Suggestion for BitDefender products GUI

Hello! I would like to make a suggestion to improve the BitDefender products. I have been using Bitdefender Total Security on my Windows laptop and BitDefender Mobile Security on my Android smartphone for many years. What I realized in the last few years is that very little to no changes have been made on Bitdefender Total Security's and Bitdefender Mobile Security's GUI. That's really sad in my opinion. I believe that the programs' GUI shouldn't stay the same, programs must change, refresh and improve. Seeing the same appearance in a program every day in the last few years, gets tiring and boring. So, I think that the Bitdefender products are in need of a big change in their GUI. This is my suggestion and proposal for the improvement of the Bitdefender products. I hope my suggestion is going to be useful to you and I hope you'll use it in the future Bitdefender product versions. Thank you in advance.

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  • Scott
    Scott Defender of the month mod
    edited September 2022

    Hi @getaid

    First of all, I like your taste in music :)

    I do like the layout the way it is, except that @Flexx brought up some good observations from this thread that I agree with:

    I like the 6 Quick panels on the main Dashboard, with the ability to change their order. I like the left-side navigation menu.

    I also like the size of the panels (boxes) within Protection, Privacy, etc. as they are small enough to show multiple options within that window so as to not have to do a lot of scrolling up or down to see all the options. I do have another vendor's AV where those panels are so big, that you have to do twice the amount of scrolling up or down just to find the option you're looking for.

    Dark mode was a nice addition. What changes would you like to see?

    All Bitdefender Home Product User Guides:https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/user-guides/

  • getaid
    getaid
    edited September 2022

    Hello @Scott, thank you very much for your response. I like your taste in music too!

    I understand what you said and I understand your opinion.

    Since 2019 (if I recall correctly) the Bitdefender products (I'm talking about Bitdefender Total Security) have similar GUI. Since 2019 no serious changes have been made in Bitdefender programs' GUI, 2022 is coming to an end it's been 3 years without any big changes in the programs' GUI. As a result, one cannot see the difference between the versions, and they get bored or tired of seeing the same things over and over again with very small changes.

    We're in 2022 and everything changes. Windows changed (Windows 11), Android changed, iOS changed (iOS 16) etc. For me, having a very similar design or GUI for three years when everything has changed is a bit tiresome and shows no progress. As I've mentioned in my previous message, I believe that programs (just like in real life) shouldn't stay the same, but they to change, refresh and improve in all stages.

    I'm not a graphic designer or something like that to suggest any specific changes for the GUI, but I truly believe that Bitdefender programs' GUI need a big change/refresh in the appearance.

    Thank you again for your reply.

  • Scott
    Scott Defender of the month mod

    Skin options?

    All Bitdefender Home Product User Guides:https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/user-guides/

  • Gjoksi
    Gjoksi DEFENDER OF THE YEAR 2022 / DEFENDER OF THE MONTH ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Scott

    No need for skin options, it is not audio and/or video player.

    Like the OP already said, the GIU should be finally changed/refreshed/improved.

    For me, for the past 5 (five) years the GUI hasn't been changed at all.

    (Almost) all other anti-virus vendors change their GUI every year or at least every second or third year.

    Kind regards.

  • Scott
    Scott Defender of the month mod

    @Gjoksi lol :) :)

    @getaid ;)


    All Bitdefender Home Product User Guides:https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/user-guides/

  • Hello, thank you for your replies.

    I totally agree with what you said @Gjoksi!

    @Scott First of all, I like your taste in music too (PINK FLOYD FOREVER).

    Let's get back to the topic now. I understand what you mean and I understand your opinion.

    Of course I'm not just talking about a skin option, but for A BIG CHANGE in the Bitdefender programs' GUI that will result in a complete refresh of the programs' appearance. (I'm talking about Bitdefender Total Security, Bitdefender Mobile Security etc.)

