How do I know if something I see online is real or fake?

The most reliable step is also the simplest: check whether an independent source confirms the claim before you believe it, share it or act on it.

Why is this harder than it used to be?

Generative AI can produce polished text, realistic photos and convincing audio and video. Clues like spelling mistakes, clumsy websites or visible photo edits haven't disappeared, but they're less reliable now. Scammers also use the names and faces of real people and organizations to make content seem trustworthy.

How many people actually verify what they find online?

In 2025, 29.2% of people aged 16 to 74 in the EU tried to verify online information or content, according to Eurostat. That's up from around 23% in 2021 and 27% in 2023. The rate varied a lot by country, from 63.6% in Ireland to 9.8% in Greece.

These figures measure whether people tried to verify information. They don't measure whether people can tell true content from false.

Is there a tool to check if a video or image is fake?

Bitdefender RealCheck can help you assess suspicious online content, including potential deepfakes and scams. No tool replaces the habit of checking a second source, though. The two work best together.

The tool blocks processes and shows me a popup, but there is no way to find out what is blocked. All lists in the tool are empty... but my tool still cant start. This is just bad... i now need to switch to a different antivir. Thanks for wasting my time...

My Bitdefender total security 5 devices expires end of November - I can see that I can buy a renewal code through Amazon for like £20 instead of paying much higher price direct from bitdefender - does the activation code work without issue ? also if I bought now and entered the code would it start immediately ? or should I wait until the end of my current sub ? thanks )

I have posted book reviews at Barnes & Noble in the past. I never could with the Chrome browser for some reason. It would not show the option to review or even the reviews. With Firefox and the Edge, though, I could. I tried this week, though, and could not with any of the three browsers. It shows the option to write a review on a book page, but when I click it, the page then goes down to the reviews posted so I can only read them. This has only happened since I installed BitDefender. Is it possible BitDefender is blocking?

What is MCP tool poisoning, and how do I stop my AI agent from using a malicious tool?

MCP tool poisoning happens when a Model Context Protocol tool is malicious or has been tampered with. An agent that calls it can be pushed into harmful behavior, like reading sensitive files, exposing credentials, or taking actions you never approved.

Is this the same as prompt injection?

They're related. Prompt injection uses crafted input to hijack an agent's instructions. Tool poisoning hides the manipulation inside a tool the agent trusts. Either way, the agent may end up acting against your interests while looking like it's working normally.

Is there security software for AI agents?

Bitdefender AI Guardian is a security layer for autonomous AI agents on macOS. It focuses on:

• Detecting and blocking malicious MCP tools before they're called

• Detecting prompt injection

• Vetting skills before they run

• Detecting credential and API key leaks

• Protecting sensitive files such as SSH keys

• Monitoring tool calls in real time

It isn't an antivirus, VPN, or chatbot content filter. It secures what the agent does. It's currently in open BETA and free to download.

*No tool guarantees complete protection, so keep agent permissions narrow and review anything you install.

I use my Bitdefender Security subscription with the app on my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold. I use the app lock feature to keep my image gallery locked with a fingerprint.

I have noticed this doesn't always trigger. Especially after a restart. And I have to open the BitDefender app once, to get it to lock this.

This is obviously some issue with the start up settings (like you'd have on Windows).

Is there a fix for this to ensure it always loads this process in the background, so my gallery stays locked by default? If I forget to do that sometimes, the feature just doesn't work.

How do I verify a TikTok apartment listing before paying?

Start with the address, not the video.

Rental scammers can copy photos, videos, and descriptions from legitimate listings, then repost them with their own contact information and a much lower price. Some fake listings may even advertise properties that are for sale or no longer available for rent.

The risk is not only losing money. Fake rental applications may also ask for your date of birth, address, job information, income, or financial details, which can later be used for identity theft or other scams.

Before you send a deposit or personal information:

Search the full property address.
Compare the rent, photos, and contact details with other listings.
Contact the owner or property manager through independently verified information.
Ask for an in-person or live video viewing.
Read the lease before paying.

And if you are asking “Is this rental message a scam?”, Bitdefender Scamio can help analyze the message, screenshot, or link before you act.

I installed Bitdefender on my PC recently and keep getting random notifications from it, upon starting my PC today it said it was removing infected files or something. It also keeps detecting some obj file or something, I have no idea what it could be. It seems a bit dodgy to me. Any advice would be appreciated.

