Turning on Windows Firewall and Defender in Windows 8

Anonymous
2012-10-30T04:10:31+00:00

My firewall and Windows Defender seem to be off. I just got Windows 8 last Friday and I cannot get it to turn on. When I go to the Windows Defender App, it says "Windows Defender has been turned off and is not protecting your computer." How do I turn it on then?

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Security and privacy

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Anonymous
2012-10-30T16:47:45+00:00

Hi Matkor,

Welcome to Microsoft community!!!

Based on the case details I understand that you are unable to turn on Windows Firewall and Windows Defender, it would be grateful if you can reply to these question in order to assist you further.

  1. Have you made any changes to the computer prior to this issue?
  2. Do you have any other security software installed on your computer?

I would suggest you to try the following methods and check if it helps.

Method 1:

I would suggest you to check the Service status of Windows Firewall and Windows Defender

a) Press Windows key + R and type services.msc in the search field and press ENTER.

b) Scroll down to find " Windows Defender Service ".

c) Right-click " Windows Defender service “, and then click Start.

d) Follow the same steps to start "Windows Firewall" service.

e) Check if the issue persists.

Method 2:

Try the following method to enable Windows Firewall and Windows Defender:

Windows Firewall

a. On the Windows 8 User Interface Start screen select control panel or right click on the bottom left corner on the desktop to select control panel.

b. Click Windows Firewall, In the left pane, click Turn Windows Firewall on or off.

c. Click Turn on Windows Firewall under each network location that you want to help protect, and then click OK.

Windows Defender

a. Press the ‘Windows + Q key on the keyboard.

b. Type “Windows Defender” in the search box and then press enter.

c. Click Settings and make sure there is a check mark on Turn on real time protection recommend.

Please post the results and let us know if you need further assistance to fix the issue and we will be happy to help you further.

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Anonymous
2015-04-02T19:29:27+00:00

Hi P. MichaelVan Sant,

Sorry for the delay in replying.

As you have an expired trial version of MacAfee, you may remove or uninstall this and restart the computer to check if this helps. It is not good to have multiple security software installed on the computer as there might be software conflict which will affect the overall performance of the computer.

Keep us informed to help you further.

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-06-30T09:57:43+00:00

    Vijin V - Thanks for your info. on Windows defender; method #1 worked like a charm. I appreciate your assistance. KennyHill

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  2. Anonymous
    2013-06-06T18:25:20+00:00

    I, too, was getting the "Windows Defender has been turned off and is not protecting your computer." message after uninstalling AVG. Everything mentioned here did not work. This was the eventual fix:

     

    Control Panel > Action Center > Change Action Center Settings

     

    Make sure there is a check mark next to "Spyware and unwanted software protection" and "Virus protection".

     

    Click OK. You should then receive an alert that anti-virus software is not installed. Click the balloon, which will take you back to the Action Center.

     

    There should be a Turn on Now button (or something similar) next to Windows Defender; just click it, and you're good to go.

    This did not work for me.

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  3. Anonymous
    2013-06-06T18:24:46+00:00

    I have tried everything it said. I still cannot turn Windows Defender on. HELP

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