    Since 2019 (if I recall correctly) Bitdefender's GUI (I'm talking about Bitdefender Total Security) is pretty much the same without any serious changes, that's pretty sad. 2022 is coming to an end, it's been three years without any important change in the GUI of the Bitdefender programs that will result in a complete refresh in the programs' appearance.

    It's 2022 and everything has changed. Windows changed (Windows 11), Android changed, iOS changed (iOS 16) etc. Seeing the same design or appearance for three years with little to no change is, in my opinion, really tiresome and boring. As a result, the user doesn't see any difference between the new versions and the old ones, which shows that there's absolutely no progress. As I've said in my previous message, programs (just everything in real life) shouldn't stay the same, but they must change, improve and refresh in all stages.

    I'm not a graphic designer or something like that to suggest any specific changes for the GUI, but I truly believe that the Bitdefender programs are in true need of a big change that is going to make the GUI and appearance in general look a lot different than the one we have now.

    Thank you again for your response.

  • Hello everyone,

    I have to say this is a very good topic. I like to fantasize and I was thinking of several themes that you could use in the UI. I truly believe this would be something really cool to have. I know it's not a media player, but i think that any interface, no matter the product, should provide such customization options. This way, the user won't get bored as time goes by and it could also boost interaction with the respective product. And you will get the feeling that you are using something new and fresh with every improvement.

    But this isn't something that can be done easily, I guess. I think there are also other reasons for which some UI stays the same over the years, such as familiarity for the user. I'm not reluctant to change, but there are few things that are more frustrating to me than having to start from scratch with a product that I could configure with my eyes closed before. It's like when you go to the supermarket and they have all the products rearranged. So before, you could grab your groceries instinctively and now they are scattered on different shelves and you have to reset what you knew and start over. Same thing happens whenever someone decides to change something that was working fine before, just for the sake of a refresh. And because reinventing things takes vision and innovation, many end up screwing things or making them worse than before.

    There is a saying: if something isn't broken, don't try to fix it.

    Nevertheless, this is an interesting perspective and I will ask some opinions from the brand and design teams, to see if there are any prospects to upgrade the UI in the near future.

    Cheers and thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • Scott
    Scott Defender of the month mod

    @Alexandru_BD I agree.

    But this isn't something that can be done easily, I guess. I think there are also other reasons for which some UI stays the same over the years, such as familiarity for the user. I'm not reluctant to change, but there are few things that are more frustrating to me than having to start from scratch with a product that I could configure with my eyes closed before. It's like when you go to the supermarket and they have all the products rearranged. So before, you could grab your groceries instinctively and now they are scattered on different shelves and you have to reset what you knew and start over. Same thing happens whenever someone decides to change something that was working fine before, just for the sake of a refresh. And because reinventing things takes vision and innovation, many end up screwing things or making them worse than before.

     There is a saying: if something isn't broken, don't try to fix it.


    It may be nice to see something different, a change, but I really like how this layout that has progressed over the years to get to this point. Maybe Flexx cosmetic idea he posted (my 1st reply) would be nice. I do have Kaspersky Plus on my work CAD/CAM PC simply for the ability to right-click to Pause services, and if needed, to Quit services due to the intensity of the resources used by that software. But, the interface and the amount of scrolling I need to do to get to the settings is too much. Bitdefender size of the options menus in Privacy, Protection etc is wonderful and easily accessed, without a lot of scrolling up or down.

    If there is anything I would like to see "changed", is just to focus on the stability of the software itself, pop-ups, notifications, and of VPN and the Password Manager. This is where I would like to see greater attention being brought too. If this were an operating system that I was looking at daily for hours, then I could see that desire but, we have options as far as wallpapers that can be downloaded and set as a slideshow, or add-on customizations like Object Desktop (which at times can get glitchy). With Bitdefender the only time I see it, is if I'm curious about something, or in getting a screenshot to help on the forum; otherwise, it for me has been a set it and forget it app.

    All Bitdefender Home Product User Guides:https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/user-guides/

  • This is really going the ideation route, I love it.

