So It Seems The Security Widget Is Gone For Good?

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/82691/so-it-seems-the-security-widget-is-gone-for-good

Hi Member,

As of latest 2021 version, bitdefender has removed the security widget.

If this helps, kindly mark answer as agree/ accepted

Regards

Flex

(Bitdefender beta tester 2019/ 2020)

All comments

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/82691/so-it-seems-the-security-widget-is-gone-for-good

Hi Member,

As of latest 2021 version, bitdefender has removed the security widget.

If this helps, kindly mark answer as agree/ accepted

Regards

Flex

(Bitdefender beta tester 2019/ 2020)

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/296688#Comment_296688

Well, ain't that just a kick in the crotch? ☹️ Thanks for the reply anyways.

dbrisendine

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/296688#Comment_296688

Is that the latest BETA (but not Final / Release) version? Thanks for the information, by the way.

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/296756#Comment_296756

It is the stable/ final version.

Regards

Flex

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/296688#Comment_296688

WHY would BD choose to remove the Security Widget from Total Security?

I help a lot of family / friends / clients / novice users secure their systems with BD Total Security and the Security Widget was the ONE easy way for them to know the status of their system (Green Check to let them know things are OK, easy number to click to view important notices and events). The Widget was a major "selling point" to BD Total Security and, IMO, one of the best features.

Is there no chance that BD will reconsider this disappointing decision and bring back the Security Widget?

As a BD customer for many years now and as someone who helps over 30 other licensed users maintain their systems, the removal of the Widget is what may finally have me take a seriously close look at some of the other brands / products on the market.

As for now, I'm sticking with TS 2020 on as many systems as possible and not upgrading to 2021, in hopes that BitDefender will reconsider this decision and bring back the Security Widget into TS 2021.

Another real kicker is that the Security Widget was part of what we purchased as licensed users and has been a very useful feature for years now, and after recently just having renewed / extended my licenses (before 2021 version / before Widget removal) I feel a bit hoodwinked by this.

I'm also curious to know how average / novice computer users are supposed to easily know when their security status is "good" and how they're supposed to know when something needs their attention. All of the people that I help and that I've convinced to purchase BD Total Security as the best security solution for them are going to be coming to me now to ask why their widget is gone and what to do now / how to find the things that the Widget so easily pointed out to them, and I know they're going to be very discouraged by this. :(

This is a huge downer.

BD - please tell us that you'll reverse this decision and bring back one of the best parts of the product / re-introduce it to TS 2021.

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/296997#Comment_296997

Hi Member,

Bringing back the security widget is totally up to development team. The company works for security & stability. Their main motive is to improve security but keeping in mind to use as less resource of the system as possible & this can be only done by removing the things that are not important when keeping the security thing in mind. The widget was no doubt a good thing but it also used a considerable amount of system resources which was not a good thing for lower end PC configuration users who want to use the latest 2021 version.

You see it is very easy to say that bitdefender should include this & that feature, but one should know that with any new feature comes more consumption of resources and to compensate with the performance you have to remove things that are not worth of any use. Bitdefender development team might consider the introduction of widget if they receive the request in high demand since it requires to rewrite the whole software code and which at present would be waste of time since the main motive of the company is to protect it users without affecting the system performance.

Regards

Flex

(Bitdefender beta tester 2019/ 2020)

[Deleted User]

@AnotherDave

I totally concur with your comments, and I too recommend BD to my customers and always enable to the Security Widget. If resources are an issue as @Flexx is suggesting, there is the option to turn off the Security Widget for those who do not want it to consume resources.

I second the request: BD, bring back the Security Widget, please.

Have a great day.

Regards,

-Phil

HI Flex,

I read your response very carefully (and I think everyone who cares about this feature should) because of the following simple points:

The Security Widget has been a part of BD Total Security for many years now, so while I may not be a "developer" , when I hear you say "with any new feature comes more consumption of resources" and they "might consider the introduction of the widget" , well all I can do is shake my head in disbelief since it is NOT a new feature. It's something that was a selling point of BD TS for many years and was removed. And when you mention it requires a "total rewrite of the software code" ? Seriously? It was already a part of BD TS. Why in the world would it take a total re-write, or better yet, why was it removed at all? Did it require a total re-write of the code to remove one of the best features of Total Security?
This is the year 2020. Do you really think that the target market for a product like BitDefender TOTAL SECURITY are users with low-end systems? BD TS 2020 with the Security Widget works / runs fine on even systems that I've been managing for 5+ years that have older tech such as standard HDD's and Core i3 CPU's, so it's logical that users who are smart enough to use a good quality security suite will have systems that can handle it with no problem. With older OS's reaching EOL, even Windows 7, combined with the fact that SSD's have become part of "every day consumer" level systems and the fact that anyone with a modern OS such as Windows 10 clearly has a system that can handle it, once again all I can do is shake my head in disbelief over that viewpoint. (Not to mention, users running low-end systems are the type who need a feature like the Security Widget the most, otherwise they could just stick with the inferior security product that comes shipped / built-into their systems already).
"Remove things that aren't of any use"?? Please tell me how the Security Widget is not of any use.

