You should turn on Windows Defender in Windows 8.1 to get a first level of protection against spywares, viruses, and other types of undesirable applications. Windows Defender for Windows 8.1 is an antispyware and antivirus program from Microsoft which is enabled by default in Windows 8.1. Windows Defender for Windows 8.1 offers default antivirus protection for your computer.
Windows Defender in Windows 8.1 will be disabled automatically if you install a third party antivirus program such as AVG, Avast, McAfee, Norman, Norton, etc. Turning on Windows Defender in Windows 8.1 is easy if you have not installed any third party antivirus application. In this guide, we will show you how to enable or activate Windows Defender in Windows 8.1.
How to Turn On Windows Defender in Windows 8.1?
1) Check whether Windows 8.1 Windows Defender is disabled or not
Press WINDOWS key + Q to open the search tool in Windows 8.1 and search for Windows Defender. Click on Windows Defender in the search results.
If you see a message as shown below, it means Windows Defender is disabled.
2) Check whether a third party antivirus program is installed in Windows 8.1 Action Center
Press WINDOWS key + Q to open the search tool and search for Action Center. Click on Action Center in the search results as shown below.
You can see if you have a third party antivirus program running on your computer. Under the Security section in the Action Center, you can see whether your computer has any third party antivirus installed and running. The image below shows a McAfee antivirus is turned on.
To turn on Windows 8.1 Windows Defender, you first need to uninstall any third party antivirus. After you have uninstalled the third party antivirus, follow the next step.
3) Open Action Center to Turn On Windows Defender in Windows 8.1
Press WINDOWS key + Q to open the search tool and search for Action Center. Click on Action Center in the search results to open it.
Now, inside the Action Center, under the Security section, you can see the options as shown below with messages showing Windows Defender is turned off. You can turn on Windows Defender in Windows 8.1 by clicking on the Turn on now button on the right side of Virus protection (Important).
Click on Turn on now as shown below to turn on Windows Defender in Windows 8.1.
After Windows Defender is turned on, you will see the screen as shown below.
Congratulations, Windows Defender in Windows 8.1 is now enabled and monitoring your computer.