    I can't wait to collect this feedback and send it to our developers on Monday morning :)

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • Gjoksi
    Gjoksi DEFENDER OF THE YEAR 2022 / DEFENDER OF THE MONTH ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Alexandru_BD and @Scott

    Disagree with both of you.

    It's like going in a Mercedes car dealer store to buy a new car and every time you go there, you see only one model from that factory. That one model is for sale this year, and the next year, and the year after the next year etc.

    Speaking of changes, why on earth the Update and About button can be only accessed via the system tray icon?

    They should be implemented in the main program interface.

    Kind regards.

  • Scott
    Scott Defender of the month mod
    edited September 2022

    I agree with the manual Update option in the main UI. Voted :) Maybe even an option as far as it being a Quick Panel update?

    All Bitdefender Home Product User Guides:https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/user-guides/

  • Hello, everyone.

    I agree with @Gjoksi and the example he provided with the Mercedes car. It was correct and smart and well done for what you said. (I really hope BitDefender doesn't have this logic)

    I totally disagree with @Alexandru_BD and @Scott. (sometimes disagreeing is helpful, because disagreement brings the best ideas)

    Thank you @Alexandru_BD for finding my topic interesting, but I disagree and I'm going to explain the reasons below.

    In my country there's a saying, "if you don't break eggs, you won't make an omelet".

    About the saying you used "if something isn't broken, you don't have to fix it", if people had the same logic then we would have absolutely no progress as mankind. We would still be climbing on trees.

    BitDefender products need a big change in their GUI, so that they have a completely different appearance. For 3+ years we have a GUI that has very little to no changes. This, in my opinion, is quite sad and unacceptable, it gets tiresome and boring, you can't even see the difference between the versions because they are pretty much the same every year for more than three years.

    GUI is what the user sees in a program and what they interact with. Seeing a program that, for more than three years, hasn't changed at all is something that shows a lack of progress and vision. That's why I truly believe that BitDefender products need a great change to their GUI, and a big refresh to their appearance.

    As I've mentioned in my previous post, we're in 2022 and everything changes. Windows changed, Android changed, iOS changed, programs are changing, other antivirus companies change their GUI and appearance (like Kaspersky, Avast, FSecure, Avira etc.), you can look that up if you want.

    As for the skins, skins aren't the solution. As @Gjoksi said we aren't talking about a audio and/or video player or browser, but for a security application that needs to inspire innovation and seriousness.

    I really wish my suggestion and all the topic I created is useful to you and a big change will finally be done to the BitDefender programs because they need it a lot.

    Thank you in advance.

    Best Regards.

  • Alexandru_BD
    Alexandru_BD admin
    edited September 2022

    @getaid Let's first agree to disagree, right? 🙂

    I think it's great to have so much diversity and different perspectives on things, because this is the real path to improvement and innovation, when someone comes with an idea or suggestion and someone else challenges it. This is how we learn, because most of the time we could be focused solely on our view on things and if no one challenges it, we would never find out what are the possible faults and weak points. It's impossible to see them all, by yourself. And when challenged, one can built on it and come up with an even better idea or concept, with the contribution of others.

    Going back to our main topic, I think that in the past years, the main focus was on innovation, technology and research, but also on developing the solution set. The first half of 2022 was a busy period for our teams, with new products and services emerging one after another. In just six months, Password Manager, Antivirus Free for Windows, Identity Theft Protection, the Ultimate Security bundle and Safety Check were launched, culminating with a brand new website design and adding the relaunch of this Expert Community. But these developments and their implementation required preparation, investment, testing, resources and more.

    Knowing the amount of work that was carried out in the background, I can understand why redesigning the graphical user interface was not a priority. Of course, this doesn't mean that the GUI will stay the same forever, surely there will be updates at some point. Frankly, I like the current graphics, they are clean and intuitive. This layout is the creation of the brilliant design minds we have here at Bitdefender. And it was conceived with the user experience in mind. The ease of use is the primary rule or principle on which this GUI is based.

