14 DAY TRIAL // Bitdefender has teamed up with security specialist Graham Cluley to offer Mac users Bitdefender Virus Scanner with a six-month protection license free of charge.
It may not sound like much, but security these days is something that should be on Mac users’ agenda as well.
“We know your Mac is great. And you know that as Macs become more and more popular, they get targeted by hackers and virus makers. Protect your Mac with the new Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac, designed to work in perfect tune with OSX. It offers fast scanning and ironclad protection against malware without slowing you down,” says the vendor.
Sponsored by Cluley
BitDefender and former Sophos researcher Graham Cluley teamed up for the offer amid a wave of new security concerns targeting the Mac user base.
The good news is that you’re getting six months’ worth of protection free of charge. The bad news is that if you’re reading this past midnight, the offer will have vanished. That’s right. There are about six hours to go (at the time of this writing) to get your hands on a free license of Bitdefender Virus Scanner.
Update: Cluley tells us the offer has been extended by two days.
How to get it
Just provide your email address to BitDefender at this here URL and they’ll give you a free, six-month license to use at will.
Next, download Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac, save it to your computer, remove any existing security software before proceeding, mount the DMG, double click the PKG file inside, and follow the installation steps in the wizard.
Once you’ve installed Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac, launch the program on your Mac and register the app using the code in the email when prompted. The steps are:
1. Click on the number of days that appears in the application main window. 2. Click on New Serial. 3. Insert the license key in the box.
Finds everything, including iWorm
Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac has had its virus definitions updated to include most known variants of the iWorm malware. But considering that Apple has already updated its own virus definitions (Xprotect) and considering that your Mac has already received those timely updates, you’ll be installing Bitdefender’s software as a precaution, at most.
It isn’t clear what happens after the six-month trial is over. Chances are it won’t just stop working, but will only halt some functionality, such as updating its malware definitions. In any case, a six-month free trial is definitely generous. See what we thought of it in our editor-review over at the downloads area.