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Cannot Turn Windows Defender back On
I am running Win 8.1 on a Samsung tablet and use Windows Defender for protection. I own the tablet it is not part of any network.
I was searching the net and Defender reported malware. After a bit of a tussle the malware seemed to be removed but Defender was turned off, so I have no protection. I went into the Control Panel/Security Centre and it reported this and had a button at the end of the message for turning Defender back on. However the button did not work. It was visible but did not seem to be enabled. When I clicked on the defender app icon there was a message saying Defender was turned off at the Group Policy level and was controlled by the Administrator. As it is my own PC I assume I am the Administrator, but this did not seem to make any difference. I searched for Group Policy but nothing was found.
How can I turn Defender back on?
Administrator
Administrator
mvp
Hello Punchy, and welcome to Eight Forums.
Did you install a 3rd party AV program?
If so, they will often disable Windows Defender by default, and Windows Defender cannot be turned on until the 3rd party program is uninstalled.
OS
64-bit Windows 10
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
Custom self built
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
PSU
OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 3
Internet Speed
1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
Browser
Internet Explorer 11
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
AV Tool
Hi Brink,
No I did not install another AV tool. Defender was working fine until after the tussle with the malware.
Should I download and use the repair tool?
Thank you
Punchy
Administrator
Administrator
mvp
OS
64-bit Windows 10
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
Custom self built
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
PSU
OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 3
Internet Speed
1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
Browser
Internet Explorer 11
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Repair Kit Did Not Work
The repair kit turned out to be another AV software and so it did not turn Defender back on. Did the opposite in fact.
Does anyone have a suggestion for how to turn Defender back on?
Thank you
Administrator
Administrator
mvp
Since you were infected, I would always recommend a clean install of Windows to be safe.
OS
64-bit Windows 10
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
Custom self built
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
PSU
OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 3
Internet Speed
1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
Browser
Internet Explorer 11
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
I was intending to turn Defender back on and then scan with defender, rather than introduce another anti-virus package.
back to my initial question - do you know how to turn defender back on?
Thank you
Administrator
Administrator
mvp
Look under "Windows Components" -> "Windows Defender" at the link below for it's registry location for the group policy setting to see if you have it.
Group Policy Search
OS
64-bit Windows 10
Computer type
PC/Desktop
System Manufacturer/Model
Custom self built
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
PSU
OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 3
Internet Speed
1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
Browser
Internet Explorer 11
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone