Firewall Alert Mode
I've been dealing with a faulty Alert Mode for over a year. The alert mode will automatically disable itself. I have talked to support and have attempted all suggested fixes, some of which are pretty involved. I finally gave up and disabled Bitdefender firewall and purchased another brand firewall program. Now a new and even more bizarre behavior: Bitdefender firewall will re-enable itself, which disables my new Firewall program in the process. Any ideas? I am about to cry, uncle, and purchase Norton.
Comments
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Hi @timbermark
I've never tried disabling Bitdefender's firewall for extended periods of time before, or permanently, as I also have a Antivirus Plus subscription for that purpose. I don't know if support suggested this, but what you can try is to Password protection your settings. Set up your password, disable the Firewall, and see if that makes Bitdefender hold the setting better.
Kind regards,
Scott
All Bitdefender Home Product User Guides: https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/user-guides/
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Scott,
That is a great idea. I will give that a try. It makes enough sense for me to have some hope. I'll keep you updated.
Much appreciated.
`mark
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Scott,
Just following up. Your ideas seems to be working. Since I applied a password, the firewall alert setting has not changed. That is the longest I remember that the setting is stable. Thanks again for your suggestion. The support did not recommend that option. Thanks again.
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Update: Unfortunately, I spoke too soon. Although less frequent, Bitdefender continues to disable firewall Alert Mode, thus, covertly diverting my choice to permit or block applications. In this case, it will bypass the security option of a password required for settings modifications. That is a huge no-no for a security app. My remedy: Installed Norton. Love Bitdefender for many reasons, but Norton too is a decent security app but with better stability and QA IMO. I've been working with this issue for too long and bypassing my password security was the last straw.
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This is unacceptable, the alert mode is the most important function in Bitdefender for my utilisation. It just stopped working one day without warning.
I had 2 years left on my licence but I can't trust this tool anymore. I spent the entire day looking for an alternative. I specifically tried to avoid Norton but I gave it a try in the end and it just works. Go to settings and disable Automatic program control. You get alerts whenever something new wants network access. as it should.
Also I was unable to sign in when I tried reinstalling Bitdefender, couldn't even create a new account, unacceptable. I give up. Good luck guys.
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Hello @xxxo,
As far as I know, there have been isolated cases where this happened, but whenever this behavior is observed, it should be reported through Support, as the engineers can help fix it.
As for the Central login issue, a password reset might do the trick, if not, this needs to be reported to Support as well.
Creating a new account will not work, because the email address is already registered and if you use a new email address, this will not be linked with your active Bitdefender subscription. The Bitdefender product needs to communitcate with the subscription/license from the Central account, as this is where it gets its configuration and validity from.
Should you reconsider Bitdefender, my recommendation would be to get in touch with the Support teams to sort out the subscription/license and make an inquiry about the status of the Alert Mode feature as well.
If not, regardless of your antivirus of choice, stay protected.
Good luck to you as well.
Regards,
Alex
Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user
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Thx for the reply. Since I didn't change anything on my system in the past year, I am blaming a faulty update. If it happened once, not just to me since I found posts about this issue dating back to 2019, I'll take a wild guess and say that even if the support manages to help me fix it now, it may happen again in the future. Trust is broken and in the case of security software it's especially aggravating.
I know that making a new account will not carry over my subscription, I was just stating that the log in window wouldn't let me do anything, just totally broken. I wasted an entire saturday trying to fix it, I'm done. The alternative that I found is working.
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It's sad to see people abandon a great security app due to attention to issues. I battled and reported that problem for 18 months; I tried every recommended trick in the book. I continue to use BD on my laptop--using up my subscription--but not my main desktop. I needed more control and stability with my security on the home machine. I resorted to using Norton and Malwarebytes (passive mode). Norton does a great job, but I originally moved to BD because Norton is a most irritating marketing machine--consistent spamming! I only have to pick my poising: annoying or broken?. :/
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I used to have this problem but at some point it was fixed but now I started using bitdefender VPN and I get the same issue. Alert mode keeps switching off.