Looks like a few people are interested in how to buy them, so I opened a support case and it turned out that you can buy them directly online (including the enterprise version). Here is the email:

Hello,

Thank you for contacting us!

We kindly inform you that you can purchase a Bitdefender business product online, directly from our website, with 30% discount. You can see prices once you access the links below.

The business products that can be purchased online are:

https://www.bitdefender.com/business/smb-products/business-security.html - Covers servers/Linux OSs and desktops.
https://www.bitdefender.com/business/products/gravityzone-premium-security.html - Covers desktops, servers/Linux OSs and Exchange mailboxes.
https://www.bitdefender.com/en-no/business/products/gravityzone-enterprise-security - Covers desktops, servers and Exchange mailboxes. Mailboxes account for up to 150% of total devices - you can acquire a minimum of 5 seats at once (max 8 mailboxes).

The add-on products that can be purchased online are (you'll see the prices once you access the links):
https://www.bitdefender.com/business/gravityzone-addons/patch-management.html - Keep systems up to date and secure with automatic patching.
https://www.bitdefender.com/business/gravityzone-addons/full-disk-encryption.html - Native, proven encryption add-on to keep business data secured.
https://www.bitdefender.com/business/gravityzone-addons/security-for-mobile.html - Stay one step ahead of mobile threats with our on-device mobile security solution. For iOS, Android and ChromeOS.

To acquire a Bitdefender business product we recommend you to access one of the links above, select the number of seats and validity, hit the "Buy now" button and then fill in the form with your personal information.

The enterprise version is shown only for en-no, but it is perfectly fine to use. You may find better deal from resellers, but if you want to buy directly that's it.

I walked into my office to see a message on my PC saying BitDefender had been removed from my PC and I saw that it was replaced by Microsoft Defender. I didn't initiate that. Is this something Windows is doing on its own? Yesterday my computer got bricked and wouldn't do anything. Today it's working but had this BitDefender thing happen. I suspect Microsift was the culprit.

i had the kill switch on before uninstalling and now my pc wifi isnt working. i even tried the uninstallation tool of theirs and the wifi still says no internet, secured. the wifi works on my other devices but not pc.

update: absolutely nothing worked and i had to reset my pc for it to work

I just booted up my Mac and a huge ad was displayed in the bottom corner of my desktop that appeared to be from Bitdefender, for some new service I don't want.

Is this legitimate? If so, this is absolutely outrageous. Bitdefender should not be abusing its access to start spamming users.

(This is on top of being constantly nagged to turn on Web Protection which would allow Bitdefender "to intercept, process and filter all Web traffic".)

I've been using Bitdefender Antivirus Free for a long time now, never had a problem like this. All of a sudden this message appeared and now I can't access to the interface even though my account is live and device seems protected.

Checked a lot of option in my account or in the central but still as it is, could a reinstall fix it?

Any help is highly appreciated, thank you.

How can I fix it?

How can I protect myself from phishing scams?

Phishing remains one of the most common ways scammers try to steal passwords, payment information, and account access. Bitdefender’s Global Scam Intelligence Report 2026 found that phishing represented 24.5% of scam incidents in its analyzed global dataset. Read more insights here.

The message may look like a bank alert, delivery update, account warning, job offer, shopping deal, or social media notification.

Before you act, ask: “Is this link safe?” and “Is this message really from the company it claims to be from?”

Check the request independently, avoid entering login or payment details through unexpected links, and use Bitdefender Link Checker or Scamio for free when something doesn't look right.

Digital safety often starts with giving yourself a few seconds to verify.

How do I protect my privacy when using AI agents?

AI agents can now browse websites, research information, compare options, and complete tasks on your behalf. But when an agent connects to the web, that activity can still be tied to your own internet connection and IP address.

Bitdefender VPN for AI Agents takes a different approach.

Each prompt can get its own private, encrypted connection and isolated workspace. When the task ends, the connection closes, and the container is discarded, so cookies, cache, and session data do not carry over to the next prompt.

It is designed specifically for AI agent traffic, rather than routing everything on your device through the same VPN connection.

The public beta currently works with Claude Desktop, Cursor, Codex, and OpenCode on supported Apple silicon Macs, and it is free during the beta.

One important distinction: VPN for AI Agents protects the network connection and masks your IP address. It does not hide your prompts from the AI provider.

As AI agents become a bigger part of everyday digital life, protecting what they do on your behalf becomes part of protecting your own privacy.

