Are you searching for a miracle cure for online threats? There is finally an answer. Use Bitdefender internet security which is one of the best security companies worldwide.
Bitdefender uses advanced artificial intelligence to identify and block the most sophisticated malware before it harms your machines.
In this Bitdefender review, you will learn more about its features, pricing, benefits, pros and its cons.
Also, check out how Bitdefender compares with other antivirus software.
Our recommendation: McAfee
With so many antivirus products in the market, there is none that’s like McAfee. With over 18.9 billion devices protected on a consistent basis, McAfee’s ability to deal with malware attacks come unmatched! McAfee has a dedicated database that is adept to deal with all sorts of virus attacks whether they may be online or offline. To browse their programs, check out their programs here!
Bitdefender Review: How Reliable Is This Antivirus Software?
If you are looking for a lightweight antivirus suite to offer the best security for your devices, choose Bitdefender antivirus malware. It works as a shield to block against all forms of malware such as Trojan, spyware, viruses, ransomware, just to name a few.
I have used many antivirus software during 10 past years but none has pleased me this much. Bitdefender is faster, has the best detection rate and their support is always there to solve any problem that I have.
It comes with many protection features which include:
- Malware protection
- Network protection
- Anti-phishing protection
- Web and email protection
- Data protection and back up
There are so many phishers online; people who are out there to steal your sensitive information such as credit card numbers, passwords and other documents. Safeguard yourself against these malicious people by using Bitdefender.
If you worry about your privacy, you can trust that this security company will keep your online activities, address, downloads and bank info private with its secure VPN. It made our best antivirus with VPN lineup.
Bitdefender is able to tell and warn you from entering phishing sites that masquerade as genuine sites.
Bitdefender comes with its secure browser to safeguard your payments while banking or shopping online. It has over 500 million devices connected to it, won several awards given by AV-TEST, has many positive reviews online meaning it is trusted by many people. There are cheaper software solutions like the one we covered in our Plumbytes Anti Malware review.
Bitdefender’s Security Features
Not only does this online security company offer protection against malware but comes with many features to keep hackers away from your computer, mobile gadgets and your whole family. Its features include the following;
- Bitdefender Offers protection features such as widespread malware protection, network protection, anti-phishing protection, web and email protection, data protection and back up. It will work perfectly to secure all of your devices, data, etc.
- It is a lightweight antivirus hence has the lowest impact on PC performance.
- It provides a secure VPN if you want to surf on the web anonymously.
- It offers protection for mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, and IPad. In other words, there is Bitdefender mac and android.
- Bitdefender improves the performance of devices with its PC optimization feature.
- Offers a smooth gaming experience with its gamer security feature.
- Bitdefender comes with a Wi-Fi security advisor.
- Secure your passwords and other sensitive information with its password manager.
- If you wish to delete your files permanently, use its file shredder feature. This will prevent them from recovered by hackers.
- Bitdefender comes with an anti-tracker that will block malicious users from viewing and collecting your data from websites that you login in.
- Scan Feature-The scan options of this antivirus include quick virus scan, full virus scan, custom virus scan, vulnerability scan and offline virus scanner.
- Parental Controls- this is a new feature that was added in Total Security 2020. It will allow you to control the time spent by your kids browsing and block offensive content
- Webcam protection feature-This software comes with a webcam and microphone protection feature that will prevent hackers from taking control of your webcam and microphone. It will notify you every time an app will try use your camera and mic.
Behavior Monitor and Ransomware Remediation
A single subscription of Bitdefender will analyze and monitor behavior of your device’s apps and determine if they are infected with malware or not.
Everybody is vulnerable to cyber-attacks. They can be in the form of ransomware, virus, Trojan or even spyware. Ransomware is a malicious program that holds files for ransom.
The attacker demands a payment in order to release files like certificates, videos and photos. This ransomware can enter your device by downloading attachments, entering phishing sites, or opening links in your email.
Ransom remediation feature of Bitdefender will identify and block this type of malware and prevent any attempt of hijacking your files.
The company advises its users to keep ransom remediation feature on so it can block all malicious processes involved in hijacking documents.
Phishing Detection
Bitdefender is the best at detecting and blocking phishing attempts before they have a chance of attacking your PC. Also, Bitdefender has a virus vault that automatically updates anytime a new attack is identified.
