> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.recon44.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Set Up Security Alerts for Your Website

> Configure email, Telegram, and SMS notifications so you are alerted the moment Recon44 detects an attack, blocks an IP, or finds a new vulnerability.

Recon44 can notify you in real time when something important happens — an attack is detected, a brute force attempt is blocked, or a vulnerability is found during a scan. Alert channels vary by plan: email is available on Pro and above, Telegram and SMS on Business and above. This guide walks you through configuring each channel.

## Alert channels by plan

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Pro and above" icon="envelope">
    Email alerts for all security events. Configure up to 5 recipient addresses.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Business and above" icon="bell">
    Telegram and SMS alerts in addition to email. Ideal for on-call workflows.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Events that trigger alerts

You can choose which events send notifications. The available event types are:

* **Attack detected** — a WAF rule matched an incoming request (read-only mode)
* **Attack blocked** — a WAF rule matched and the request was blocked (active blocking mode)
* **IP blocked** — an IP was added to your blocklist, either automatically or manually
* **Brute force detected** — a suspicious number of authentication attempts was detected from a single source
* **Vulnerability found** — a scan discovered a new vulnerability on your site
* **DDoS event** — a volumetric attack is being mitigated at the edge

<Note>
  You can enable or disable individual event types per channel. For example, you might want email for all events but SMS only for brute force and DDoS.
</Note>

## Configure alert channels

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Email">
    Email alerts are available on **Pro plans and above**.

    <Steps>
      <Step title="Go to Alert Settings">
        Navigate to **Settings → Alerts** in the dashboard.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Enable the Email channel">
        Under **Email**, click the toggle to enable it. The toggle turns green.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Add recipient addresses">
        Click **Add email address** and enter the address you want to receive alerts. Repeat to add up to 5 addresses.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Select event types">
        Under **Notify me when**, check the boxes for the event types you want to receive email alerts for. At minimum, enable **Attack blocked** and **Vulnerability found**.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Send a test alert">
        Click **Send test email** to confirm delivery. Check your inbox (and spam folder) for a message from `alerts@recon44.com`.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Save">
        Click **Save changes**. Alerts are active immediately.
      </Step>
    </Steps>

    <Tip>
      If you use a shared security alias such as `security@yourcompany.com`, add that alongside individual addresses so alerts are not lost when team members change.
    </Tip>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Telegram">
    Telegram alerts are available on **Business plans and above**.

    <Steps>
      <Step title="Create a Telegram bot (one-time setup)">
        Open Telegram and search for **@BotFather**. Send `/newbot`, follow the prompts to name your bot, and copy the **API token** it provides.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Get your Chat ID">
        Start a conversation with your new bot by sending it any message. Then open a browser and visit:

        ```
        https://api.telegram.org/bot<YOUR_TOKEN>/getUpdates
        ```

        Find the `"id"` field inside `"chat"` in the response. That is your Chat ID.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Go to Alert Settings">
        In the Recon44 dashboard, navigate to **Settings → Alerts** and scroll to the **Telegram** section.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Enter your bot credentials">
        Paste your **Bot API Token** and **Chat ID** into the corresponding fields.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Select event types">
        Check the event types you want delivered to Telegram.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Send a test message">
        Click **Send test message**. You should receive a test notification in your Telegram chat within a few seconds.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Save">
        Click **Save changes**.
      </Step>
    </Steps>

    <Info>
      You can send alerts to a Telegram group or channel by adding your bot to the group, then using the group's Chat ID instead of a personal one.
    </Info>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="SMS">
    SMS alerts are available on **Business plans and above**.

    <Steps>
      <Step title="Go to Alert Settings">
        Navigate to **Settings → Alerts** in the dashboard and scroll to the **SMS** section.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Enter your phone number">
        Click **Add phone number**, enter the number in international format (for example, `+14155551234`), and click **Add**.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Verify your number">
        Recon44 sends a 6-digit verification code via SMS. Enter the code in the **Verification code** field and click **Verify**.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Select event types">
        Choose which events trigger an SMS. Because SMS has per-message costs, consider limiting SMS alerts to high-severity events such as **Brute force detected** and **DDoS event**.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Send a test message">
        Click **Send test SMS** to confirm the number is working correctly.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Save">
        Click **Save changes**. You can add up to 3 phone numbers on Business and Scale plans.
      </Step>
    </Steps>

    <Warning>
      SMS alerts count against your plan's monthly message quota. If you exceed the quota, alerts fall back to email only for the remainder of the billing period. Check your usage under **Settings → Billing → Usage**.
    </Warning>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## Manage alert preferences

You can update your alert settings at any time without affecting your protection. To temporarily pause all alerts — for example, during a planned maintenance window — go to **Settings → Alerts** and toggle **Pause all alerts**. Recon44 continues blocking attacks during the pause; you simply will not receive notifications.

To disable a specific channel entirely, go to **Settings → Alerts**, find the channel, and click the toggle off. Your configuration (recipient addresses, phone numbers, bot credentials) is saved, so you can re-enable it later without re-entering details.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Why am I not receiving alerts?">
    Check the following:

    * Confirm the channel toggle is enabled (green) under **Settings → Alerts**.
    * For email, check your spam folder and add `alerts@recon44.com` to your allowlist.
    * For Telegram, confirm your bot is not blocked and the Chat ID is correct. Use **Send test message** to verify.
    * For SMS, confirm your number is verified (a green check appears next to it).
    * Confirm the event type that should trigger the alert is checked in your **Notify me when** settings.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I send alerts to multiple people?">
    Yes. Email supports up to 5 addresses. For Telegram, add the bot to a group channel and use the group Chat ID. For SMS, you can add up to 3 phone numbers on Business and Scale plans.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do alerts fire in read-only mode?">
    Yes. On the Free plan, the WAF is read-only but you are not eligible for alerts. On Pro, you receive alerts for **Attack detected** events even before enabling active blocking. Upgrading to active blocking changes the event label to **Attack blocked** but does not change alert eligibility.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>