How to Turn Off McAfee Antivirus on Windows

There are tons of different antivirus applications existing today, like McAfee antivirus. McAfee solutions provide authentic, on-demand, and periodic scanning features that allow you to check your device manually or automatically for malware and other dangers while maintaining the privacy and security of your data. But sometimes, there can be other antivirus applications that work way better than McAfee. So, you may want to learn how to uninstall McAfee on Windows 10. If you are someone looking for tips about the same, we are bringing you a helpful guide that will teach you how to turn off McAfee antivirus. Also, you will learn how to uninstall McAfee before turning on Windows Defender and temporarily disable McAfee in Windows.

How to Turn Off McAfee Antivirus on Windows 10

How to Turn Off McAfee Antivirus on Windows

Keep reading further to find the steps explaining how to turn off McAfee antivirus on Windows in detail with useful illustrations for better understanding.

Why Does McAfee Keep Installing?

McAfee may have been pre-installed on your computer by the manufacturing company if you did not install it yourself, or it may have come in with a package. It is a simple process to uninstall any application, and it only takes a few seconds to uninstall McAfee completely.

Can You Need McAfee If You Have Windows Defender?

No. Using Windows Defender or McAfee is entirely your choice when choosing an antivirus. Both applications have their pros and cons. However, if you decide to utilize Windows Defender, you have total security and may thoroughly uninstall McAfee. You would require an external antivirus software for Windows 7, but if you have Windows 8, 10, or 11, Windows Defender is enough to provide good overall security to your PC.

Should You Uninstall McAfee on Windows 10?

Yes, if you have found a better software than McAfee, you should consider uninstalling McAfee. You need to uninstall McAfee before installing another program. You must completely uninstall the previous version of McAfee even if you intend to install the updated version yourself.

What Happens If You Uninstall McAfee?

If you uninstall McAfee on Windows, your device is vulnerable to virus attacks. You can replace it with another antivirus software or enable Windows Defender to take control.

Also Read: What Happens If You Deregister Your Firestick?

Can You Need to Uninstall McAfee Before Turning On Windows Defender?

Yes, you need to uninstall McAfee before turning on Windows Defender. If you want to use the built-in Windows Defender, you must uninstall McAfee antivirus software and ensure no files are left behind after uninstallation. Windows Defender will be activated automatically after a restart.

How Can You Stop McAfee from Running in the Background?

To stop McAfee from running in the background, you can follow the steps below:

1. To enter the McAfee control panel, double-click the McAfee icon on the system tray.

To enter the McAfee control panel, double-click the McAfee icon on the system tray.

2. To access the Navigation Center, click the hamburger icon in the top-left corner of the McAfee window.

To access the Navigation Center, click the hamburger icon in the top-left corner of the McAfee window.

3. Click on My Protection as shown.

Click on My Protection |

4. To see the antivirus choices, click on Real-Time Scanning.

To see the antivirus choices, click the Real-Time Scanning link.

5. Click on Turn off to disable Real-Time Scanning to turn off McAfee antivirus.

click the Turn off button |

6. In the When Do You Want to Resume Real-Time Scanning? drop-down box, choose the time period as:

  • In 15 min
  • In 30 min
  • In 45 min
  • In 60 min
  • When I restart my PC

Note: If you choose Never, the virus prevention option will be disabled unless you explicitly enable it.

In the When Do You Want to Resume Real-Time Scanning drop-down box, choose an option

7. To turn off the protection, click on Turn Off.

To turn off the protection, click the Turn Off button | how to disable antivirus temporarily

8. The warning Your Computer Is At Risk appears right away, suggesting that virus protection isn’t turned on. Close the McAfee control panel and Exit.

Also Read: How to Tell If Your iPhone Has a Virus

How to Temporarily Disable McAfee in Windows?

To temporarily disable McAfee on Windows PC, follow the steps mentioned above.

How Can You Completely Disable McAfee?

If you want to know how to turn off McAfee antivirus and disable McAfee entirely if you want, follow the steps mentioned above. But choose the Never option when choosing how long you want to disable McAfee completely.

Completely Disable McAfee

Once you have learned how to turn off McAfee antivirus and completely disable McAfee, you can follow the below steps if you want to temporarily disable McAfee.

Also Read: How Do I Temporarily Disable TikTok

How Can You Permanently Disable McAfee Antivirus?

Below are the steps to permanently disable McAfee Antivirus on your PC:

1. Type Control Panel in the Windows search bar and press the Enter key to open it.

Type control panel in the search

2. Under Programs, click on Uninstall a program.

uninstall a program

3. Locate and right-click on McAfee and click Uninstall.

4. Follow on-screen instructions in order to completely uninstall McAfee.

Right-click on McAfee then select Uninstall | Completely uninstall McAfee from Windows 10

5. Reboot your PC to save changes.

How Can You Disable McAfee Antivirus on Windows 10?

Once you have learned how to turn off McAfee antivirus, you can disable Antivirus on Windows 10 by just referring to the above-mentioned section.

Disable McAfee Antivirus on Windows 10

Can You Disable McAfee without Uninstalling?

Yes, you can disable McAfee without uninstalling the software by just turning off the Real-Time scanning option.

How Can You Disable McAfee Antivirus and Turn On Windows Defender?

When you disable all the functions of McAfee Antivirus or even uninstall it, Windows Defender activates on its own. You can check if Windows Defender is working by going to Security and Maintenance.

Why Can’t You Turn Off Your McAfee Firewall?

You need to update the McAfee Antivirus application before you can turn off Firewall and reboot your PC. Also, any modifications you make in the McAfee app require administrator privileges.

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We hope that this guide was helpful and that you were able to learn about how to turn off McAfee Antivirus and how to uninstall McAfee on Windows 10. Feel free to reach out to us with your queries and suggestions via the comments section below. Also, let us know what topic you want to learn about in our next article.

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