When you install Bitdefender, phishing protection is on by default, but you can always turn it off or on again as you like. Always make sure your Bitdefender software is updated with the current Bitdefender version to handle new threats.
The goal of a phishing attack is to obtain personal details of unsuspecting users. It could be the login credentials of your bank, shopping website, gaming website and can even steal your identity to commit more crimes.
For instance, you might find a page that looks exactly like a PayPal login page. You will obviously put your login information thinking it’s the genuine website. These details will be used to steal your cash.
Don’t be a victim of phishers. Protect yourself with this antivirus.
Webcam Filter
The 2020 edition of Bitdefender total security comes with useful features such as a webcam filter and others discussed in this review of Bitdefender. Who would have thought that webcam can be exploited by hackers to interfere with your security?
Webcam in your security system, laptops and phones can be used by malicious people to spy on you. Without a good antivirus, spyware can be used to activate your webcam remotely.
One of the ways you give webcam access to attackers is by clicking on bad links, visiting sites that have suspicious UR and downloading Trojans and spyware that masquerade as legitimate software.
How Bitdefender antivirus secures your webcams
Secure your webcams against malicious people with a webcam filter. It will fully secure your webcam by monitoring apps that try to gain access to it plus identify and block unknown applications.
As a safety measure, only trusted apps are allowed to use your webcam such as skype, WhatsApp etc. Also, you will be receiving a notification each time an app tries to access it.
This will enable you to allow or block it. With a webcam feature like this, all of your sensitive information will be protected and you will not have to worry if a hacker is watching you or not.
SafePay
Avoid being hacked when shopping or banking online with Bitdefender SafePay. Online shoppers and bankers are an easy target for hackers who are always looking to steal login information and credit card numbers.
Bitdefender is a secure browser that you can use to safely and privately shop, bank online and do other transactions. Its features include the following;
- Any website can be opened using this browser; it is not limited to online banking and shopping
- It will protect your login information while surfing the internet
- It has a virtual keyword which prevents malicious people from reading your keystrokes
- Supports bookmarks hence can save your favorite shopping, gaming or bank sites
- It blocks attempts of taking screenshots of your screen
- It does not depend on other browsers for its function
When you visit your banking website with a normal browser, Bitdefender antivirus plus will request you to use their secure browser. It behaves and looks like regular browsers such as Google Chrome, internet explorer, and Mozilla Firefox.
Password Manager
Nearly every website you visit will require you to register and put a password. This includes banking sites, Netflix, dating sites, and educational sites. You cannot remember all these passwords, especially the complicated ones.
Again, creating simple ones plus memorizing 1 password to use for every site you visit will make you the latest victim of identity theft. Make use of Bitdefender password manager to solve all these problems. The password manager for this online security company is called Bitdefender Wallet.
Benefits of Bitdefender Password Manager
- Helps to track your passwords
- Creates strong passwords with a series of numbers, special characters and letters
- It stores passwords for you hence no need to remember the unique and strong ones that you created for each site you visit
- Supports these 4 web browsers only; Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, SafePay and Mozilla Firefox
- Saves more than passwords. You can store your sensitive information such as credit card numbers.
- Protects your privacy online. This will help to keep bad guys from accessing your online accounts
- It automatically fills in your username and password for any site that you have registered and requires login information
- Have fast access. This password manager makes it simple to login to your favorite sites by automatically filling in your login information.
- In order to access its wallet or password manager, open your antivirus to access its dashboard.
- Go to the privacy section. Here you will find the wallet option.
- You will need to create a new wallet in order to track and manage your passwords.
- After clicking create a new wallet, you will see start Fresh, click on it.
- After setting up, you will be required to create a master password to protect your wallet. Make sure that you have created a strong password with special characters, numbers and letters.
Safe Files
Protect your valuable files from ransomware with this antivirus. Bitdefender safe files is a useful feature that will prevent unauthorized changes to your important files.
It uses the latest technology to prevent crucial apps, files and documents being held hostage without slowing down your machines.
Protect your Files against Ransomware
According to cybersecurity experts, ransomware is a malicious file that has one agenda; to extort money from its victims so it can release the files that it has held hostage. Like other malware, it usually infects machines by tricking someone to install it.
It can be sent by email, visiting a phishing site or downloading it through an unsafe site. It usually targets hospital, high profile individuals, and schools and now it has found its way into home computers.