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@Tarmo ,
This post might be of assistance.
Please let us know if it resolves the problem. If not, escalate to Support, as @Alexandru_BD suggested in his reply to that topic.
Good luck, and have a great day.
Regards,
Phil
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It dosent help. I was also able to reproduce the problem on another pc- my laptop. Alert mode will be switched off if I go to fullscreen mode on any application. Even tho no profiles are active.
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@Tarmo ,
It seems then that it is time to open a Support Ticket.
Chat is the fastest way to reach them. Note that phone support is not toll-free. You can also email them.
Please keep us posted. Good luck, and have a great day.
Regards,
Phil
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It's really annoying.. Let us know if you have a solution because I have the same problem too
Good luck.
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Still no fix out and there several post here about and in reddit there are a lot.
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Hello,
Has anyone here actually contacted the Support teams to share more information about this behavior? If this is not being reported to them, chances are they will not be aware of a possible issue. This thread was opened in July 2023 and the new behavior encoutered may not be related to the initial report. The only way to find out if this is an isolated behavior or a widespread issue is to contact the Support teams and provide them with logs from the affected devices, as per the instructions here:
The reddit posts regarding alert mode are quite old from what I've noticed (correct me if I'm wrong and please share any new discussions you come across there), so the situation you are currently experiencing may be completely unrelated.
Like I said, this should be investigated on a case-per-case basis to establish what are the circumstances in which alert mode is disabled, what specs and settings is the device running and what other particularities are involved.
Thank you.
Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user
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@Alexandru_BD mine is a week old and yes i did report it using the support chat. No go still.
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They are working on it. I have a open ticket:)
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I understand.
In such situations it's a bit difficult to estimate the timeframe for the release of the fix, usually because all reported bugs require investigation time. Nevertheless, if you have an open ticket, the Support engineers will provide an update there as soon as it becomes available to them. Since product updates are usually released once a month, it may take a while until a fix is implemented - this does not include the debugging period, which may be long or short, depending on the complexity of the problem they are facing. It really depends on what they find there and what's causing this behavior.
Regards
Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user
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I'm facing this issue as well with Firewall Alert Mode turning on. I'm still trying to hone in exactly on what is turning it off, but it does seem to be consistent in turning off whenever i open a game or fullscreen app (not sure if all of them).
I did contact support just yesterday, and we're in the process of investigating/debugging.
I hope a fix would be found for this issue since it's very important. Bitdefender shouldn't allow anything at all to modify its settings... but I understand that Windows is a crappy OS in which many apps can have ultimate control over it.
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@Frax Nothing to do with Win11. No matter what, Bitdefender should not allow the modification of its settings. Assuming Windows is a crappy OS, imagine if a malicious software tries to modify BD on purpose. I never heard of any OS or Software manipulating a security software. And is a known problem Bitdefender had for ages. Suddenly in an update they reintegrate the same issue. It must be a feature Bitdefender has that gets bugged by some reason and BD turns off Alert. Some years ago when Game Mode was a thing, Bitdefender had an issue where in a fullscreen software it would turn off automatic scan and alert mode. BD is detecting something that is making itself turn off Alert. Like you said, nothing, except the user should be able to turn off the firewall or the Antivirus.
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@pregunton I'm not entirely sure about this yet, but yes, it seems to make sense. You're most probably right that I can't blame Windows.
It looks like Bitdefender is linking this Alert Mode somehow to some Windows "Game Mode", notifications "Do Not Disturb", or whatever such features exist within Windows.
Yesterday I gave it a try with the game GTA 5 because this game seems to be a bit intrusive. It disables notifications by itself and disables the "Windows" key, and it has a special way of controlling and detecting background or foreground "focus". It could also be triggering something in Windows that Bitdefender is picking up as something to turn off Alert Mode. Whatever the cause is, it's definitely not an excuse. Bitdefender (or any Firewall software) should never allow this for any reason. Absolutely nothing at all should interfere with the settings of a security suite.
