How to Disable McAfee AntiVirus - A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Disable McAfee AntiVirus - A Step-by-Step Guide
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Sometimes, you need to remove malwares or other adwares from your computer system that can’t be removed by an antivirus or other similar software. For such things, you need specialized tools that have been developed and tested by specialists. However, in most cases it has been found that these tools are rendered as threat by antivirus and other anti-malware software, even though they are not. This is referred to as false-positive, which means that your antivirus or anti-malware software is unable to distinguish it as good or bad. In such scenarios, you will have to temporarily disable McAfee antivirus in order to execute such specialized tools.

Basically, there are two different ways to ensure that your antivirus software doesn’t interrupt you in executing specialized tools.

Disable McAfee Virus Scanner Only

Step 1: Locate the McAfee icon in the system tray at the lower right corner of the desktop. The McAfee icon is usually a red color M.

Step 2: Right click on that icon, and a list of options will appear in the popup menu. Select the “Exit” or “Disable” option to temporarily close the McAfee virus scanner.

Step 3: A message box will appear asking you to confirm that you want McAfee antivirus to disable. Click Yes to disable McAfee antivirus.

Your McAfee antivirus is now disabled. Remember, the next time you restart your computer; the antivirus will again be activated. You can also double click the icon to activate it.

Disable McAfee ActiveShield

McAfee ActiveShield is another feature of McAfee that continuously protects your files by scanning them for any threat. You can also disable McAfee by selecting options from within McAfee ActiveShield.

Step 1: Locate the McAfee icon in the system tray at the lower right corner of the desktop. The McAfee icon is usually a red color M.

Step 2: Right click on that icon, and a list of options will appear in the popup menu. Move to “VirusScan” and then from the sub-options click “Disable”.

Step 3: A message box will appear asking you to confirm that you want to disable the antivirus. Click Yes to disable McAfee antivirus.

You can also configure the McAfee ActiveShield options to disable continuous scanning of your files while you execute your specialized tool:

Step 1: Repeat steps one and two above and instead of disable, click options. Uncheck the Start ActiveShield when Windows starts option to disable your antivirus on system start.

Note: Disabling your antivirus software may leave your computer system vulnerable to attack. After you are done using your tools, you must immediately enable your antivirus in order to ensure security of your files. Also, scan your system thoroughly after enabling your antivirus to ensure that your system has not been compromised. Before turning off your antivirus, make sure that files you execute don’t affect the safety of your computer system.

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Images Credit

McAfee ActiveShield screenshot by McAfee