You’re doubtless familiar with the Bitdefender brand, one of the leading names in antivirus protection, and you may have heard of Bitdefender Central – but what exactly is it? That’s what we’re going to clear up in this article.
The very brief answer is that Bitdefender Central is an online hub that facilitates the management of your Bitdefender products and account. So, let’s break down what Bitdefender Central is capable of and why it might - or might not - be useful to you as a subscriber to a Bitdefender service.
What is Bitdefender Central?
Bitdefender Central is an online platform which can be used to manage a whole host of things related to your Bitdefender products and subscriptions. You need to create an account to log in to the Bitdefender Central web portal, and the main dashboard there will provide at-a-glance details about all your Bitdefender stuff – which devices you’ve got protected, and any recent threats detected.
You can also view any piece of hardware you have Bitdefender installed on to manage those devices, and also manage any active subscriptions, or browse a library of help features should you be stuck with anything. So it's a handy hub if you've got an all-singing all-dancing Bitdefender internet security suite covering multiple devices.
Bitdefender Central also facilitates access to further premium services from the security firm.
What devices can I use Bitdefender Central on?
Bitdefender Central can be used on any piece of hardware capable of running a web browser. All you need to do is head to the browser, go to the Bitdefender Central page, and log in to your account, then you’re off and running.
Bitdefender Central: what features does it have?
Bitdefender’s online portal is equipped with a number of features to make managing all your devices with the company’s products installed on them easier. It offers not just management but remote access, too, which means if you have a subscription like Bitdefender Total Security which supports a lot of devices – perhaps across your entire family – you can take control and do things for less tech-savvy folks.
The functions you can access via Bitdefender Central include:
Remote management
You can view the details of any device with a Bitdefender product installed, and manage certain features directly from the Bitdefender Central hub. That includes remotely triggering a malware scan on a device, for example (note that obviously the hardware in question must be powered on and connected to the net). You can also remotely run device optimization measures, or a vulnerability scan.
Anti-theft capabilities
Should you lose a device or have it stolen, Bitdefender Central gives you the ability to track it down, or send a message – and in the worst-case scenarios, remotely lock or wipe the hardware (again, assuming it’s connected online).
Parental controls
Those who have Bitdefender Internet Security or Total Security get parental controls with these packages, and can manage them in Bitdefender Central. From the hub, it’s possible to monitor your child’s online activity, and their location in the real world, setting screen time limits and more.
Support portal
There’s a bunch of help provided within Bitdefender Central, including video tutorials, FAQs, a knowledgebase, and more. These resources are very handy for the less experienced users out there.
Subscriptions and services
There are also panels to manage your subscriptions – including the ability to turn off auto-renewal – and offers of premium services from Bitdefender, like a remote PC full tune-up service.
How good is Bitdefender?
Bitdefender provides a full range of antivirus solutions, bristling with stacks of features when you look at the higher-end plans, and Bitdefender Central represents a neat way of managing your purchased products via a convenient portal you can access anywhere.
Should you get stuck with anything, the Bitdefender Central hub provides some quality help resources, and it has some standout remote management capabilities, particularly for those with a family, who (assuming they’ve subscribed to a plan with parental controls) can keep an eye on their kids from any device with a browser.
In short, Bitdefender Central is a useful extra that anyone who has bought one of the security firm’s products will likely benefit from – but if you don’t want to use this web portal, you don’t have to (beyond first setting up your Bitdefender antivirus solution, or managing your account and subscriptions).
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