Oh well... the pattern and direction of BD Total Security changes isn't heading in the right direction in my opinion and the opinions of many users that I assist with their maintenance and whom I've recommended the product to / have been using it for many years now. Your response tells me that this appeal to bring back a feature that we've come to rely on and IS of great use & purpose to many of us is pretty much just going to get swept under the carpet and logic will end up there with it.

If BitDefender is now taking the approach of targeting a high-end product such as Total Security to low-end system users speaks volumes and the writing is now on the proverbial wall. Very sad to see what I've considered a superior product for so many years now showing signs of going the way of inferior products / business models. Major bummer :-(

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/297002#Comment_297002

Thank you Phil, and EXCELLENT POINT where you mention:

"If resources are an issue as @Flexx is suggesting, there is the option to turn off the Security Widget for those who do not want it to consume resources."

Hi member's

Let me update with you with latest information from the bitdefender customer support team regarding the removal of widget from 2021 line of products. Kindly have a look at below image. Further no more answer regarding the same topic will be provided.

Regards

Flex

SGZ

I loved the Security Widget - Please bring it back!!!

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/297042#Comment_297042

Would be great to see some factual information to back-up those statements.

Low number of users? Let's see the stats.

Move to Metro interface? That was long before the widget!

Not much of an impact on user experience? Yeah, I'll bet... for BD support, since users don't have any idea whether it's doing anything or not now. They might as well use the McAfee or Norton that came with their system.

Squirrely response.

So, now that BD has made up their mind that the Security Widget is no longer something we deserve, that we paid for, please enlighten us - how is BitDefender now any different than Kaspersky Total Security?

PS - I'll gladly take a refund for what I bought (a product advertised with Security Widget) so that I can uninstall BD and replace it with Kaspersky TS.

Firecapt

Long time BD user and just upgraded to BD 2021; WOW! no more widget. I agree with many posters, bring back the widget and, as before, give us the opportunity to turn it off if we don't want to use it. Certainly there is no downside to this if we can choose to turn it off if we think too many resources are being used.

Thanks

I too vote to bring back the security widget. Also, I'm wondering if anyone else finds Flexx annoying, or is it just me.

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/297133#Comment_297133

Hi Member,

Like you, I am also a bitdefender consumer and not the staff member of bitdefender. Hence I provided you with the answer that was replied back by the bitdefender support team when I dropped a mail to them asking for the lack of security widget in the 2021 line of product.

If you want to reverify, you can drop a mail to support regarding the same at bitsy@bitdefender.com

If you need some more help, you can directly contact the forum administrator @Andy_BD or the staff member @Alex D.

Regards

Flex

bqpd

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/297133#Comment_297133

ozziebear, LOL. I totally agree with you, I've "complained" before as well, he has answers for everything but 90% of the time returns useless replies. In fact I initially thought he's a pretty well made AI! I just wish he learns when not to reply and realises he does not own this place.

Well, people , just ignore me, I'm just an unhappy ex-Forum user. 💩

Hi...I'm wondering why the comment by bqpd was removed. Members are entitled to their opinions. Flexx obviously has some friends in high places.

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/297146#Comment_297146

Hi member,

The comments can only be deleted by moderators or administrators of the forum. So if the moderators & administrators of the forum feel like that the comment is against the rule of the forum, they will delete it straight away.

The user will informed via personal message by the moderator or the administrator after his/ her comment has been deleted and as to why it was deleted. If the user continues to post such comments again despite warning, his/ her account will be banned or in worst case scenario his IP address will be banned permanently on the forum so that no further account can be made via same IP.

@ozziebear : the user who has created this post has already marked the answer as accepted that was given to him. I request you to kindly refrain from posting irrelevant comments which are not related to this post as you did in your last comment (Flexx obviously has some friends in high places) .If you want, you can create your own new post on the forum and someone from staff will reply back to you.

@Andy_BD, @Alex D. : Request you to kindly close this post.

Regards

Flex

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/297146#Comment_297146

Hi...I posted my comment to express my opposition to censorship which is now what you are threatening to do to me. That's OK. I think I made my point. I will stop now.

bqpd

Hey, ozziebear.

I tried to edit the post you may have read already, then it just disappeared completely, I too assumed it was deleted by Bitdefender but then again it may have been just a glitch.

I won't post the same but it was my feeling re you know who. 💩

Regards,

Hi...OK good to know. Didn't mean for this to turn into a thing.

VictorK

Hi,

I also vote to bring back the security widget for all the reasons that are already posted.

I've also expressed my great disappointment about this removal with several Support requests after I found out that the widget is missing and there's no option to enable it.

I propose everyone who wants the widget back, send an email to Support just to proove BD that we're not a minority (as they think).

UpTheVoltage

The widget provided a live indication of protection, and a quick way in to see notifications (one click on the widget, but now at least right-click then two left clicks). This is very poor user interface design to increase the number of clicks required to perform a simple action.

The security widget was one the best and most visible features of BitDefender, and one I used every single day It's removal from the 2021 release makes the product far less useful, and motivates me to research the competitors.

😡

drammaker999

Okay, you removed the security widget, which was a great thing to have. It assured me that my system was being protected and showed me when my system wasn't safe and gave me the notification regarding what wasn't safe. Removing it was not the greatest move; I recommended BD to a number of people because BD used to be a great product. I have 307 days left on my current subscription, and after that I will be looking for another product.

Wow, I guess the saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" doesn't resonate with the BD team. Well, I guess you fixed it, but, not in a good way.

Just my two cents.

nohorse

Hello.

Here, we always wait to the BD widget to show up before touching the mouse or typing anything.....what a disapointement!

We hope the widget (we paid for) will be back before the end of our subscriptions.

NETFrancy

I agree "totally" with all those who disapprove of removing such an important feature.

The excessive consumption of resources is a totally unmotivated (not to say stupid) pretext. Those who did not want to use it could easily deactivate it.

Can such a small change (and derisory in terms of development time) make a user disaffectionate enough to go to other antivirus on the market?

...The answer is: "Absolutely YES !!!".

VictorK

Just to add to a previous comment that I've posted, where I totally agree that the widget was one of the best things in BD antivirus, I'll give a small example of BD's explanations about the widget removal.

We removed it due to low usage (My comment: Really???)
Since Microsoft moved to the metro interface, it did not have the sense to be kept it anymore.
Bitdefender works automatically in the background. If anything would be wrong with it, you would get a notification from Bitdefender and from Windows as well that the antivirus protection is not working. (My comment: So there's no need to worry... Everything is in Auto!! Ha,Ha,Ha. How can I get a notification -that I'm not able to see it anymore in the widget- from BD that is not working since it will not be working??)

Do you really think that they made any research for their customers opinion about the widget?

In addition, how difficult is to inform your customers that there will be some changes/removals in the newer version that can't be restored?

Unfortunately I have more than 150 days left on my current subscription...

Eqbrat

I have been a long time user of Bitdefender and have come to rely on the Security Widget. It is one of the reasons that I have continued to renew my subscription with Bitdefender over the years. The widget offers piece of mind at a glance and is a feature I have come to rely on daily to keep me informed of the status of my protection..

If the widget is no longer available to me, I will not be renewing my subscription going forward. Without the widget feature, I will be exploring other providers products that offer a similar feature.

I really hope Bitdefender decides to restore the widget feature, as I would prefer to keep using their product instead of having to switch to another provider.

Hi Members,

I have dropped an email to support to get some update from development team on this. As soon as their will be any update, the post will be updated.

Regards

Flex

Lor

I just installed your latest update as well - SURPRISE - the widget is no more. Add my vote for a return of the Widget. It is a very useful tool and has no negative impact on my system. I've had a paid subscription for many years and will also go to one of your competitors when my subscription expires - in 73 days.

Loretta

And the forced upgrade just kicked in. Now I'm mad. WE WANT THE WIDGET BACK!

Pat5252

I am voicing my disappointment of the removal of the widget.

As many have said ... The Widget was an important comfort factor which reassured the user that they were 'Safe' and that there were no issues.

I have been recommending BD to many users (even though the Auto-renew checkbox mysteriously gets re-checked after the user intentionally un-checks it).

It does a good job of protecting devices without using up a lot of resources.

However, if BD does not want to listen to their clients, then perhaps it's time to look for other security solutions.

Here's hoping that they make the the decision to bring the Widget back as an optional feature and let the user decide whether to display it or not.

Let's see what happens.

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/297366#Comment_297366

Hi Members,

So I have received a response back from development team via bitdefender support & I guess they are in no mood to introduce the widget back again in the 2021 line of product. Below is their reply.

