Windows Defender and McAfee are both turned off

Windows operating system ships with Windows Defender out of the box and at the same time, allows you to install and run third-party software too. These antivirus or firewall software work independently to block suspicious actions on your computer. But after installing Windows 11/10, some users are reporting getting a notification on Startup that says-

Windows Defender and McAfee are both turned off; tap or click to see installed antivirus apps.

This error is caused due to unknown reasons. However, when checked manually, there is nothing wrong with both the software software, and they are enabled normally.

Windows Defender and McAfee are both turned off

If your Windows Defender and McAfee are both turned off in Windows 11/10, then this is what you need to do to fix the issue:

1. Check the required supporting Services.
2. Uninstall and reinstall the third-party security software.

1] Enable all the supporting Services

Open the Windows Services Manager.

Look for the service named Windows Defender Firewall. Make sure that its Startup type is set to be Automatic and that the service is Running. If not, click on the Start button. Moreover, ensure that Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection Service and Windows Security Service are set to Manual and started.

Also, make sure that the status of the following Services are as follows and that they are Running:

• Xbox Live Networking Service – Manual
• Base Filtering Engine – Automatic

This should have made that error go away.

2] Uninstall and reinstall the third-party security software

An error with the compatibility of the installation of Windows and the third-party security software may trigger false alarms like this.

In this case, you have a limited set of methods to troubleshoot the error.

The best thing that you can do is to uninstall the third-party security software and get the latest version from its official website to install it like any other software on Windows 10.

This will fix any installation incompatibility between the security software and the operating system.

All the best!