Bitdefender antivirus free edition or premium will protect your computer against these malware by allowing you to choose the apps that can make changes to your sensitive files and the ones that cannot.
It will also flag apps that try to change your files.
Anti-Tracking Feature
In many Bitdefender reviews, this online security company is always highly rated mostly for its malware detection and its anti-tracking feature.
The internet knows your every move. Every company wants your data and since they know you will never willingly hand over what they want, they use trackers to keep monitoring your every move.
Trackers are almost in every free service that you use. They can be in email service, search engines, social media, just to name a few.
Trackers detected can be grouped in these categories:
Advertising
Most companies monitor what you are searching for online. If you recently searched or discussed how you want a new blender, you will see ads for blenders everywhere.
Social Media
There are trackers that monitor user engagement, products and pages shared on different social media sites.
Essential
It tracks important webpage functionalities.
Most of these trackers slow down the performance of your machine plus decrease your privacy online. Hide your online activity with an Anti-tracker extension from Bitdefender. The extension is available for all browsers such as internet explorer, Chrome, Safari and Firefox.
Every time you open a website, the Bitdefender anti-tracker icon will appear next to the search bar. It will detect and block all trackers that are trying to monitor your online activity.
Bitdefender VPN
Should you use Bitdefender VPN or look somewhere else? This is a VPN I would recommend to anyone looking for privacy, reliability and speed. It’s ultra-fast and will safeguard your online activities from malicious people.
I also really like the idea of having an antivirus and VPN all in 1 platform. I have been using its premium package and the speed of my machine never dropped.
Why use this VPN
- It is quite secure. This means that you can use public Wi-Fi like lounges, restaurants, airports with anonymity
- Offers privacy at an affordable price
- It has over 1,300 servers around the world
- It encrypts incoming and outgoing traffic
- It does a good job at hiding your geolocation and IP address
- There are no traffic logs
- You will be able to access geo-restricted content with this VPN
- It allows P2P/Torrenting
- It is available for android, iOS gadgets, macOS and windows users
- Its customer service is great and always goes an extra mile to build a good relationship with its users
- It is easy to use
- It has a fast server connection
Other Security and Privacy Features
This antivirus offers more security features that comes with it when you install. They include network defense, web and email protection, data protection and PC optimization.
It will detect your PC and other devices to eliminate malware. It will stop hackers from invading your inbox, plus protect your data from intruders.
Parental Control
If you are looking for an antivirus with parental control features, choose this one. It will make sure that your kids are OK online even when they are not with you. You can access this feature using your Android or iOS device, PC or macOS.
With parental control, you can monitor what your kids are doing on the internet. You can manually block some URLs, and even limit the time they spend on the internet.
You can set daily time limits so your kids won’t browse during their bedtime or when they are at school. You can also set to get notifications when they search certain keywords such as porn, etc.
File Shredder
This is an extremely important feature if you want to permanently delete your files. With file recovery tools, any document deleted normally can be recovered by hackers.
You do not want your confidential information to fall into the wrong hands. Permanently shred or delete files using Bitdefender file shredder. It is a simple but yet powerful feature.
Scan Feature
There are several scan options available from this security company and they include automatic scan, custom scan, quick scan, and full scan. Many antiviruses are designed with automatic and manual scans.
With an automatic detection, the entire process of checking and blocking malware is automated. In this mode, all files, discs, and hard drives are scanned regularly for malware. With a manual detection, you can select the files or parts of your computer that you want to be scanned for malware.
With a Custom scan, you will have to manually choose what you want to be scanned. As for a quick scan, it only checks common areas for malware. The common areas can be a hard drive, operating system directory, just to name a few.
A full scan checks all the parts of a computer. They include hard drives, memory, and even devices that are connected to your computer. Due it scans all the parts of a machine, this type of detection may take some time to complete but will depend largely on your computer’s speed and memory.
Bitdefender’s Plans and Pricing
Bitdefender’s antivirus security solutions are the best in the market. First of all, they are worth your investment. Apart from providing excellent anti-malware protection, Bitdefender offers all the advanced features that are found in other high-end antivirus software.
A single subscription of one of these pricing plans can cover up to even 25 devices. Bitdefender antivirus uses advanced artificial intelligence and other revolutionary technologies to find and block even the newest threats before they can affect your computers.