    I also like @Gjoksi's example. Mercedes is a good example. But what about Porsche? They've been using the same shape for almost 60 years with the 911 and they are one of the most recognizable brands on the planet. 🙂

    The technological landscape evolves rapidly and we should do our best to keep up with it, but I think we should also keep some distinctive elements, something that is unique to the brand and makes the product easily recognizable and user friendly at the same time.

    Cheers

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • Gjoksi
    Gjoksi DEFENDER OF THE YEAR 2022 / DEFENDER OF THE MONTH ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Alexandru_BD

    Don't bother checking who clicked on the "Disagree" button on your comment. It was me. 😁

  • Scott
    Scott Defender of the month mod

    lol...:) :)

    All Bitdefender Home Product User Guides:https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/user-guides/

  • Flexx
    Flexx DEFENDER OF THE YEAR 2023 / DEFENDER OF THE MONTH ✭✭✭✭✭ mod
    edited September 2022

    Interesting things happening here 😅

    Finally got time to review a single post, lol 😜

    Before we start or stop discussing about GUI, why is the community website not featuring bitdefender name in it. While I came to know that quotes were placed besides the bitdefender logo but the name of the company should reflect in order to make it feasible for the community or bitdefender users worldwide who do not have proper navigation skills know that they are surfing the correct forum.

    And by name, I mean the company name next to bitdefender logo excluding the statement "Welcome to bitdefender community" on the main page of the community forum.

    Regards

    Life happens, Coffee helps!

    Show your Attitude, when you reach that Altitude!

    Bitdefender Ultimate Security Plus (user)

  • Scott
    Scott Defender of the month mod

    @Alexandru_BD so far we both have 3 Disagree's in this thread, care to make another post to break our tie 😂😂😂

    All Bitdefender Home Product User Guides:https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/user-guides/

  • Hi @Flexx

    We wanted to have a community motto, one that defines what this forum is all about and we came up with "real devices, real people", an unique "trademark" that was very well received.

    On the homepage, we had "Expert Community" featured in two places, so we have updated the logo on the left side to display the new community motto. It's really hard not to make the connection with Bitdefender, since the homepage shows the welcome message and there are in-product links that lead to the forum and the official website displays a special tab for it as well.

    When it comes to search engines, the community is displayed with the Bitdefender name and logo. We have also learned that when users are searching for answers, the community is not really mentioned in their keywords, but the actual problem/situation/how to's are searched. So basically, if a topic relevant to the search exists, the results will display it and this way the users may find their answers quicker.

    Cheers!

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • As for the GUI, any changes or future plans to upgrade it are subject to business and internal strategy decisions that I cannot disclose. So I cannot confirm nor dismiss this, as i'm sure you understand :)

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • Flexx
    Flexx DEFENDER OF THE YEAR 2023 / DEFENDER OF THE MONTH ✭✭✭✭✭ mod

    Life happens, Coffee helps!

    Show your Attitude, when you reach that Altitude!

    Bitdefender Ultimate Security Plus (user)

  • Do you have any news about the upgrade and refresh of the programs' GUI?

  • Gauthey
    Gauthey ✭✭✭

    Hello thank you for your feedback,


    The current Bitdefender interface is precisely all the charm of this antivirus. whether or not it changes the importance is what's under the hood and Bitdefender beats all competitors.


    I understand and approve of those who want the dashboard to evolve or change, even when the Security Widget disappeared we had fought internally to bring it back, something the product service had taken into account and had spent many days has paufinated his return.


    I apologize for my bad English I translate

  • gur_helios
    gur_helios ✭✭✭
    edited March 2023

    @Adriana_S

    Hi Adriana

    Thank you for your survey regarding to implementing additional features in Bitdefender. First of all, I'm all satisfied with the functionalities of Bitdefender.


