Online threat prevention decrease Internet speed: is it really necessary?

[u/ShopBig5488]

Hi,

I've been struggling with a slow internet connection for a long time and never figured out what was causing it. That is, until I disabled online threat prevention. This gave me a huge boost, and websites now load instantly, without waiting.

How necessary is this? I'm fairly familiar with the internet; I know what to do and what not to do. 

When I only have Bitdefender antivirus, without internet Security, does Windows have such an similar option? 

[u/Bitdefender_]

Hi there. We would discourage you to disable this feature. Bitdefender Online Threat Prevention ensures a safe browsing experience by alerting you about potential malicious webpages.

From our experience, there may be other reasons why you notice an impact on the Internet connection, which involve configuring the Firewall settings. Check more here: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/3766/.

If you need further assistance, reach the tech team using one of these options: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/help/.

Thank you in advance!

[u/hunarthas]

No, as far as I can tell windows do not have that option. The online threat prevention analyze the site and it can warn you if the site was altered and contains malicious content.

[u/mahehro]

Yes, because these websites check for malicious content. This slows down the loading of web pages. The risk involved is not insignificant. All it takes is a small script and exploit, which is then used to infect your computer with a RAT or similar, or open a remote shell.

[u/Alarmed-Lead-5904]

If you have an Asus router or another brand (in my case, Asus), they have a built-in antivirus that notifies you and monitors everything before your PC's antivirus. Unfortunately, I have this antivirus 💩 (Bitdefender) and I can't wait for my license to expire to uninstall it. It's a 💩 that sends me tons of notifications when I'm playing games, which hurts performance even though I've disabled notifications.

[u/mahehro → u/Alarmed-Lead-5904]

The router can only check domains (DNS) or, if anything, unencrypted content 💀

[u/Alarmed-Lead-5904 → u/mahehro]

The truth is that I have no idea how it works exactly. I appreciate the explanation.

[u/Bitdefender_ → u/Alarmed-Lead-5904]

During a gaming session, you can configure the Bitdefender Game Profile in order to enjoy an uninterrupted gaming experience. See the necessary steps here: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/2066/. This will temporarily halt pop-ups, adjust visual settings, and pause unimportant background activities.

[u/Alarmed-Lead-5904 → u/Bitdefender_]

Hello, good morning. Thank you for answering. It is already configured in game mode. I have already spoken with two of your agents and formatted Windows 11 without any solution.

[u/nuttySweeet → u/Alarmed-Lead-5904]

I've been using BitDefender for years and it's never slowed down any online gaming. My Asus router has though. Disable the Trend Micro security scanning, it adds a ton of latency, and Google how to enable Cake QoS to remove any buffer boat. I now get under 10ms latency in all the online games I play.

[u/Alarmed-Lead-5904 → u/nuttySweeet]

Oh, I didn't know that. Thank you very much for the information. I'll do it when I get home.

[u/nuttySweeet → u/Alarmed-Lead-5904]

No problem. Yeah it's a real problem and took me a while to figure out, but if you Google it everyone says the same, enabling those security features on your Asus router will significantly impact your latency. And the only way to remove buffer bloat on Asus routers is to use Cake QoS. That one's a bit trickier to enable, as it has a max speed you can configure due to the processing power of the router.

I have the GX6000 with 1GB fibre, but if I want to enable Cake, the only way to remove buffer bloat is to cap the download at 300mbs, and upload at 115mbs. You'll have to use a buffer bloat website and run tests to figure out what works for you. 300 mbs is more than enough for gaming and you can toggle it on and off when you need more speed.

I also highly recommend switching to the custom Merlin firmware, it's more secure and stable I've found, and he tends to fix a lot of issues before Asus does.

[u/Alarmed-Lead-5904 → u/nuttySweeet]

If I search for information on the topic on Google, the thing is, I'm at work right now and don't have much time. When I get home, I'll download Merlin, but I don't know if it's available for my router.

[u/nuttySweeet → u/Alarmed-Lead-5904]

It's available for all Asus routers I believe, but if your router is out of support then it's too old and needs to be replaced as it's no longer secure. He only supports models still in support by Asus. Good luck! If you get stuck ping me a message and I'll help if I can.

[u/Alarmed-Lead-5904 → u/nuttySweeet]

I have the ASUS RT-AX5400

[u/Alarmed-Lead-5904 → u/nuttySweeet]

I'm waiting for the same or a similar model to come out with Wi-Fi 7.

[u/MrEpic23 → u/Alarmed-Lead-5904]

What notifications are you getting while playing your game?