Since I do most of my work on Linux machines, I can afford to wait a month or two. Maybe I'll give this until May or June. If it's still an issue by then, I'll be switching to another software for my Firewall needs.
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It is frustrating as a bug, and it is 100% because of full-screen mode.
The support team answered me and confirmed that this is an issue on BD's side that they're working on at the moment.
They confirmed that any full-screen app might turn alerts off. I can reproduce it 100% of the time by just watching a YouTube video in full-screen mode. Alert mode switches off immediately.
They told me that it'll come in an update soon, so I'm hoping this won't take too long.
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I've tried using apps full screen and windowed. I can watch BD on my other screen turn alert mode off. I've done reboots between using an app full screen and windowed. It did not matter, the alert mode turned itself off. I don't use the build -in game on windows. It appears that this is an issue that has been happening for a few years.
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Hello,
Just a quick update here. "they told me that it'll come in an update soon, so I'm hoping this won't take too long" - that is correct, a fix is on the way. We just ask you to have a little patience, the debugging period may be long or short, depending on the complexity of the problem, but with this out of the way, they can start the implemetation process and release the new build containing the fix. It has been concluded that Alert mode is indeed disabled when entering full screen. This means that whenever an app (e.g. a browser) is opened in full screen, after approximately 30 seconds the feature turns OFF and obviously this shouldn't happen.
@pregunton I speak for myself here, I'm not really a fan of looking for another vendor when something doesn't work as expected, because I know that at the end of the day, if this is something that affects multiple users, it will be prioritized and fixed eventually. So, instead of researching for other options, cancelling subscriptions, making new purchases, subscribing again and learning how a new product operates and where all the features are, I prefer to wait patiently for the fix to arrive and just continue my daily activities. But of course, it's your decision to make, I'm just saying that for me it's not worth the hassle. I did this once, because I got upset on some IT product and ended up with someting far worse and decided to stick to what I know is best for me and works as expected 99% of the time.
Regarding the response timeframes for Support inquiries, I think we need to take into account that those teams handle thousands of requests on a daily basis since Bitdefender's userbase is huge, so yes, delays may be expected, but they always get back and help, no matter what.
@breadnbutter - It appears that this is an issue that has been happening for a few years. - This is incorrect. While reports concerning a similar issue can be found on the forum and that happened a long time ago, the new issue we are facing is completely unrelated, as that one was fixed at the time it was reported and this one surfaced after a recent update, as it can be seen that fresh reports emerged in March.
Regards,
Alex
Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user
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All, here's my forum post from May 2022 on this issue FYI
Alert Mode switching itself off. — Expert Community (bitdefender.com)
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So this is a documented recurring issue.
It might happen again.
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Hello,
I shared my behavior and steps to reproduce the issue here. I open a support ticket and no answer.
The two videos that I made are recorded on two different PCs where I tried to:
1 Disable automatic profiles in bitdefender
2 Protect Bitdefender settings via password
3 Turn off GameBar, GameMode and all Windows Notifications.
I read this community portal so I am not the only person having this kind if issue. Is clearly related to any application that goes in full screen mode like from watching a YouTube video to playing any game. Going in full screen mode will make the Alert Mode auto disable by itself.
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Have been using Bitdefender Internet Security for many years, always with (Firewall) Alert Mode ON. In all those years it has been switched off automaticly one or two, maybe 3 times (most of the times after a major update). This year (2024), starting in March, the Alert mode was turned off automaticly repeatly in just a single hour! As well on Windows 10 Pro as on Windows 11 Pro! This is a VERY VERY BAD thing and should be addressed asap!
I have found that going in full screen mode is not (completely) the issue, for one day (25th) it worked just fine, even though I used several applications in full screen mode.
No OS nor application should be able to change any Firewall Settings set by the user!
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Your findings are correct. Can you tell us when exactly did you open the ticket? It may take between 24-48hrs to receive a response from the Support teams. Have you tried the chat option as well? This would be the fastest way to reach them.
