How To Disable McAfee Antivirus With Best Ever Solutions

McAfee Inc is among the top antivirus software when it comes to performance and effective virus detection. However, the software is not free from technical glitches. Moreover, improper handling of the antivirus software can also lead to McAfee errors. In such cases, you need to turn off your antivirus. If you want to know how to disable McAfee software then follow this article.  

Why You Need To Disable McAfee Antivirus?

Understanding the cause of the issue is often regarded as one of the fundamental steps to solve it. This is because you can provide an exact solution to the problem if you know the source of the occurrence of the issue. Take a glimpse at some of the common reasons for this problem.

  • If the McAfee antivirus is malfunctioning then it is better to disable it.
  • Sometimes the McAfee blocks your first choice antivirus when you need to disable it immediately.
  • Furthermore, the Windows Firewall can also block the software which can create issues.
  • A problem in the Registry Editor can also be due to McAfee. In such cases, disable the software to resolve the glitch.
  • Sometimes the McAfee antivirus blocks certain third-party websites. In order to access those websites, you need to temporarily disable the antivirus.

How To Disable McAfee Effectively

The McAfee antivirus sometimes malfunctions or blocks the antivirus of your system. In such cases, you need to disable the software. If you are stuck with the procedure have a look at some of the easy ways by which you can perform the action.

How To Turn McAfee Off

  1. First access the System Tray area on your taskbar.
  2. Locate the McAfee icon and right-click on it.
  3. From the drop-down menu select “Disable Smart Firewall” option to disable the firewall of your system for a brief time period.
  4. When done, disable the Autoprotect. Select the “Disable Antivirus Auto-Protect” and set the time period for the disability option.

Disable Using Local Group Policy

You have to open the Run search box by pressing the Windows key and R button simultaneously from the keyboard. Then in the Run search box write “gpedit.msc” and hit the OK button. This will open the Local Group Policy Editor. In the Local Group Policy Editor go to the “Computer Configuration” and then “Administrative Templates”. Now select the option “Windows Components” followed by “McAfee Antivirus”. There you need to select “Turn off McAfee” option. Then check in the “Enabled” option. This will disable the antivirus. At last, click on Apply and OK options respectively.

Disable Using Registry

You can alternatively disable the McAfee Antivirus from the registry. However, the registry is somewhat a risky process and can cause damage to the installation. Therefore, you need to perform the steps carefully. Press the Windows button and the R key from the keyboard. Or you can also click on the Start button on the left side of the taskbar and type Run in the search field. Then open the Registry by typing “regedit” in the Run box. The Registry window appears on the desktop. There go to HKEYS_LOCAL followed by Software. Now, select the Microsoft option. Under the Microsoft option, you will find the McAfee option. Click on that. Search for the option “Disable AntiSpyware”. Hit Enter button when you find it. Now set the value of the DWORD from 0 to 1 by double-clicking on it. After that click the OK button to save the changes. Now, Restart your system to see if you got the answer to the query regarding how to disable McAfee.

Disable Using Security Center

This method is used to temporarily disable the antivirus from your system. Take a look at the steps. Open the software McAfee Security Center. Now, select the Virus Protection option. Go to the settings of the Virus Protection option. Then you will see the Real-time protection toggle switch. Turn off the switch. Once this is done, the real-time protection will be disabled temporarily from the system. Wait for the procedure to end and then restart your computer. Then check if the issue persists.

Disable Windows Firewall

Press the Windows button and open Control Panel. Then search for “Windows Firewall” in the search bar. Open the Firewall window by clicking on that option. Select the “Turn Windows Firewall on or off” option on the left panel of the screen. Activate the radio button “Turn off Windows Firewall (not recommended)” and click on OK. Then you need to repeat the update process all over again.

Update Antivirus Driver

  1. Type “Device Manager” in the search bar by clicking on the “Start” button on the bottom left corner of your screen.
  2. The Device Manager window appears on your screen.
  3. In the Device Manager window, search for the Antivirus Software option from the list.
  4. Expand the option to find your McAfee antivirus version.
  5. Right-click on it and then select “Update Driver” option from the drop-down menu.
  6. Your McAfee antivirus driver will be updated. Now, restart your system to apply the changes.

Update The Operating System

Updating your Operating System might fix the problem. Before updating the OS make sure the internet connection is stable to execute the process. Click the Start button on the taskbar and type “Settings” in your search box. The Settings menu will pop up. Then you have to select the “Windows Settings” option. In the “Windows Settings” option click on the “Update & security” option to update your Operating System. Now, wait for the computer to update the Operating System completely. After that, restart your machine and see if the issue persists or not.

Terminate McAfee.exe

  1. Press the Ctrl + Alt + Del button simultaneously from your keyboard.
  2. Now, you have to choose the “Task Manager” option.
  3. The Task Manager window appears on your screen. Move to the “Processes” tab.
  4. Then, try to locate the “McAfee.exe”. Right-click on that and select the “End Task” option.
  5. Now, go to the “Create New Process” and type “explorer.exe”.
  6. Then, hit the OK button.
  7. You will see the explorer.exe created again in the Processes tab.
  8. At last, restart your computer and see if the issue persists or not.

Update Hardware Drivers

A problem with the driver can also create these problems. You need to update the drivers to get rid of the defect. Click on the Start menu and search Device Manager in the Start search box. Select the Device Manager option to open it. In the Device Manager window, look for the “Hardware and drivers” option. Now, right-click on it and select the Update option from the drop-down menu. Wait for the update to complete. Make sure that you have an uninterrupted internet connection while updating. After the update, restart your system to see if the problem prevails.

Nathaniel Villa
Nathaniel Villa