How to Turn Off Your Antivirus Software (and Reasons Why You Might)

If you have antivirus software, there may be times when you need to turn it off. You can temporarily disable or permanently deactivate the software using the antivirus app on your device or browser.

Remember that if you temporarily disable your protection, your device is vulnerable to viruses. Here are the steps to turning off many of the best antivirus software, along with the reasons why you might choose to do so.

How to turn off antivirus software by operating system or browser

The steps for turning off your antivirus software may differ depending on the device and browser you use, your specific antivirus software, and the operating system you have.

There are some common steps to disabling antivirus, and we’ll discuss the most popular methods and programs below to give you a more complete picture.

Windows

If using a Windows operating system, follow these steps to turn off the antivirus software.

1. Go to your taskbar notification area (also known as a system tray) located at the bottom of your screen, typically in the bottom right near the clock.

2. Select your antivirus program.
3. Right-click on the program, then select Shut Down Protection or something similar.
4. If prompted to confirm, click Yes.

Mac

When you want to turn off your antivirus software on your Mac, the simplest way is to use the Spotlight function. That will quickly take you to your apps and other items.

1. Press the Command button and your spacebar at the same time. Type in your antivirus name.
2. When the antivirus symbol or name appears, click it to get to the program’s interface.

3. Depending on the antivirus program, you will look for Stop, Turn off, or Disable. You can click any one of these options.

4. You may be asked to confirm the option. Click OK or Yes.

Android

Your steps for turning off your antivirus on an Android device may be slightly different depending on the version you have.

On Android versions older than 8.0, you can force the antivirus app to close. The next time you launch the app, it will run in the background. Follow these steps for Android devices older than version 8.0.

1. Open your device’s settings.
2. Go to Apps, then select the antivirus app you want to turn off and tap on it.
3. Click Force Close.

If you are using Android version 8.0 or higher, the device requires apps to create a permanent notification to keep running in the background. If you use Android version 8.0 or higher, you will follow these steps:

1. Swipe down to open your notification tray.

2. Swipe left on your antivirus app’s permanent notification. Then tap the gear icon.

3. Turn the toggle off for Permanent Notification.

iPhone

When you’re ready to turn off your antivirus app on your iPhone, follow these steps:

1. Find the antivirus app on your iPhone and click on it.
2. Locate the Menu option and look for the word Disable or Stop.
3. When you get prompted for confirmation, click on Yes or Confirm.

Chrome browser

You can download antivirus protection extensions to use with Google Chrome. When you want to turn off the antivirus software, you can remove the extension. Here’s how to easily remove the antivirus extension:

1. Click the vertical dots in the top right corner of your browser window. Then click More Tools.
2. Select Extensions, then choose the antivirus extension you want to remove.

3. Click Remove.

How to turn off antivirus software by antivirus programs

Microsoft Defender

Microsoft Defender antivirus (formerly Windows Defender) is a part of Windows Security for Windows 10 and 11 rather than a third-party antivirus application.

1. Click on the Start button and scroll to Windows Security.
2. Click on Windows Security.

3. Go to Virus & threat protection.
4. Under Virus & threat protection settings, select Manage settings.
5. Switch Real-time protection to Off.

Avast

1. Go to your Windows taskbar notification area.
2. Right click on the Avast logo.

3. Hover over Avast shields control.

4. Choose how long you want to keep Avast antivirus disabled and click OK Stop.

AVG

1. Click on the AVG icon.
2. Click on Computer Protected.

3. Toggle off File Shield and Behavior Shield.

4. Click how long you want the shield to be turned off.

Trend Micro

1. Right-click the Trend Micro icon in your taskbar notification area and click on Exit.

2. If you can’t find your antivirus icon, click the arrow in your taskbar next to the notification area.

Bitdefender

1. Launch Bitdefender and go to the Protection section on the left side of the main interface.

2. Click Open under the Antivirus section.

3. Go to the Advanced tab and select Bitdefender Shield.

4. Choose how long you want to keep the antivirus disabled and click OK.

Malwarebytes

1. Right-click on your Malwarebytes icon. It is the “M” icon.

2. Uncheck the selections under Real-Time Protection.

3. Select Yes when it asks whether you allow Malwarebytes to make changes to your computer.

McAfee

1. Right-click the McAfee icon in your taskbar notification area.

2. Go to Change settings, then Real-time Scanning from your menu.

3. In the Real-Time Scanning window, click on Turn off.

Norton

1. Right-click the Norton icon in your taskbar notification area and choose Disable Auto-Protect.

2. When the Security Request dialog appears, use the drop-down menu to Select the duration.

3. Choose how long you want to disable the antivirus and click OK.

Webroot

1. Right-click the taskbar notification area icon and click on Shut down Protection.
2. When you get prompted to confirm, click Yes.

Why turn off antivirus software?

Even though antivirus software can help protect your device from ransomware, spyware, and other threats, there are times when it could be beneficial to turn it off. But it should be a rare occurrence for you to turn off your antivirus protection. Disabling your antivirus software leaves your devices vulnerable to hackers, viruses, malware, and more.

Even still, here are some reasons you may want to toggle OFF:

1. If you need to free up some disk space, you may want to temporarily turn off an antivirus program. Your antivirus software is always running in the background while scanning for anything suspicious. It takes up a lot of your device’s resources and uses the hardware to full capacity.
2. Sometimes, you may want to install another program, and your antivirus software may block you from doing so. You may need to disable it while installing the other software.
3. You may want to turn off your antivirus software if it frequently detects false positives. This can get frustrating if you’re in the middle of a big project and your antivirus program keeps flagging a file for quarantine.
4. You also may have some privacy concerns. Antivirus software helps keep your device secure, but it's not designed for privacy. When you use antivirus software, you allow that program complete access to all your files and web browsing.

FAQs

Bottom line

There are different reasons you may want to turn off your antivirus software. You may want to improve your computer's performance speed, install a program that your antivirus is blocking, or disable it while streaming files. On rare occasions, you may want to troubleshoot issues with your device and need to turn off the antivirus to do that.

The good news is that turning off your antivirus is relatively easy, no matter your reason. You can use our guide to disable the software and turn it back on whenever you want. On the other hand, when you turn off your antivirus software, you should only do so temporarily. Antivirus software is necessary to help prevent you from being vulnerable to internet hackers, phishing, malware, and countless other cyberthreats.

For more information on getting the best antivirus software, check out our top-tested recommendations.