Where is my Security Widget?

I remember a few years ago the security widget disappeared after an update as Bitdefender had removed it then brought it back. A few weeks ago, I noticed that my security widget is gone again. I followed the directions on getting it back, but when I right click on the system tray, I do not see the "show widget on desktop" option. Also, I do have the slide bar in the settings of the Bitdefender interface turned on to show the security widget. I searched in the support topics and there are no recent reports of this issue that I could see.

I am not sure how to get it back again. My computer is running Windows 11 Home, Version 10.0.22621 Build 22621. Any help would be appreciated because I do like seeing the widget.

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Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/96103/where-is-my-security-widget

Kindly perform below steps & see if this helps you in anyway.

1) Uninstall the bitdefender product with add/ remove programs option in windows

2) To remove the remaining files download and run Bitdefender product uninstaller: https://www.bitdefender.com/files/KnowledgeBase/file/Bitdefender_2022_Uninstall_Tool.exe

3) Restart PC in safe mode: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/start-your-pc-in-safe-mode-in-windows-92c27cff-db89-8644-1ce4-b3e5e56fe234

4) As soon as desktop opens, assuming your windows drive is C, open below things in run (windows icon + R) command one by one :

C:\Program Files (delete any folder with name bitdefender)

C:\Program Files (x86) (delete any folder with name bitdefender)

C:\ProgramData (delete any folder with name bitdefender)

C:\Users\{your pc name}\AppData\Local (delete any folder with name bitdefender)

5) Open run command again and run below command one by one :

temp ,delete all the files in the folder

%temp% ,delete all the files in folder

prefetch ,delete all the files in folder

6) Open registry editor through run command (windows icon + R) and then type regedit. Once registry editor opens, click on edit -> find, make sure to tick mark match whole strings only. Type bitdefender in search box and click find next. If any file or folder under name of bitdefender is found, delete it. Continue searching the registry and deleting until the search will report no registry keys found.

7) Restart your PC in general mode by unticking the option that you selected to run the system in safe mode and then click apply.

8) Remove devices from online bitdefender central: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/2795/

9) Download online installer for your respective bitdefender product from below stated links

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus: https://download.bitdefender.com/windows/installer/en-us/bitdefender_antivirus.exe

Bitdefender Internet Security: https://download.bitdefender.com/windows/installer/en-us/bitdefender_isecurity.exe

Bitdefender Total Security: https://download.bitdefender.com/windows/installer/en-us/bitdefender_tsecurity.exe

Once your respective bitdefender product is installed, a bitdefender dialogue box will open where you will need to login with your registered bitdefender online central details and after a successful login, your product will be synchronized with your online bitdefender central account. Henceforth, your product will get registered & activated with online bitdefender central automatically.

If issue persists,

Generate bitdefender BDsysLog: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/1922/

Generate bitdefender support tool logs: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/1733/

Generate bitdefender connectivity logs: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/9689/

Share the logs & your query with bitdefender support team by dropping them an email at bitsy@bitdefender.com

If the generated logs are larger in size, you can upload the logs to google drive or we.tl (7days link validity for free users) or ask the support team to provide you with the online link & password of bitdefender cloud where you can upload the logs and share the upload link with the support team.

The support team will reply back to your query within next 24-48 hours excluding weekends.

Regards

Yvette M

Thank you very much Flexx. Tonight when I started the computer, the widget was back for some strange reason. I did not do anything different, so not sure why it suddenly showed up again after a 2 week absence. I am going to save your answer and definitely try it out if my widget disappears again. If it does disappear again I will let you know for sure whether the steps in your answer worked for me.

Thanks again,

Yvette

Williamtell

I have similar issues. Widget disappears and reappears unexpectantly.

At start up, the widget disappears, the Bitdefender icon in the task bar disappears but Windows security says Bitdefender is running and it won't run the startup scan I scheduled. Also, when widget is activated, it will run fine for a few days then suddenly it disappears on startup, startup scan doesn't run, and Bitdefender's icon no longer appears in taskbar. If I disable the widget, it scans after reboot and icon appears on task bar.

I've already uninstalled and reinstalled per tech support instructions. Worked fine for a few days then same symptoms appeared again. Disabled widget, restarted and it's working fine. Seems the widget is causing a conflict.

Scott

I also reported it about 5 days ago in a private member, Admin PM thread, as it was happening to me as well. Windows 11 Pro 64-bit.

I'll remind @Alexandru_BD to look into this.

Yvette M

Mine has also been appearing and disappearing randomly and seems to be when updates happen, but not always. It has been gone for a few days now and I wish it would come back to stay. It is getting quite frustrating as it is one of the ways I can tell if Bitdefender has loaded and is protecting my computer.

Yvette.

AliceW

The widget problem reappears often. The support team provides a twenty step solution. I am sorry, but any product that requires a twenty step fix on a regular basis is not ready to be marketed!

Scott

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/327762#Comment_327762

Hello :)

If you wanted to try the short version, you could run a repair and see if that resolves it for you.

https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/13429/

Kind regards,

Scott

Yvette M

Once again, my widget is back. This time it was gone for a few days when my computer updated Windows. I don't need to do the 20 step process each time this happens because my time is valuable too. Therefore, I wait until the widget shows up again. Maybe Bitdefender needs to liaise with Microsoft a little more closely, to know when updates are about to happen then working to keep their product working properly after an update.

Yvette

Boglet

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/327768#Comment_327768

This resolved my problem, but I suspect it will return - Alicew is right, this should not be necessary

Vauia

It's frustrating when the security widget disappears after an update. I remember Bitdefender did this a while back and then brought it back. Now, I'm facing the same issue, but I can't find the "show widget on desktop" option when I right-click on the system tray. I've also made sure the slider in Bitdefender's settings is turned on for the security widget. I've searched through the support topics, but there don't seem to be any recent reports of this problem. My system is Windows 11 Home, Version 10.0.22621 Build 22621. If anyone has a solution to this, I'd really appreciate it, as I like having the widget on my desktop.

Yvette M

Vauia, I think that the slider in Bitdefender is the only place now that you can tell Bitdefender to show the widget on the desktop. I agree, it is very frustrating that the widget keeps disappearing and reappearing the way it does and it doesn't seem to matter if you do the 20 step process or the shorter process, because it always seems to disappear again later. Either of these fixes only serve to take more time out of my day that I do not wish to spend.

My computer is running Windows 11 as well and the widget has disappeared once again. These days it seems to be gone more than it is there. (Or maybe I notice more when it is gone and it seems longer, I am not sure) When the widget is gone, I open Bitdefender when I startup my computer so that I know it is running instead of assuming it is running. It is an annoying workaround but at least I know for sure that it is running before I go onto the internet and it takes less time than either of the fixes proposed do.

Yvette