Regards

Flex

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/297420#Comment_297420

So what you're saying is that we need to flood the support email with angry messages if we're going to have any hope of getting the widget back. Gotcha. 🙂

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/297422#Comment_297422

Well, I never said anything. The reply was from the bitdefender support /development department. Twice they replied the same thing, so they have I guess made up their mind of not introducing the widget back again in 2021 line of products.

Regards

Flex

Wildecke

Have reloaded BD after reinstalling Windows10 and find that the widget is no longer there - even though it is on our other PC's protected under the same BD subscription. I entirely agree that the widget was a very useful device to reassure the user that the protection was in place with no problems. A really poor decision to remove it - those who do not want it can easily disable it. For me it was a key feature of BD which I have always up until now recommended to friends. Please bring it back!

Kevin

froggythrower

Now that the security widget has been removed, I too will be changing the 15 computers and 10 other devices I look after for various people, and will be changing to a different product, I will never recommend BD again, the security widget was a reassurance the inept/confident user alike did not need to take any action and that the system was up to date and protected..... so say goodbye to me and my 25 licences BD

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/297507#Comment_297507

Not before emailing Customer support! Go here and send them an email: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/

If enough people do it, then at least we will accomplish annoying them with a flood of angry emails if not actually getting them to consider re-introducing the Widget back!

Xeno

I find this unpleasant surprise right now as turned on the pc. 😕

Then please inform us users if there is any visualisation of the bd updating, downloading, scanning etc. Just because it wasn't the widget itself what caused any problem (if ever) actually but the turning off the computer while these actions run. Or should I check the task manager every time?

By the way any hint how can I identify / where can I find which product (version of the product) is running?

[Deleted User]

@Xeno

You can find out your version information by right-clicking the BD icon on the lower right of your task bar, and selecting "About". You might not have the BD icon set to show there always, so just click the up arrow to the left of last icon on the right side of your taskbar. The BD icon should be there. In 'Settings", "Personalization", you can select which icons always appear on the right side of the taskbar.

I hope this helps. Have a great day.

Regards,

-Phil

VictorK

As Captain Obvious mentioned, please send them an email: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/

about it.

In addition, some days after your support request, you'll receive an email from Bitdefender "Tried Bitdefender services? Tell us about them!"

Please spend some time to fill it, because in it there's a very important question that must be answered :

How likely is that you would recommend Bitdefender to a friend, colleague, or a family member?

If you answer that you definitely would not there's another question about the reasons... Then you can express your disappointment about the widget removal.

You can also try sending suggestions or feedback to surveys@bitdefender.com

I also noticed that there's another similar topic in the forum "Please bring back the security widget".

The most important thing is sending an email to BD Customer support !! email: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/297563#Comment_297563

Hi Member,

Whether you send email via online forum (https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/) or via direct email to bitsy@bitdefender.com ,it is one of the same thing. The email will be delivered to the same support department.

Now considering 500 million people using bitdefender as per what is stated on their website, even if all the people in this particular post will fill up the forum, which is less than 1% of 500 million people. You still need at least 40-50% of people reporting to bring back the widget for development team to rethink about the same. Though bitdefender obeys opinion of every user, but end decision has to be taken by the development team.

Regards

Flex

Mayoday

How are we supposed to know when the TB is updating or running a scan without the widget

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/297581#Comment_297581

HI Member,

Manually check for updates by right clicking on the icon of bitdefender in the taskbar and click on update now. If you see no new updates, that means automatic update is already working. Bitdefender signatures are updated after every one hour provided if there are signatures available.

Regards

Flex

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/297582#Comment_297582

Well, that's an obvious pile of dung considering the Security Widget made it plain & clear what was running. This is a huge step backward. (Not to mention that the Security Advisor is now non-functional in Chrome and FireFox).

I'm not trying to argue. These are confirmed FACTS from PAYING CUSTOMERS.

2CO is very amicable on chargbacks for false advertising and the removal of features that we've paid for.

And on the old argument that it was "using unnecessary resources" - well then why does BD Total Security still have popup ads for VPN and other things that users don't want / can disable???

I want to disable to the stupid popud ads for BD upsells and enable a visual widget that we BOUGHT.

Anyone with me? Place your VOTE on my post at https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/297565

This thread is marked as "Accepted Answer" ? Because of the original poster?

I don't want to make life difficult for anyone, but I will start a new thread on this, and more.

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/297638#Comment_297638

Don't forget to email customer support: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/

They won't take us seriously if we don't flood them with angry emails.

FB20

I subscribe to the above general view - psychologically the presence of the widget is a desktop presence clearly stronger than a simple icon,.

The only extra remark is that the widget should be prepared to allow for a size change.

BitDefender should reconsider. Taking it away is a PR error.