Option to disable Anti-Theft

Hugo24 · 2025-03-25T21:00:33+00:00

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It is good to have some kind of control when someone steals or you lose your device but in my opinion it shouldnt be forced and not possible to disable. Not everyone wants there to be an option to wipe their device with 1 click or track/lock it. For me personally i just dont feel safe knowing that if anyone with malicious intentions gets into my account they can just wipe my device or track my exact location. Plus i have a desktop PC and im sure noone will be stealing it anytime soon. I feel like Anti-Theft is just a bomb waiting to explode.

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Scott

Voted +1

Over the years there have been posts and thread(s) regarding the concern of what if our Central accounts got hacked. It may be nice to have some ability in the app itself, to disable it. Or, maybe a setting to enable/disable it in Central with an additional pin lock/unlock feature for Anti-Theft?

Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/103650/option-to-disable-anti-theft

I vote for this because most other antimalware vendors already provide the anti-theft feature within their product GUI. Disabling the inbuilt anti-theft feature in the GUI will disconnect it from the anti-theft function of their online cloud account management, preventing potential misuse by unauthorized users.

However, it’s not as simple as it seems, and I also have some concerns.

If Bitdefender introduces an anti-theft feature in its product GUI and a user disables it from there, Bitdefender Central—despite being active—will not be able to synchronize with the device and perform essential functions like tracking its location, locking it, or wiping its data remotely.

On the other hand, a more feasible approach could be for Bitdefender to avoid adding an anti-theft enable/disable option in the product GUI entirely and instead provide this functionality solely within Bitdefender Central. This way, if a device is lost, the user can still log into their Bitdefender Central account, enable anti-theft remotely, and access all available features without being locked out due to prior local settings on the device.

I believe this approach makes more sense because it ensures that users retain control over their lost devices, minimizing the risk of being unable to take action when needed. The anti-theft feature is already somewhat confusing, as it depends on proper synchronization between the local product and the online dashboard. Moving all control to Bitdefender Central would simplify management and improve reliability in real-world scenarios.

Regards

Scott

@Flexx exactly, and I know what one you mean, very nice app option.

Another good point, thanks for adding your insights to this thread :)

Flexx

@Flexx exactly, and I know what one you mean, very nice app option.

😂

Hugo24

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/351862#Comment_351862

This seems good. But then again if a person with malicious intent does get into the users Bitdefender Central they can just enable Anti-Theft and Track, Wipe etc. A fix for this would be to put an anti-theft on/off button into the app and the central and if the user wants to disable or enable anti-theft again they would need to confirm on both app and central this way if someone gets into a users central they cant just re-enable anti-theft since the user has to confirm in the app aswell.

Scott

Some good thoughts and ideas have been posted, nice thread you started @Hugo24 ☺️

Hugo24

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/351870#Comment_351870

Thanks😃

Blug

I have been concerned about this for some time and cannot tolerate a situation where someone with malicious intent could wipe every one of my family's computers from a single point of failure. I was hoping to at least be able to disable the feature on our encrypted desktops where theft is not a concern. Unfortunately, bitdefender seems to have ignored this issue. As a result, I have not renewed my subscription and moved to another vendor, even though I would have preferred bitdefender.

Amr From EGypt - I LOVE bitdefender 🫶

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/351862#Comment_351862

I agree with you, Flexx, without exaggeration. You truly understand security, and you understand what you're doing. You don't sacrifice customer experience when someone disables the anti-theft feature and the device is lost. This is a mistake for the user, as it allows someone to disable the anti-theft feature before the device is lost.

If Bitdefender had provided an anti-theft feature in its product's GUI, allowing the user to disable it, the company would have created a selector and control account to enable it remotely to protect customers.

I apologize for my comment, but I wanted to thank you, Flexx, for the superior security of Bitdefender products, not other products that cause problems after a while when they allow anyone to control all important and sensitive features when the device is lost. The product knows its security very well, and we just have to block access to the internet and remotely control the Bitdefender product account.