Pricing is a huge factor when looking for an antivirus, hence an important aspect to consider. High prices are a huge turn-off for many people and that is why Bitdefender offers its security products at reasonable prices.
If you want to protect your Windows, iOS, or Android devices, we highly recommend Bitdefender antivirus security solutions.
Bitdefender Family pack
Bitdefender provides an excellent level of protection for your family, making sure your entire family is protected from online threats. It offers advanced features that you will only find in more expensive antivirus software.
They include advanced parental control features to monitor your children’s online activities and a strong Bitdefender antivirus malware blocker to stop sophisticated attacks.
Bitdefender Family pack costs $59.99 per year for up to 15 devices per household. You can secure your kid’s personal computers, mobile devices, tablets, and IPad.
Is Bitdefender’s Free Version Any Good?
Bitdefender offers a very good free version antivirus software, specially designed to protect your windows operating system. It’s a lightweight antivirus software which is installation is quick and guards your computer against threats without affecting system resources & performance.
If you want a simple antivirus program that will provide the level of security that you’d otherwise expect to find in a paid antivirus program, Bitdefender antivirus free edition is the best option for you.
Bitdefender delivers a wonderful performance in regards to detecting and blocking viruses and other malware attacks. However, the Bitdefender free antivirus doesn't have those advanced features that are present in paid packages.
Basic Paid Plan: Bitdefender Antivirus plus (Windows Only)
This is a program that provides the best protection for your windows. If you’d like to try it before you buy, download a 30-day free trial version. No credit cards required, and you can later switch to a paid subscription.
Bitdefender Antivirus Plus costs $29.99 per year for up to three windows. It ranks as the best antivirus program in the market. It doesn't have nagging popups or annoying sales pitches. So, if you want one of the top antivirus programs, you can start with a basic plan for your computers.
Some of its security features include:
- Protection against malware. Bitdefender antivirus plus is great at detecting and removing spyware, adware, and all other types of malware. The program’s multi-layered protection keeps your devices safe from new and existing threats.
- Comes with a secured VPN that will safeguard your privacy online. You can use it with public Wi-Fi and has over 1,300 servers around the globe.
- Prevents phishing activities. It will detect and block the latest ransomware programs, using advanced artificial intelligence. Also, the tool will back up your important files and folders once a ransomware activity has been detected, and restore after neutralizing the threat.
Advanced Paid Plan: Bitdefender Internet Security (Windows Only)
Bitdefender internet security has everything offered by the basic paid plan plus advanced security features to take care of your privacy online plus security while using your windows.
It costs $40.99 per year for three windows. The additional security features include:
- Privacy Firewall. It monitors network connections and blocks phishing attempts.
- Parental Control allows parents to monitor the activities of their children online. Parents can limit the time that they spend online plus block certain sites that have offensive content. This will ensure that you have peace of mind knowing that your children are safe from hackers.
- Protection against malware, spyware, adware that will try to gain access to your computer to steal your sensitive data.
- Ransomware Protection. This is an important feature that will prevent your files and other documents from being held hostage. It will detect and block ransomware, ensuring your business is protected from these bad guys. We reviewed Bitdefender for businesses at length.
- Webcam security, cyber-criminals can remotely use your PC camera without your knowledge or consent. Bitdefender's strong security suites include a webcam security feature that keeps the bad guys from getting in.
- Includes a VPN to protect you from hackers and spies who try to intercept your network traffic. A high-quality premium VPN will even bypass geoblocks and censorship to unlock services like Netflix and HBO. This VPN will hide your IP address so you can browse privately.
- Microphone monitor will show you which apps are accessing your microphone so you can block them.
- Spam filter checks your incoming emails for malware. It will notify if there are virus-infected emails, then block the malware in them.
- File encryption. It encrypts and stores files and folders into a password protected Bitdefender vault or disk to prevent unauthorized use of confidential and sensitive information.
- System scans. Has advanced scanning that detects and blocks any malware found without slowing or damaging your computer. Users can customize the scans to run when they are less active on their windows PC.
- SafePay banking protection is a protected browser that provides a safe environment for users to do online banking and shopping. You can perform other transactions with it.
