# Alerts

Alerts help you **keep track of ongoing problems** on your domains: they remain active while the problem is present and are resolved automatically once it's fixed.

Alerts bring together the results of [checks](/docs/dmarc/checks#checks), [record validation](/docs/dmarc/checks#record-validation) and other health signals. You can choose which alert rules to enable and the minimum severity to match what matters to your organization.

Here's the typical lifecycle of an alert:

<DocsAlertLifecycle />

An alert may also be closed without the problem being fixed, for example if you disable its alert rule.

Team members can choose which alert notifications they receive by email in their account settings. Learn more in [Notifications](/docs/notifications).

<DocsInfoBlock title="Availability">

Alerts are being rolled out and may not appear in your organization yet.

</DocsInfoBlock>

## Finding active alerts

Open **Notifications** in the dashboard and check **Active alerts**. Click an alert to investigate the affected domain's record, hosted service, or reports.

![Notification center showing an active alert and its notification]($docs/images/notification-center.png)

## Managing alert rules

Go to **Settings** → **Alerts** and turn on the rules you want. Rules apply across your organization's domains. Only owners and admins can change them.

![Alert rules with their switches and settings]($docs/images/alert-rules.png)

To adjust a rule, click <DocsButton>Settings</DocsButton>:

- Keep **Default settings** to use the values chosen by DMARCwise. If the defaults change, the rule follows them.
- Choose **Custom settings** to set your own minimum severity or other settings, then click <DocsButton>Save</DocsButton>.

See the [Alert rules](/docs/alerts/rules) page for details about each alert type, how it works and what its settings are.

## Alert notifications

A notification is created when an alert is opened or resolved, or a new problem is added to an active alert.

You can see these notifications in the **Notifications** page and each user can choose which alert notifications they receive by email. By default, this depends on the user's role in the organization.

Sometimes, an alert is opened without a notification. For example, problems that already exist when you add a domain or when you enable an alert rule appear as active alerts but don't generate an initial notification (notifications are sent for later changes and when the alert is resolved).

Read more about notifications and how to configure them in the [Notifications](/docs/notifications) page.