Solved Action Center warning: MSE & Defender turned off

Kari

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Fellow geeks, should I be worried?

Since this morning Action Center is warning me that both MSE and Defender are turned off. For me it looks that this is only half true; MSE seems to be up and running but Windows Defender really is turned off.

Whatever I click or do keeps red flag in notification area and shows MSE and Defender turned off:

Action_Center.PNG

Malwarebytes finds nothing, MSE seems to be working although Action Center says it's not.

Any advice and ideas welcome.

Kari
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP ENVY 17-1150eg
    CPU
    1.6 GHz Intel Core i7-720QM Processor
    Memory
    6 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Beats sound system with integrated subwoofer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" laptop display, 22" LED and 32" Full HD TV through HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1600*900 (1), 1920*1080 (2&3)
    Hard Drives
    Internal: 2 x 500 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive 7200 rpm
    External: 2TB for backups, 3TB USB3 network drive for media
    Cooling
    As Envy runs a bit warm, I have it on a Cooler Master pad
    Keyboard
    Logitech diNovo Media Desktop Laser (bluetooth)
    Mouse
    Logitech MX1000 Laser (Bluetooth)
    Internet Speed
    50 MB VDSL
    Browser
    Maxthon 3.5.2., IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender 4.3.9431.0
    Other Info
    Windows in English, additional user accounts in Finnish, German and Swedish.
Fellow geeks, should I be worried?

Since this morning Action Center is warning me that both MSE and Defender are turned off. For me it looks that this is only half true; MSE seems to be up and running but Windows Defender really is turned off.

Whatever I click or do keeps red flag in notification area and shows MSE and Defender turned off:


Malwarebytes finds nothing, MSE seems to be working although Action Center says it's not.

Any advice and ideas welcome.

Kari

You don't need MSE and Defender. Windows 8 Windows Defender is basically MSE plus. Also, Microsoft issued a patch for Windows 8 that specifically blocks the installation of MSE because it's incompatible. The first thing to do is remove MSE, if that doesn't re-enable Defender you can check the services.

Take a look through MS puts a hard block on MSE because it is incompatible with Win8 CP.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 x64 Ultimate/Windows 8.1/Linux
    CPU
    FX-8350
    Motherboard
    GA-990XA-UD3
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 Corsair Vengeance
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD7860
    Sound Card
    Xonar Essence STX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Various
    PSU
    Corsair HX 850W
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian
    Cooling
    Thermalright
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    50/50
    Browser
    firefox
Thanks. I was suspecting something like this. Uninstalled MSE, letting Defender to do its job.

Kari
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP ENVY 17-1150eg
    CPU
    1.6 GHz Intel Core i7-720QM Processor
    Memory
    6 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Beats sound system with integrated subwoofer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" laptop display, 22" LED and 32" Full HD TV through HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1600*900 (1), 1920*1080 (2&3)
    Hard Drives
    Internal: 2 x 500 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive 7200 rpm
    External: 2TB for backups, 3TB USB3 network drive for media
    Cooling
    As Envy runs a bit warm, I have it on a Cooler Master pad
    Keyboard
    Logitech diNovo Media Desktop Laser (bluetooth)
    Mouse
    Logitech MX1000 Laser (Bluetooth)
    Internet Speed
    50 MB VDSL
    Browser
    Maxthon 3.5.2., IE11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender 4.3.9431.0
    Other Info
    Windows in English, additional user accounts in Finnish, German and Swedish.
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