Anyway, the issue is well known and has been happening since the beginning of March, according to the earliest reports we received on the forum. Not to be confused with a previous occurence reported back in 2023. I had to close a few threads to avoid any confusion, because what has been tried then doesn't apply now and those discussions were no longer relevant to the present situation.
An investigation has already been opened and we are expecting a fix to be delivered in the upcoming updates. The Support teams can only collect reports and add them to the feedback list at this stage, so they can follow up with everyone as soon as the issue is resolved.
Regards,
Alex
Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user
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I use BitDefender since 2004 and I have seen all its development from the start. Even then it used to be the safest method to protect your PC, it developed fast and nice. When the Internet Security emerged I was thrilled, the product was perfect and the firewall was indeed what we needed to enhance the online security, and back then, the "Paranoid Mode" was a feature which gave the user a lot of control on every program attempting to connect to the web.
Anyways, at some point, I cannot remember precisely the year (most probably 2013), problems started with the "Paranoid mode" and there was no hope of recovery for the Firewall so I was basically forced to give up on BitDefender and switched to another security product which was not as good as BitDefender overall, but its Firewall features were flawless.
For more than a decade I was following this forum religiously and I've noticed that the problems with the Firewall's "paranoid mode" feature, now "Alert mode", were still there. I am eager to return to BitDefender, but it is really sad that even now they are issues with this fw feature. What is really happening there, these problems persisting for so many years (10+ years)? Is this a coincidence, or is someone on the inside trying to sabotage this great product? Why this feature always has issues and is malfunctioning?
I have the Total Security installed right now, and I am encountering the "new" bug which is disabling the Alert Mode every time you open an app in full screen. The behavior is erratic and hilarious sometimes, lol, I leave the BD window open and I click to turn the feature back on, just to see it turned off again in the next moment. It just turned off for 10 times as I clicked to get it back on. It feels like I am testing a beta product lol.
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I am also considering to finally switch away from Bitdefender. It seems there is no interest in solving the issue after soooo much time… I tried to de-install and install it again (testing it, but NOT FEASIBLE) and it worked for a bit, but just happened that even without going into full-screen the button can not be used.
Either there is a quick fix, or I will move away after many years of subscription. I stopped recommendation already this year, but it is clear with just a few dozen PC's there is no leverage to get this MAJOR problem fixed…
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Welcome to the Bitdefender Forums.
It seems there is no interest in solving the issue after soooo much time…I would respectfully disagree. Fixing this bug is a high priority for the Bitdefender programmers.
The Forum Administrator, @Alexandru_BD , responded just this morning to another complaint.
A fix is anticipated before the end of the month. Bug "fixes" have to be extensively tested before release to rule out the possibility that the proposed fix will "break" something else.
I can but ask for your patience. Have a great day.
Regards,
Phil
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Last year, I've reinstalled it twice, the 2nd time after using Bitdefender uninstaller tool. Didn't make any difference. It stays on, and then I notice I don't get a pop-up asking permission to allow something.
I cannot sort "rules" to when it was activated, so my only option is to "delete all rules" and start fresh. Have had to do this a couple of times that I've seen the Alert mode turn itself off on Bitdefender Total Security.
Is there a registry key that I can use to "enable" the alert mode every few minutes?
I actually wonder what other options it turns off that we don't see?
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Hello @jerry.cronin,
The developers released a fix for the Alert Mode with the latest Bitdefender version 27.0.35.146.
If your Bitdefender has a different build number, please note that product updates are being released gradually, so you should receive the latest build soon. You can check this article for more information on Bitdefender updates:
Rest assured that no other security features are turning off by themselves, this only happened with the Alert Mode in a specific scenario, whenever an app entered full screen.
Thank you for your patience.
Regards,
Alex
Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user
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I'm still stuck on 27.0.30.140… why would Bitdefender roll this out gradually and not include everyone on this forum whose been raising the issue?
Can you ask them to roll it out to all of us please, I'd like to be able to resume normal activity on my computer, including getting back to work securely.
Thanks.
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I've reported this problem 2 years ago.
