The real time protection on MSE keeps turning somehow turning off, I turn it back on, which takes awhile, protection shortly after goes back to off. I can't get even a quick scan completed. I do get messages about a threat (several times this week), hit clean, not certain it's happening giving the on/off status of protection. My Avira Antivirus Real time Protection keeps turning off itself when it's running its automatic update. Is this normal or my PC is infected? Edited by hamluis, 18 February 2018 - 05:04 AM.

1. Can't Turn On Real Time Protection
2. Real Time Protection Keeps Turning Off

McAfee protects your computer from viruses, spyware and other hazardous invaders using a firewall and by scanning your computer. If McAfee is turning off, you are susceptible to these hazards and risking your personal information. There are several reasons that McAfee may not consistently work on your computer at all times. Troubleshooting each of these problems will resolve any malfunctions you may be having with this security product and increase the protection on your computer.

Real-Time Scanning and Firewall Are Off

If McAfee's Real-Time Scanning or Firewall have turned off, the anti-virus software will not work. You will have to have to turn them back on using the McAfee SecurityCenter. Turn on the Real-Time Scanner by clicking 'M' on the SecurityCenter taskbar. Select 'Navigation Real-Time Scanning Turn On' to enable the scanner. Click 'Navigation' again to do the same for the Firewall. You can check if the status for both the scanner and the firewall is on using the status on the SecurityCenter home screen.

McAfee Virtual Technician

The McAfee Virtual Technician diagnoses and fixes any problems that cause McAfee to turn off. Downloading the 'oas-disabled-fix.cmd' file to your desktop from the McAfee service page will install it on your computer for usage. You then need to restart your computer and right-click the program to run it as an administrator. If you receive an error message while attempting to run the program, press 'Ctrl-C', then press 'Y,' and then press Enter. The program will stop and allow you to run it again.

Check for Other Anti-virus Software

Some other security and anti-virus software interferes with the functionality of McAfee. A list of incompatible software is available on the McAfee website (See References). To remove a software program click on the Start Button to go to your computer's program list. Right click the icon of the program you wish to remove and click 'Uninstall.' After completing all necessary software removal, delete and reinstall your McAfee software. You may have to restart your computer to introduce all changes.

Check Your Internet Connection

If you are not connected to the Internet, McAfee will not work. There will be no need to protect you from Web-based viruses if you are not on the Web. Check your wireless or hard-wired connection for loose or unplugged Ethernet cords, for turned off routers, or to see if your computer is enabled to access the Internet. McAfee's 'off' status will change to 'on' upon connecting to the Web. If it does not, manually turn on the scanner via the SecurityCenter home screen that appears upon launching McAfee. Switch the slider from 'Off' to 'On.'

Video of the Day

• Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

More Articles

Windows Defender is the default antivirus program in Windows 10. As many of you know, although it offers basic security, users who know how to stay away from antivirus and other threats with the help of best practices, use Defender for protecting their Windows operating system as well as data.

Can't Turn On Real Time Protection

At times, in order to run a program or script without any errors, you might need to temporarily turn off or disable Windows 10’s Defender.

In this guide, we will show you how to turn on or off Windows Defender real-time protection in Windows 10.

Real Time Protection Keeps Turning Off

Please note that turning off real-time protection will not turn off Windows Defender permanently. If Windows 10 finds that the real-time protection has been turned off for a while, it automatically turns on Windows Defender real-time protection. So if you want to disable Windows Defender forever, please refer to our how to disable Windows Defender permanently in Windows 10 guide.

WARNING: Don’t turn off the real-time protection unless you know what you’re doing. And you don’t need to manually turn off Defender before installing a third-party antivirus like Avast Antivirus. The setup of third-party antivirus takes care of that.

Method 1 – Turn on or off Defender real-time protection via Settings

Method 2 – Enable or disable real-time protection via Group Policy

Method 1 of 2

Enable or disable Windows Defender real-time protection Via Settings

Step 1: Open Settings app. There are many ways to open the Settings app in Windows 10. You can either click on the Settings icon on the Start menu or use Windows + I keyboard shortcut to quickly launch Settings.

Step 2: Click Update and security (Windows Update, recovery, backup).

Step 3: Click Windows Defender.

Step 4: Finally, turn off the option titled Real-time protection to disable the real-time protection.

Soon after you turn off the real-time protection, you will see Turn on virus protection notification.

Method 2 of 2

Enable or disable real-time protection via Group Policy

Note that Group Policy Editor is not available in Windows 10 Home edition, meaning this method works only on Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise editions. If you’re on the Home edition, please follow the directions in Method 1.

Step 1: Type Edit Group Policy in Start menu search box and then press Enter key to open Local Group Policy Editor.

Tip: You can also type Gpedit.msc in Start menu search box or Run command box followed by enter key to launch Group Policy Editor.

Step 2: Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Defender > Real-time Protection.

Step 3: On the right-side look for the policy titled Turn off real-time protection and double-click on the same to open its properties.

Step 4: Select Enabled option to turn off the policy. Click Apply button.

NOTE: To enable the real-time protection, select Not Configured or disable option before clicking Apply button.