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
    2014-07-14T18:52:52+00:00

    hi sir same issue for me when iam going to turn on my windows defender and virus protection from action center (flag)

    it automatically going to my system32 folder when I choose turn defender or firewall on

    pls solve my problem now i am not using any antivirus software for my pc protection pls help me pl revert soon

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-06-12T17:15:51+00:00

    Following your method 1, when I try to "Start" the "Windows Defender Service", there comes a message saying

    "The Windows Defender Service service on Local Computer started and then stopped. Some services stop automatically if they are not in use by other services or programs."

    On trying your method 2, as soon as I look in control panel and then Action Center, and try to "Turn On Now" the PC Protection program, I am forwarded to a location "Computer>Local Disk (C:)>Windows>system32" where several folders such as "DRVSTORE" are highlighted in blue. That's it.

    When I try opening the Windows Defender, there's the good old message of "Windows Defender has been turned off and is not protecting your computer." So I am never forwarded to the Settings screen as you say. That's where it ends.

    Please help.

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-05-17T20:22:51+00:00

    Problem solved.

    With Internet access off. Perhaps overkill.

    At Action Center – had 2 issues:

    1. Norton Security Suite is no longer protecting your system
    2. Spyware and unwanted software protection (important)

    Clicked View Antispyware Apps and got msg. screen:

    Norton Security Suite = Off

    Windows Defender = Off

    Selected Defender & clicked Turn On button: saw progress circle but nothing changed.

    Navigated to Programs & Features

    Selected Norton; Uninstall; had to bypass a Norton Ad (of course)

    Clicked Please Remove All User Data link (User data? Need rewording)

    Got msg. in Notification Area – Turn On virus protection; click to update Defender, which I did; msg. Updating. Had to connect to internet to get those updates.

    Got msg. Norton wants to restart to complete. Whoa! Not until I get all the Defender updates.

    Got msg. Defender msg. PC Status Protected, so I closed msg.

    Clicked Norton msg. to Restart.

    Restart:

    Action Center: messages gone.

    Defender: Scan Now.

    Problem solved.

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