    Spontaneously said, I would like to see two points being implemented in Bitdefender as "expert features".

    1) When a new update appears, it takes sometimes a week or even more till I get it on my system(s). It would be nice to have an on and off switch to force Bitdefender to install the update immendiately after being released. Since I'm used to make daily backups of my system and even if the update had bugs contained I can always jump back in time and restore a completed backup.

    2) I would also like to see an on and off switch which allows me to take part of the beta program of Bitdefender just by the click of one button.


    Best wishes, Uwe

  • Scott
    Scott Defender of the month mod

    Hi @gur_helios

    As far as 1) It would be nice if the staged roll-out times could be tightened up on Bitdefender's server side. Some of us are a week out in getting the build updates.

    2) Since the beta campaigns are pretty much over for now, I think that option would be put on the back burner.

    :)

    Scott

    All Bitdefender Home Product User Guides:https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/user-guides/

  • Scott
    Scott Defender of the month mod

    I agree, the UI is fine with me, I'm more concerned about the stability and functionality of the app itself. Some little added features would be nice., but, as an example, the Password protection disabling itself, Game profile not saving Postpone Windows Automatic Updates etc. I get these things happen, but that would be my main focus and concern other than cosmetic changes.

    All Bitdefender Home Product User Guides:https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/user-guides/

  • gur_helios
    gur_helios ✭✭✭
    edited March 2023

    Hi @Scott

    Yikes! Yes, you are right. I completely forgot to mention the bugs you described (password protection disabling itself, trouble with profile settings and so on).

    Guess, I was already so used to them that I missed them out while I was jotting down my post. 😊

  • Scott
    Scott Defender of the month mod

    lol..."so used to them", yes, sometimes I forget too, until a member posts about it and reminds me :)

    All Bitdefender Home Product User Guides:https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/user-guides/

  • Gjoksi
    Gjoksi DEFENDER OF THE YEAR 2022 / DEFENDER OF THE MONTH ✭✭✭✭✭

    Hello, guys.

    The "Password protection disabling itself" bug was fixed with the latest version 26.0.34.145.

    Since i updated to the latest build, the bug is gone, the Password protection doesn't disable by itself anymore. 😉

    BUT, the "Game profile not saving Postpone Windows Automatic Updates" bug is still here! 😁

    Regards.

  • fedor
    fedor Defender of the month mod

    good evening to all,

    exult at the translation.

    In my opinion the interface can remain in the current state the main thing is that bitdefender does its job properly as it currently does.

    bitdefender could on each forum put a box of ideas.

    bitdefender could set an alarm as soon as it detects a virus or problem.

    I think the full version Premium Security Plus.

    cordially.

  • RedsFan
    RedsFan ✭✭✭

    The UI is fine with me, we can also choose between white or darkmode :) and thats a big plus.

  • garioch7
    garioch7 Defender of the month ✭✭✭✭✭

    As a longtime BD customer, I am satisfied with the GUI. It is familiar. What I am paying for is comprehensive and quality anti-malware protection.

    That said, it has often been suggested that two major improvements would be very welcome:

    1. The ability to totally disable BD with a simple click, as you can Malwarebytes Premium and some other anti-malware products. I understand the security concerns, but perhaps it could be tied to 2FA as is done with BD Central access. There are times when one wants to ensure that BD is not incorrectly blocking some process or program, as has happened in the past. For users to have to uninstall it, and consequently Malwarebytes Premium if they use that as I do, is a real time waster. For that matter, why does BD insist on eliminating all of the "competition" before it will install/reinstall?
    2. The ability to import exceptions. Again, I understand the security concerns. Perhaps doing that via BD Central or some 2FA system could be implemented. As it is presently, it is a real pain to have to manually add each file, folder, URL, or whatever to BD exceptions, starting at the C: drive and navigating to the appropriate file or folder.

    Those are just some of my thoughts for the future development of an outstanding product.

    I thank the BD team for making their quality product and support available to us. Thank you, and have a great day.

