Potential conflict between Steam and Bitdefender Free Edition?

[paradigm_shift]

So my Steam client failed to launch. It would get most of the way through the update cycle, then crash with that 'Steam Bootstrapper Has Stopped Working' error. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling steam. I ran CCleaner. I did a registry cleanup. I did a full disc scan and defrag. I ran through every suggestion online I could find.

Then, on a hunch, I uninstalled Bitdefender Free Edition, which I'd been using recently. Problem solved. I'm not sure if this is some sort of conflict between software, if Bitdefender was blocking Steam, or if there was a port issue, but I thought I'd flag it in case other people were having the same issue. Maybe save a few headaches.

Steam, if you could check on this, that would be great. If it's my problem and no one else's, cool, but if it's a larger thing you might want to fix it.

[Borker]

Use Anti-Malwarebytes (its free!) if you want an awesome Antivirus.
And set up a Windows-Based Firewall. AND don't use an admin account as your main account.
Promotion Aside:

I'd assume yes, there is a conflict. Try reinstalling Bitdefender and if Steam doesn't work, there IS a conflict. If not, resume normally.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

bit defender is known for causing issues with steam as listed here...

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9828-SFLZ-9289

[paradigm_shift]

Originally posted by cSg|mc-Hotsauce:

bit defender is known for causing issues with steam as listed here...

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9828-SFLZ-9289

:qr:

Man, that's too bad. It was actually a nice antivirus and anti-malware system, too. Very lightweight, but also very effective. I uninstalled and went back to AVG, but I am disappointed I can't keep using Bitdefender.

[striktmachine]

Hi Paradigm_shift, thought you might be interested in this, I'm currently running Steam and Bitdefender with no issues, all you need to do is go to the Bitdefender main menu, click on the little Shield in the main menu that lists an overview, then click on 'view features'. In this area, you should see 'Application Access' under Firewall. Click this, and navigate to the Steam.exe file, then add it to the application access list.

Works like a charm,
Cheers,
A

[Pablogga]

hi

[Grand Admiral Brador]

Originally posted by cSg|mc-Hotsauce:

bit defender is known for causing issues with steam as listed here...

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9828-SFLZ-9289

:qr:

Was this article deleted and redirected to that generic catch all form? Because there is nothing in the currently linked article that mentions Bit Defender by name.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Originally posted by RavagerOfDreams:

Originally posted by cSg|mc-Hotsauce:

bit defender is known for causing issues with steam as listed here...

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9828-SFLZ-9289

Was this article deleted and redirected to that generic catch all form? Because there is nothing in the currently linked article that mentions Bit Defender by name.

They removed the huge lists. It is archived though...

https://web.archive.org/web/20160602193816/https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9828-SFLZ-9289

1 reason why some necros don't yield current info.