, an industry-leading antimalware system with real-time protection, and the game booster. It's an excellent option for users who want top-quality antivirus.

Offer price: $9.99 to Up

Currency: USD

Operating System: Windows, macOS, Android

Application Category: BullGuard- Brand Review

Author: Best Antivirus

  • Security
    (3.5)
  • Features
    (3.5)
  • Ease of use
    (4)
  • Customer Support
    (4.5)
  • Pricing
    (4.5)
Overall
4

Summary

BullGuard’s antimalware scanner is among the most effective on the market. It uses dynamic machine learning and a malware database to identify and block zero-day and known threats. With a success rate of 100%, it is the best available.

Pros

  • Very complete protection for Windows: BullGuard includes many features such as safe browsing, game booster, cloud backup, home network scanner, identity protection, and parental controls.
  • BullGuard keeps your PC and Laptop fast: BullGuard has great performance scores and optimization features.
  • Excellent user reviews: BullGuard has the highest user review score in TrustPilot. Very impressive.
  • Great value for money: BullGuard frequently has great deals, making it a bargain compared to some competitors.
  • High quality design: BullGuard is known for intuitive and beautifully designed software.

Cons

  • Limited protection for Mac: BullGuard offers only the basics on Mac
  • No support for iOS: BullGuard offers no app for iPhones.

About The Author

Melissa
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