Does not update itself? I ran update multiple times;Alert mode still self disables.
my version?
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Hi @Chris_Munday, @Negligence,
I've replied to you here:
To add here, Bitdefender updates automatically, but there's also the option to "push" for product updates using the available systray feature.
Last but not least, the issue concerning the Alert Mode from two years back does not have the same root cause, so the reports made back then are unrelated and should not be linked with the current issue.
I think it's necessary to mention this in order not to create the false impression that a bug reported 2 years ago was not resolved at that time.Thanks
Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user
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HOW DO I UPDATE TO 27.0.35.146 ??
I did the "manual update" as per www DOT bitdefender DOT com/consumer/support/answer/32196/ (site doesn't allow me to post the link) but even though BitDefender says I'm up to date, am still on 27.0.30.140
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Hi @jerry.cronin,
Check my response on this thread and the subsequent confirmations from users who already received the latest update:
Once the staged rollout update reaches 100%, it is automatically downloaded and installed. Then, Bitdefender will recommend a system restart to get the latest benefits included in the new version. You can still try to look for updates regularly using the systray option, but the new build will become available to you automatically soon. As far as I know the update rollout is still ongoing.
Regards,
Alex
Premium Security & Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools user
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Received it here and VERY thankful, it WORKS! So happy to get back to "normal" :)
So far so good, tested with movies, games, anything Fullscreen and it Works!
Good job BitDefender team
P.S.: You'll see me back here if I encounter any troubles with it.
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HI garioch7, thanks for your reply. As I have seen this error mentioned since 2022, the impression of "not much interest" is still there for such an important failure. Especially due to relating to the "password protection for changes"…
I still get the button switched off when a full screen movie is running. However, it does not switch when BD is running in the foreground, just shortly after switching to the movie… Password protection is asking me for input, but not the automatic switch…
Good to see that some people get a new version with a fix. I do still have 27.0.30.140, with the SW constandly updated. So we will see when it arrives here.
Regards
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Thank you for your post. This was a different bug than the one in 2022, which was fixed at the time.
I have two computers. One received the new update over a week ago, and the other has not, as of yesterday. Like you, I am waiting. The update will come . . .
Have a great day.
Regards,
Phil
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Still not got the update….
Would be nice if someone could ask them to include me in the early rollout pool so I can just get on with my work, instead of rolling it out to a load of people who probably aren't aware that alert mode has been compromising the security of their computers.
I've been manually forcing an update from the system tray
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@Chris_Munday , @JustOneMoreUser ,
My second computer got the update today. Have you members received the update to Version 27.0.35.147 yet?
Have a great weekend.
Regards,
Phil
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Finally got the update today..
Has anyone else now suddenly found it more difficult to clear the rules back to 0? I've just cleared mine but edge still manages to get through without an alert mode popup.
Just checked "application access" and it's not cleared out of there - but I'm struggling to find how to clear this now. Can anyone help me clear "application access"? It just used to clear everythin when resetting rules to 0.
Thanks
EDIT: Despite alert mode being switched on, Bit Defender is auto-allowing these applications to connect to the internet WITHOUT AUTHORISATION… Yet another security breach.
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I got the update, and everything is working as it's supposed to be now. I'm also glad this update didn't break anything else. I'm a developer myself, and this scares me poopless.
Thanks folks.
Oh and by the way, it's a good idea to "reset the rules" so that every process will need to request permission to go through the firewall again, just in case.
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I did get build 27.0.35.147, but the Alert mode STILL switches back off automatically.
I resetted the rules, but now I cannot even see the application rules of some of the programms I actually do not want to pass.
Summary, even it might have improved for someone: Still not working as it should and high security risk!
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same, except mine won’t switch back on.
applications still connecting to the internet without authorisation1 -
I have had the same issue on my previous BD total security and now on my BD internet security. Are you guys running a separate vpn like nord etc, if you are pause vpn and see if you are able to turn on/off alert mode. If this works reconnect VPN, should now be good to go…
cheers
H4rdh4t
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