Questions
by Cody “Micajah” Bye, Managing Editor
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Answers
by Carmen Maierean, Consumer Product Manager, Game Safe
Antiviral computer software can often be the most infuriating
application a gamer will ever install on his computer. Imagine being in
the middle of an epic 24-man raid when all of a sudden your antivirus
software decides to upgrade the definitions, causing some serious lag
on your end. Next thing you know, it’s a total party wipe.
However, the antivirus development company, BitDefender, hopes to end
all of those problems with its latest product.
Dubbed
target="_blank">Game Safe, this antivirus and
antispyware application is advertised as being perfect for the online
gamer. Ten Ton Hammer’s Cody “Micajah”
Bye wanted to really get to the heart of the software and asked a
number of questions to Game Safe’s Carmen Maierean, the
company’s consumer product manager. Her answers are
well-thought and in-depth, so if you’re looking for a new
piece of antivirus software, make sure you check out this interview!
Ten Ton Hammer: To start,
why did you decide to create a “gamer specific”
antivirus and antispyware solution? Was there a huge demand for this
kind of product on the market?
Carmen Maierean:
BitDefender identified the gamer community as a special segment of the
market. Gamers are very focused people that want a fast computer and a
fast internet connection so that they can get best scores and get the
best of their gaming abilities. However, nowadays most security
solutions tweak the default settings to regular computer use like
chatting, online banking, shopping or browsing the internet. These
activities represent just a small percentage of a gamers’
activity on a computer. We all know how gamers are willing to spend
their nights in a WOW ride or never leave their computer until they
finish the current mission. This type of computer usage requires
different security solution settings and a very light resource
footprint. BitDefender tailored the latest version to address these
needs.
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Carmen Maierean,
Consumer Product Manager
Ten Ton Hammer: Why
should a gamer use Game Safe rather than any of the other antivirus
products on the market? Will the antivirus and antispyware tools be as
comprehensive and formidable?
Carmen: By
using BitDefender Game Safe the user will be protected by best
antivirus technology while having a smooth gaming experience. Other
Antivirus product on the market take up to 3 times more resources when
gaming compared to Game Safe.
Ten Ton Hammer: On the
Game Safe website, you have a couple charts that show Game
Safe’s performance compared to other programs. How did you
achieve such impressive numbers compared to your competition? How will
this affect our gaming?
Carmen:
These tests have been performed in house. We actually have people that
play and test our products in the same time. This way we can ensure
that we have all the feedback upfront. The results have been reached by
carefully tweaking the settings against the security needs of the
gamers and the resources required and embedded all of them in a work
mode called Game Mode. The antivirus is set to a permissive level, this
scanning only the most important files (maps and games settings are not
scanned for instance). Firewall is set to allow all new connections,
but applies existing rules nevertheless. Updates are postponed until
the user returns from Game mode, thus does not impact bandwidth or CPU.
Also, all alerts are disabled. Having this said, we strongly recommend
the user to enter Game mode when playing and to always switch back to
regular mode when not playing.
Ten Ton Hammer: One of
the biggest complaints gamers have with antivirus software is the
annoying “pop-up alerts” that occur with fair
frequency. Is there a way to eliminate those with GameSafe?
Carmen:
BitDefender Game Safe takes care of this by default. Alerts and pop-ups
are out of the question for this product. All kind of interruptions
have been eliminated.
Ten Ton Hammer: Do you
have any sort of free trial program to give gamers a taste of what Game
Safe can do? If not, do you think something like that will ever be
available?
Carmen:
BitDefender Game Safe is available for download here:
http://www.bitdefender.com/media/html/gamesafe.html
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Game Safe promised no
more of those annoying pop-up alerts while you're gaming.
Ten Ton Hammer: Another
big concern that many gamers have with antivirus software is the
constant threat of the software not interacting well with their
favorite game of choice. What have the developers of Game Safe done to
insure that gamers won’t ever receive that sort of alert?
Carmen:
Besides testing the games in our own environment, we have changed the
firewall settings to accommodate any type of game. The firewall rules
created before entering Game mode are still active, it is just that new
connections created by the game during Game mode are allowed.
Ten Ton Hammer: For those
users already using the BitDefender software packages, how is Game Safe
any better or worse? Should a gamer upgrade to Game Safe if they
already have a BitDefender application installed?
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Carmen:
Those customers that already have BD 2008 do not have to switch to Game
Safe as a similar Game mode features is included in BD 2008 as well.
However, for those customers that do not want full security solution or
just want something specifically tailored for their needs, Game Safe is
the key.
Ten Ton Hammer: On your
website, it states that Game Safe’s gamer mode can be
activated with a click of the mouse. Can gamers adjust the
“game mode” in your software? What if they still
want to receive a particular alert or download the latest updates even
though they’re still gaming?
Carmen: For
the current version of Game Mode, adjusting and modifying the settings
is not included. However, we will keep this in mind for the future
version of BitDefender Game Safe.
Ten Ton Hammer: On a
personal level, what’s the most unique and important aspect
about GameSafe? Why should gamers be interested in this product?
Carmen:
BitDefender Game Safe is a product for gamers envisioned, developed and
tested by people that game in their spare time. It is like when you do
something for yourself and you realize that you share the same need for
a gaming solution like the rest of the Gaming community.
Ten Ton Hammer: Is there
anything else you’d like to tell the Ten Ton Hammer readers?
Carmen: Give
BitDefender Game Safe a try and let us know if you want something else
in it. We are dedicated to making this product suit every gamers need.