Highest Paid Plan: Bitdefender Total Security
A single subscription of Bitdefender Total Security will protect all your devices. Bitdefender Total Security beats all other antiviruses due to its high performance plus its advanced features.
You will get advanced parental control features, great threat detection, and fast and secured VPN, great performance of your devices, multi-layer ransomware protection plus the features mentioned in the previous packages.
Bitdefender Total Security costs $44.99 per year for up to 5 devices. If you are looking for one total security product to protect your Windows, iOS, and Android devices, I would recommend this pricing plan. Bitdefender Total Security has the best features to fully detect and block cyber threats.
By being lightweight, Bitdefender Total Security installation is easy and run in your devices without compromising on your device performance speeds, while at the same time offering the best protection you can find in the market.
New features
- Advanced parental monitoring; has advanced technologies to monitor what your kids are watching or doing online. You can block offensive content or even limit the time that they spend online.
- Anti-theft. If your mobile or laptop is stolen, Bitdefender total security will help you to locate it. It gives an option to write a note in case someone finds it. You can even remotely wipe all data from it in case you worry it might fall in the wrong hands.
- Secured and advanced VPN-you will get a super-fast and secured VPN.
- Performance optimizer helps you to improve the performance of your system by closing background applications and programs that are not in use.
- Have world-class protection against malware such as Trojan, spyware, ransomware, etc.
Bitdefender Mobile App
Bitdefender mobile app has the best protection for Macs and Android phones with minimal impact on their batteries. Bitdefender reacts quickly to cyber-threats without slowing the performance of your Mobile device.
Bitdefender mobile security for iOS
Fortunately for iPhone users, the iOS operating system is not easy to hack. However, Cyber-criminals view this system as a challenge and are constantly designing new ways of hacking them.
Enjoy your phone with Bitdefender mobile app for iOS. It is designed to keep important information safe from prying eyes. I highly recommend it if you have an iPhone and IPad and require top-notch security to keep hackers at bay.
Bitdefender mobile security has several advanced features to secure your iOS devices. They include:
- Web protection makes sure you're protected when surfing the web. It offers real-time protection from phishing websites, filter browsing traffic to detect and block online threats.
- Secured VPN encrypts your connection to prevent third parties from intercepting your network communication.
- IPad Support will readily provide support and assist customers when they have a problem.
- Antitheft, battery saver, performance optimizer, and many more features to ensure you are secured and have the best user experience.
Bitdefender mobile security for android
Bitdefender provides comprehensive protection for your android device. We all know that android devices are more susceptible to malware attacks.
This malware is programmed to either steal your sensitive data or take up most of your phone’s memory which will slow down your phone.
This security product comes with remarkable features to make sure you are safe and secured from online threats. These features include:
- Battery saver helps to increase your phone’s battery life by closing applications that are not in use, yet still running in the background.
- Anti-theft, give users the power to locate their lost device, send a message, or remotely wipe data from their phone preventing unauthorized use of personal data.
- Secured VPN that is ultra-fast, offers privacy, is secured, and hides your location
- Bitdefender antimalware will safeguard you against viruses and other malware threats.
Bitdefender Ease of Use and Setup
Without a doubt, Bitdefender is the best antivirus out there, easy to download, install, and use. It has a straightforward and intuitive user interface and you can use all of its features in one place. If you want to test before you buy, download the Bitdefender free 30-day trial of any packages mentioned in this review.
Bitdefender scanning engines are secured and consistently score top marks on all of the safety tests done. The software's scans are fast and thorough, without compromising device performance.
Bitdefender products have a well laid-out graphical user interface making navigating the software simple. Even all the advanced features like the safe pay browser and secured VPN are easy to understand. Bitdefender surely put a lot of time and effort into making sure their users have a great experience.
Installation
If you want the best antivirus protection in the market, here is a guide with steps on how to install and run Bitdefender on your computer. Before you proceed with the installation, it’s recommended you make sure your PC meets the system requirements.
- The first thing that you need to do is go to Bitdefender central website (central.bitdefender.com) and sign in to your account. This account allows you to use all features that come with this antivirus.
- If you don’t have an account, click create an account.
- Select My Devices in the sidebar, and then click on the installation button in the upper left corner.
- In protect your device's menu, Click protect this device then choose the paid plan that you have; Bitdefender Antivirus Plus, Bitdefender Internet Security, or Bitdefender total security.
