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Windows Defender turned off after Windows 10 upgrade

I have just upgraded both my desktop and laptop PC's to Windows 10 from 8.1.  After the upgrades were completed, Windows Defender spontaneously disabled on both PC's and I am not able to turn them back on.  Is there a fix to this problem?

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Do you have any other Anti-Virus product installed? If so, you need to uninstall it.

List of anti-malware product removal tools - Microsoft Community

And try:

How to Turn On or Off Windows Defender in Windows 10

Cheers,

J

Later edited to include the title (for http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/5918-windows-defender-turn-off-windows-10-a.html)

May 4, 2018: I won't participate anymore in MC. Enough is enough.

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Was there a third-party security product installed on Win8.1 before the upgrade to Windows 10?

See: Microsoft Windows 10 (Important notes section) Specifications page.

Lenovo ThinkCentre A55-8705/Windows XP Home Edition SP3/.NET3.5SP1/IE8/MSEv4.4.

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PS:

Also, go through everything here: Problems starting Windows Defender in Windows 8/8.1

Should apply to Windows 10, too...

May 4, 2018: I won't participate anymore in MC. Enough is enough.

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I don't have any other Anti-Virus products installed nor did I have any others installed prior to the upgrade.  I do have Spybot - Search and Destroy, Super Anti-Spyware, and Malwarebytes Anti-Malware installed, however.  I have never had any problems using those programs along with Windows Defender previously.

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It turns out that Spybot is not currently compatible with Windows Defender in Windows 10.

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Were you able to turn Windows Defender on?
May 4, 2018: I won't participate anymore in MC. Enough is enough.

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Same problem here. I uninstalled ioBit malware program and now when I try to turn Defender on, all the switches are greyed out and if I select "turn on Defender" I just get a message telling me it is turned off. ??

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I was in a long discussion about this prior to the 29th.  I wanted to know how to turn WinDef on and the moderators were seeking to know how I turned it off. 

I did two installs on my laptop and on a new aio.  With the all-in-one I removed all possible anti-viruses and maleware fighters.  WinDef was on by default and continues sturdily onward.  From the earlier discussions and readings, I did find and do believe that MS has included several entirely transparent new traps and WinDef is not functioning by itself.  I am giving MS a chance to prove that.

I took off all anti-virus and malware fighters on the laptop, except for one - SecureAPlus, a small program the trips up things like ransomware, before the up-grade.  Yup, happened again.  WinDef is not working and is greyed out on the buttons.

Did anyone find a real cure?  I left the listing with the suggestion from Steve to run a stand-alone anti-virus program  in SafeMode.  Some people have found that an infection is to blame.  And, as often quoted, MS intentionally defaults WinDef to Off when it finds another big anti-virus program.  I guess that a little one counts, too.

But, assuming that is the case, I am still searching for how to turn WinDef back on.

Carol13

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Thanks Carol13, I figured it was an auto-response to the upgrade discovering I already had some malware fighter installed. As you say, be nice to know how to turn WinDef back on now.

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Guess what?  In another listing I found a seemingly productive way to proceed.  It was from another question and answered by Jsssssssssssss.  Try:

http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/5918-windows-defender-turn-off-windows-10-a.html

I don't have time now to fiddle with it, but it is definitely prioritized.  The title should be how to turn WinDef off and on.  Good Luck!

Carol13 

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Last updated December 30, 2022 Views 3,226 Applies to: