TL;DR
- It's still important to defend devices against malware on a basic level, but there are increasingly sophisticated threats around in the modern world, including highly convincing AI-powered scams – and these must be dealt with, too
- Bitdefender has dedicated anti-phishing defenses to help keep you safe from the likes of clever social engineering scams, and Bitdefender Scam Protection Pro is on hand to combat AI-powered hoaxes that could otherwise fool you
- Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection is a further line of defense that's designed to keep you safe from identity theft, guarding against you being compromised by a data breach that isn't your fault at all
If someone mentions the phrase 'online security' that likely makes you think of protecting devices, whether that's PCs or smartphones, but in the modern world, security solutions are really about protecting people as well as the devices they own.
This is because the criminals out there are no longer looking to exploit just your hardware, but to compromise your entire digital life – your personal data, and potentially your assets in the real world, too.
And that's why you need a security suite that delivers all-encompassing defenses not just for your devices, but also your online accounts and identity. This article will look in detail at how Bitdefender Premium Security and Bitdefender Ultimate Security are solutions to guard your entire digital life, offering a raft of protective features to keep you safe from more sophisticated scams and the prospect of identity theft.
Defending against more than malware
Today you need to think about more than just the security of your devices, as noted – and you must consider risks beyond simple malware as well, with a range of more advanced threats now out there which can be easy to fall victim to.
The likes of traditional viruses are still a danger, of course – and Bitdefender's security solutions are highly adept at dealing with malware on a fundamental level (as proved by independent testing, with Bitdefender getting full marks from AV Test in a recent comparative evaluation of security suites).
This core protection is still vital to keep you safe, but at the same time, there are a lot more sophisticated threats around, pitfalls that could trap the unwary if they aren't armed with a security suite that offers a suitably broad umbrella of equally sophisticated defenses.
Social engineering scams are being continually honed and pose a significant risk on social media. They may, for example, link to fake online shops that look convincingly like the real deal, with criminals spending time achieving painstaking levels of accuracy to fool their victims into entering payment details on these sites, so they can then steal that financial information. Bitdefender has dedicated anti-phishing protection to detect such fake websites and stop you from using them, blocking you from visiting the website in question so you don't even get near a scam shopping cart or checkout page.
Even just casually browsing the web – and not following links off social media – can be a perilous activity these days, and Bitdefender guards against malicious online content in general with its real-time web filtering.
And if you're worried about the passwords for your online accounts – and that they may not be secure enough, because you made them simple in order to remember them – Bitdefender Password Manager is bundled with all the company's security plans. This delivers military-grade encryption and high levels of password security across PCs and mobiles – all you need to remember is one single master password.
The most dangerous scams out there might use AI to make them seem more authentic, and that's where a key piece of Bitdefender technology comes into play to stop you from being fooled and keep you out of harm's way.
How does Bitdefender prevent people from falling for even more advanced AI-powered scams?
Bitdefender's Scam Protection Pro service is provided with Bitdefender Premium Security and Bitdefender Ultimate Security plans, and this keeps you safe from more intricately crafted scams, including those which leverage AI.
Modern scammers are in the business of making their stings seem a lot more convincing as, obviously enough, this means that people are more likely to fall for them. That can include employing AI to make, for example, a deepfake video backing up a scam post for a fake product on social media. Or these efforts could get even more personal, using fake audio of a family member's voice to attempt to scam you.
While the latter might sound like science fiction, these scams are a reality of modern life now, and Bitdefender has observed that they can seem "frighteningly real". All a scammer needs is a short snippet of audio – pulled from a person's social media posts, or even a voicemail greeting – and AI can produce a convincing clone of their voice. This can then be used to impersonate that individual in a fake call in which the scammer will pretend to be in an emergency situation where they need money to be sent over immediately (so the victim doesn't have time to think about things).
Bitdefender Scam Protection Pro has an AI assistant called Scamio Pro which you can talk to about any such attempts at fraud, providing you with expert advice about the common red flags that could indicate a scam. On top of that, Bitdefender Mobile Security for Android – provided with Bitdefender's security plans – offers an AI-powered Call Blocking feature which detects suspicious call behavior, and also spoofed or unusual phone numbers, warning you about a scam before you even answer the fake call.
This is another important point with Bitdefender Premium Security and Bitdefender Ultimate Security – you don't just get protection for desktop computers or laptops, but also mobiles. These Bitdefender plans are cross-platform, covering all your devices, from the browser on your PC to fake calls or texts on your mobile phone. That coverage extends to popular messaging apps on mobiles, too, with Bitdefender Scam Protection Pro able to monitor chats in the likes of WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, flagging up any dangerous content.
This is how Bitdefender's security solutions provide comprehensive protection for your online life, combating even state-of-the-art scams that use AI, and doing so across a diverse range of hardware.
Beating identity theft
As well as keeping users safe from malware and ensuring that people don't fall for the more sophisticated scams around which are otherwise more likely to successfully trick them, Bitdefender's Ultimate Security plan goes further still in protecting their identity.
That's achieved via Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection, and it's a vital consideration because some of your personal data is doubtless held externally to any of your devices by companies that you have online accounts with, where it's completely beyond your control.
That means through no fault of your own, any of those companies could have a lapse in security which leads to a data breach. If your personal data is involved in that breach, it could end up somewhere on the web, and that's why Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection keeps a constant watch online – and monitors the dark web, too – for any of your personal details appearing.
Not only will Bitdefender warn you if this happens, but it'll proactively inform you about data breaches so you can take action before any of your leaked data might be used against you. Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection also provides recommendations on what steps to take when faced with a breach (beyond simply changing the account password, although that's certainly the first thing you should do).
Bitdefender's identity theft countermeasures also extend to building up a 'digital footprint' of your online life, and right from activating Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection, you'll be able to see the personal data about yourself which is available to view online (possibly sensitive data that's been spilled in the past due to security incidents). All of this is offered to the user via a simple monitoring dashboard, and this protection happens automatically, in the background, without you having to lift a finger.
Bitdefender Ultimate Security ensures that your identity is protected alongside your devices, and with a full complement of anti-scam features and layered defenses keeping you safe from the more sophisticated attempts at fraud which could easily fool others, you can live your online life with a greater level of confidence overall.