- From the select device owner window, choose me and click close to begin the download process.
- Save the installation file and then double click it to run it.
- Wait for the Bitdefender to download all the necessary files, the speed at which it will download will depend on your internet connection.
- After a short while, the download will be complete. Click Start using Bitdefender.
- Sign in to your central account and click finish.
- You can take a quick tour to learn how the product works and you will be good to go!
Interface
Bitdefender has one of the most intuitive and simple interfaces. They have put a lot of time and effort to make sure their users have the best experience. You can easily use almost any feature from the dashboard.
Once you installed Bitdefender in your PC or mobile devices, you will notice that the dashboard is well laid-out with the sidebar, notification bar, and a few useful shortcuts such as start detection, open Bitdefender's VPN, put it on another device, and open SafePay.
You can as well customize the shortcuts on the dashboard with the ones that matter to you the most such as SafePay, system scan, Wi-Fi security scan, just to name a few.
You can find advanced or main features on the right-hand side of the interface. From your dashboard you can;
- Manage your subscription,
- Run scans
- Get notifications of threat
- Control security of your family and yourself
- Receive security updates
·Track your lost devices, everything is managed in 1 place.
Scanning Options — Save Yourself Time
Once you installed Bitdefender on your PC, you can take a quick tour to learn how the software works. There are a good number of shortcuts on the antivirus dashboard for running scans such as a quick scan.
You can run a quick scan or customize one to detect the lurking threats that may be present on your PC. Once the detection has completed, you will be notified of the number of files that have been scanned plus the threats that have been detected and blocked.
If for some reason you want to cancel the scan while it’s in process, you can click, Stop This Scan.
This antivirus also has automatic scans that can run anytime.
- Full scans enable you to check the entire computer for malware.
- Custom Scan; enables you to select files that you want to be scanned
- A System Scan is also known as a full system scan, checks all boot records, files, and user processes.
- A Quick Scan takes less than 30 minutes to complete; it checks common hard drive areas and temporary internet files.
- Automatic scan can run anytime looking for signs of viruses; when you are using your devices or when you are not using it.
Bitdefender’s Customer Support
They have the friendliest customer service. Their technical support is readily available 24/7 to answer any question. You can get in touch with Bitdefender support via;
- Open an email ticket also known as helpdesk ticket.
- Live Assistance, Bitdefender service agents are always available to chat with you to sort out your issues.
- Join the Bitdefender forum for public discussion and share user experience or any issues
- Call (+1) 9544149655, (+1) 9542814024 English - 24 hour service
Our Choice
Our recommendation: McAfee
Although the product we talked about are notable in the market, it doesn’t come close to McAfee. McAfee is a leading antivirus company in the cybersecurity industry due to its unique line-up of programs catered to dealing with malware and antivirus attacks. No wonder over 18.9 billion devices are protected using McAfee! Check out their security programs here!
FAQs
1. Is Bitdefender a good antivirus?
Yes, Bitdefender is a good antivirus that is effective in detecting and removing malware from a system. It also has features that can protect against ransomware and other types of attacks. Bitdefender is a good choice for users who need protection against malware.
2. Is Bitdefender better than McAfee?
Bitdefender is a great antivirus software, but it is no match for McAfee's antivirus. McAfee has been in the business of protecting computers from viruses and malware for over 25 years, while Bitdefender is a relative newcomer to the scene. McAfee has more features, better customer service, and a larger user base. For these reasons, I would recommend using McAfee over Bitdefender.
3. Does Bitdefender slow down computer?
Bitdefender is a top-rated antivirus software, but does it slow down your computer? The answer is, it may slow your computer during scanning. Bitdefender will scan all files on your computer for malware and viruses. This process can take some time and may affect the speed of your computer. You can minimize the impact of Bitdefender by disabling some of its features or by running it in Safe Mode.
4. Does Bitdefender stop malware?
Yes. Absolute power in the most effective anti-malware solution is currently available. Bitdefender protects against all types of e-threats, including ransomware, zero-day exploits, rootkits, and spyware, as well as viruses, worms, and Trojans. Your personal information and privacy are protected.
5. Does Bitdefender track your websites?
Bitdefender Parental Controls allows you to monitor what your child sees on the internet while they're on the computer. You'll be able to check what kinds of websites your youngster accesses and get notifications about them.
