Bitdefender, a leading global cybersecurity company protecting over 500 million systems worldwide, has announced that release of its world-leading cyber-security software.

“The new-release Bitdefender software will allow organisations and individuals to fend off an unprecedented surge in online threats and heightened uncertainty brought on by the tumult of 2020,” says Simon Campbell-Young of Cyber Security South Africa (CSSA), the local Bitdefender Country Partner.

“As changes sparked by the coronavirus pandemic leave the world more vulnerable than ever to attacks, Bitdefender’s consumer line has evolved to meet the rigours of life, work and play in the ‘new normal’. The company’s elite engineers have focused all their time, talent and battle-hardened tech-savvy into keeping users safe through trying times while ensuring minimal impact on your system,” Campbell-Young continues.

Bitdefender detected a 500% surge in coronavirus-themed malware attacks seeking to trick unwary users in March alone, while Google detections of phishing sites rose 350%, as it spotted 240 million spam messages a day, many leading to scams, brand impersonations, blackmail and business email compromise.

The dangers are aggravated by a rapid switch to a work-from-home regime that blurs the boundaries between personal and business devices, prompting criminals to increasingly target individuals as a potential entry point to corporate systems.

“The overarching mission has always been to protect our users while keeping out of their way by minimising the space Bitdefender takes up on their systems. That’s truer than ever now. Bitdefender has mobilised its staff with this single-minded focus and has come out with the company’s most advanced, most powerful consumer line yet while keeping system impact so low that you won’t even notice it,” Campbell-Young adds.

Bitdefender consumer line matched the unprecedented surge in online threats keeping consumers safe while being able to upgrade existing features like the new insights regarding device vulnerabilities. This addition helps users scan for misconfigurations that can lead to data exposure and altered settings that can weaken the security of devices.

The latest evolution of Bitdefender also brings a streamlined user interface to give customers a more uniform experience across their multiple devices and operating systems.

Campbell-Young explains that all current stock-in-trade will auto upgrade to the new version on installation. The new Bitdefender version is available through the following leading retail and online outlets: Incredible Connection(in-store or via download), Matrix Warehouse(in-store or via download), Loot, Takealot (physical stock or via download),and Makro.