    Regards,

    Phil

    Former Bleeping Computer Malware Response Instructor

  • SaurikSI
    SaurikSI ✭✭✭

    Honestly, I think the current UI is good as it currently is, I don't think it should be changed.

    My only suggestion is to be able to completely exit Bitdefender for the reasons I have discussed in my post: https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/91650/exit-bitdefender#latest

    And also for Bitdefender to have have password protected uninstall, as the settings passwords is completely useless if it's not enforceable when trying to uninstall: https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/94809/password-protected-uninstall#latest


    -𝑺𝒂𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒌𝑺𝑰

  • The only thing I would do is add the possibility of having direct access to quarantine among the main "buttons". To access the quarantine you have to follow a somewhat convoluted path.

    Nunzio ·

    Bitdefender Plus, Windows 10 Pro-32 Bit, CPU Intel Core2 Duo T7500, RAM 4 Gb - Bitdefender Mobile Security

  • Hello,

    Just following up on this thread. Based on the feedback received from the community members, the developers worked to refresh the interface on Windows and the latest build 27.0.27.125 brings some nice visual improvements.

    Regards,

    Alex

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • Hello @Alexandru_BD,

    Finally a step was made. I hope that the changes in the GUI of the program will be many, important and significant. I also hope that the changes will be made in all other BitDefender products, not only for Windows products.

    As I said in a previous message I wrote, I really liked the new GUI from F-Secure, it looks simple, beautiful, easy and modern.

    Because unfortunately, until now, I haven't received version 27.0.27.125 so I can't comment on the changes you say were made to the GUI. Can you send us some screenshots from the program so we can see the changes in the GUI?

    Thank you very much!

    Best regards.

  • Gjoksi
    Gjoksi DEFENDER OF THE YEAR 2022 / DEFENDER OF THE MONTH ✭✭✭✭✭

    @getaid

    Hello.

    Regards.

  • Hello @Gjoksi! Thank you for posting screenshots of the program to see if we have any GUI changes.

    Unfortunately the GUI is pretty similar, it's almost the same GUI, no significant changes have been made.

  • Hello,

    I'll share a bit more insight here.

    Based on the feedback received from the community, the developers worked to refresh the interface on Windows and brought some visual improvements.

    As pointed out by one of our product managers earlier on this thread, the existing UI design addresses both users who want to easily change/check something, and those who want to fiddle more with everything that’s included.

    We start from a good base that was developed not long ago and it's undeniably a design that's working, so it doesn't make sense to overhaul it, at least not now. There is also data & user feedback to back this up. Like Thomas Bertram once said: "don't fix it if it's not broken", so the general consensus is that we should not try to change something that is performing well and in our case, covers a wide variety of needs. However, analyzing the feedback received here, the developers decided to make some small adjustments, in order to enhance the interaction with the product and increase consistency cross-platform.

    Although it may not seem much at first, during this "facelift" the below operations were carried out. It is possible that the interface adjustments are not limited to these, but I have included those that are worth mentioning, from the user's perspective:

    • Rounded corners and a more visible delimitation of the interface limits on light mode;
    • More visible branding in the title bar;
    • Light mode refresh that adheres to our evolving design guidelines;
    • For microinteractions: animated status icon, animated menu transitions, subtle animation for the menu icons;
    • Autopilot recommendations with a dismissable interface and better transitions between them and also confirmation feedback on the positive cta.

    Again, this is not to be considered a major overhaul of the UI.

    Regards,

    Alex

    Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user

  • Flexx
    Flexx DEFENDER OF THE YEAR 2023 / DEFENDER OF THE MONTH ✭✭✭✭✭ mod

    You are constantly spamming the forum with your offensive words. Kindly stop doing this before you will get banned from the forum.

    https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/334271

    Regards

    Life happens, Coffee helps!

    Show your Attitude, when you reach that Altitude!

    Bitdefender Ultimate Security Plus (user)