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How To Disable Malwarebytes: Temporarily or Permanently Turning Off Antivirus

Malwarebytes is a popular antivirus and anti-malware program used by millions of people to protect their computers and devices. However, there may be times when you need to temporarily or permanently disable Malwarebytes in order to install another antivirus, troubleshoot conflicts, or for other reasons.

There are a few ways to disable Malwarebytes depending on your needs:

Temporarily Disable Malwarebytes

If you just need to turn off Malwarebytes temporarily, you have a couple quick options:

Use Safe Mode

  1. Restart your computer and press F8 on your keyboard repeatedly until you enter the Windows Advanced Boot Options menu
  2. Select “Safe Mode” using your keyboard arrow keys
  3. Malwarebytes will not load in Safe Mode, allowing you to install or run other programs without interference

Pause Protection

  1. Open the Malwarebytes program
  2. Go to the “Settings” tab
  3. Under “Protection”, toggle the switch off for both “Real-Time Protection” and “Malware Protection”
  4. Protection features will now be disabled until you manually re-enable them

Temporarily disabling Malwarebytes through Safe Mode or the Protection settings is useful for times when you need to install or run a conflicting program. Just remember to turn protection back on when you are done.

Permanently Uninstall Malwarebytes

If you no longer want Malwarebytes on your computer at all, you will need to fully uninstall the program:

Use the Uninstall Utility

  1. Open Malwarebytes and go to Settings > Account Details
  2. Under Account Details, click “Uninstall”
  3. Follow the on-screen prompts to fully remove Malwarebytes and all its files/settings

Manually Uninstall

If the uninstall utility fails, you can manually remove Malwarebytes by:

  1. Deleting the Malwarebytes program folder
  2. Using a cleaner tool to remove registry entries
  3. Deleting Malwarebytes files and folders remaining on your system

Be careful when manually uninstalling to avoid accidentally deleting important Windows files.

Once Malwarebytes is fully removed through the utility or manual uninstallation, it will no longer be present or running on your device.

Why Disable or Remove Malwarebytes?

There are a few key reasons you may want to temporarily or permanently disable your Malwarebytes antivirus:

  • Installing Another Antivirus – Running two antivirus programs simultaneously can cause conflicts and performance issues. You need to disable Malwarebytes to install another antivirus.
  • Troubleshooting Issues – If you suddenly experience problems with Malwarebytes or suspect it is conflicting with another program, disabling protection can help you troubleshoot.
  • Upgrading Malwarebytes – When upgrading to a newer Malwarebytes version you typically need to uninstall the previous one first.
  • Freeing Up System Resources – Malwarebytes can consume a significant amount of CPU, memory and disk usage. Disabling it may help free up system resources.
  • No Longer Needed – If you have decided to switch to another antivirus solution altogether you will need to uninstall Malwarebytes.

So in summary, temporarily disabling Malwarebytes through Safe Mode or Protection settings is handy for short-term troubleshooting. But fully uninstalling via the utility or manual removal is required if you no longer want Malwarebytes on your device at all.

What Happens When Malwarebytes Is Disabled?

It’s important to understand what protection you lose when turning off Malwarebytes:

  • Real-Time Scanning – Disabling this means files/activity will no longer be scanned in real-time for malware threats.
  • Scheduled Scans – Any scheduled malware scans will also be disabled until you re-enable protection.
  • Website Blocking – Any malicious websites blocked through Malwarebytes will no longer be prevented from loading.
  • Malware Detection/Removal – With protection off, any malware/PUAs will not be detected or cleaned from your system.

So when Malwarebytes is off your computer is more vulnerable to malware infection. Have another antivirus ready to enable instead or only disable protection temporarily while troubleshooting conflicts.

Turning Malwarebytes Back On

Once you are ready to start using Malwarebytes again, turning protection back on is simple:

  • If you used Safe Mode or Paused Protection – Just re-enable Real-Time and Malware Protection in the Settings tab. Scheduled scans will resume and malware will once again be blocked/removed.
  • If you Uninstalled Malwarebytes – You will need to re-download the program from the official website and reinstall it with your previous license key if you had one. Then enable all protection features again.

Be sure to update Malwarebytes to the latest virus definitions after re-enabling it to close any protection gaps. Schedule a full system scan as well to check for any malware that got through while antivirus was disabled.

Alternative Free Antiviruses

If you decide to replace Malwarebytes entirely, here are some of the best free antiviruses to consider installing instead:

  • Avast Free Antivirus – Provides real-time scanning, ransomware shield and limited VPN.
  • AVG AntiVirus Free – Good malware protection with optional online privacy features.
  • Avira Free Antivirus – Lightweight option focused on core antivirus essentials.
  • Bitdefender Antivirus Free – Solid malware protection rated very effective by independent labs.
  • Windows Defender – Microsoft’s built-in antivirus for Windows 10 provides baseline security.

Be sure to completely uninstall Malwarebytes first before installing one of these alternative antivirus programs to prevent conflicts.

Conclusion

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