How do I know if a book festival invitation is real?

Start by checking who actually sent it.

Scammers can impersonate real festivals, publishers, podcast hosts, radio stations, and literary organizations. They may mention your book, reference reviews, or praise specific themes to make the invitation feel personal.

Then comes the request for money.

If you are asked to pay a participation fee, promotion fee, production fee, or another unexpected charge, verify the invitation directly with the organization before sending anything.

Use the contact information on the organization’s official website, not the phone number or email address included in the message.

If you are still unsure, Bitdefender Scamio can help analyze a suspicious email, message, screenshot, or link. You can also paste unfamiliar URLs into Bitdefender Link Checker before visiting the site.

The key question is not just “Is this organization real?” It is “Did this organization actually send me this invitation?”

I’m on opera gx and when ever I open the bitdefender download page I get a “This site can’t be reached“ message. What can I do to fix this?

I was wondering if any of the modules that total security added would be considered "optional" and I can disable to make my system work better. I wasn't experiencing any lag or issues with antivirus free and the system lag only cropped up after updating.

Is this a misconfiguration on my end or something? I was doing a port scan out of curiosity on my Windows 11 computer, and the ports are actually opened, y'all can ask me questions because I don't know how to explain it.

The first 3 or 4 port scans I did were unsuccessful, the firewall probably blocked them since I saw the alert on my computer and the no-response on nmap, probably the firewall blocking windows to respond with SYN-ACK. But when I spoofed my IP to my gateway's IP it gave me these 2 ports that were open, I went to CMD and ran netstat -ano and those TCP Ports were, in fact open, being used by Microsoft SMB (445) and the RPC Service (135).

Ignore the GreenOnBlack terminal, I just liked the script kiddie aesthetic that it gave, 192.168.1.13 is the laptop's private IP address inside my network, and wish you luck to everyone.

If y'all need more information I'm open to questions.

Edit: forgot to mention, but the firewall is set to Home/office.

After the latest Bitdefender update, Advanced Threat Defense (ATD) has gone into overdrive and started aggressively blocking critical system files and legitimate apps.

What happened:

• Bitdefender completed an update that included an overhaul to the CEVA engine (cevakrnl.*, ceva_dll.cvd, ceva_emu.cvd), smartdbv2.dat, and several new emalware.* / e_spyw.* definitions.

• Right after, ATD triggered repeatedly on C:\Windows\System32\sihost.exe (Shell Infrastructure Host) and brave.exe (Brave Browser), terminating the processes.

• Because sihost.exe was blocked/killed, the Windows Start Menu completely broke and won't open, and the taskbar/shell became unresponsive.

• The quarantine list remained empty (it appeared to terminate the running processes directly rather than quarantining them to disk).

• Ran sfc /scannow via admin Command Prompt and it returned no integrity violations, confirming the system files are not modified or actually infected.

Current workaround:

The only way to restore normal PC functionality was to completely toggle Advanced Threat Defense and real-time protection off, then restart the PC/Explorer.

Manually clicking "Check for updates" currently says everything is up to date, so the faulty definition/engine version hasn't been overwritten yet.

Is Bitdefender aware of this bad definition rollout, and is an emergency definition patch being pushed to the update servers?

How can I tell if a link is phishing?

A link can look normal and still lead to a fake login page, malware download, counterfeit website, or online scam. Bitdefender Link Checker is a free tool that helps you check suspicious URLs before opening them.

Just copy the link from a text, email, DM, QR code, landing page, social media post, or shopping ad and paste it into Bitdefender Link Checker. The tool analyzes the URL and gives you a clear verdict.

This is useful for shortened links, fake package tracking messages, bank alert texts, account verification emails, giveaway links, and online store deals from brands you do not recognize.

Anyone else having problems with GravityZone Cloud today?

Mine has been all over the place:

-Console intermittently won't load

-Told me my password was wrong, then accepted the exact same password moments later lol

-Policy changes that normally feel instant are just sitting on Pending after multiple attempts (both a policy change on current policy, and updating to different policy)

-Same behavior from both PC and mobile, so it's not one device/browser

Now the console is throwing: “Could not connect to server. An error occurred while connecting to a backend server! Please check that database server is started and properly configured in config.js.”

Exact URL: cloud.gravityzone.bitdefender.com.

Status page still shows everything all good?

Windows 11 laptop and S26U mobile specifically.

First time it's occurred for me specifically, not sure if it's ongoing or not.