Had this same problem, and yes customer service was of no help. Here's how I fixed it without uninstalling Bitdefender. Now I can access my tax return without having to reactivate.
1) Disconnect Bitdefender VPN
2) Turn off Bitdefender Shield (under Antivirus, Advanced)
3) Turn off Online Threat Prevention (all 6 settings)
4) Turn off Firewall
5) Turn off Advanced Threat Defense (under settings)
6) Turn off Cryptomining Protection
7) New step needed today (2/22/2026) . . . once all Bitdefender protections are temporarily deactivated, I also had to turn off Windows Defender Firewall to open my return.
Essentially, you're rendering Bitdefender and Windows Defender Firewall completely inactive. By the way, you can turn all of this back on after you open Turbo Tax and everything works, i.e., updates, online assistance, importing 1099-DIV, etc.
It appears that Turbo Tax is using some crazy ip port/protocol blocked both by Bitdefender and Windows Defender Firewall to complete the activation process.
Come on Intuit, certainly you can develop software that's compatible with Antivirus protection!
