Using Passive Mode in Avast Antivirus

Passive Mode disables all active protection, such as Core Shields and Firewall, so you can use more than one antivirus program at a time without interfering with the performance of your PC or the reliability of antivirus detections. In Passive Mode, Avast Antivirus still receives all virus definitions and program updates that allow you to manually scan for issues on your PC, but Avast cannot actively protect you.

By default, Passive Mode is disabled. If Avast Antivirus is the only antivirus software installed on your PC, we recommend only enabling Passive Mode temporarily for troubleshooting purposes.

Enable Passive Mode

Follow the GIF or steps below to enable passive mode:

1. Open Avast Antivirus and go to ☰ Menu ▸ Settings.
2. Select General ▸ Troubleshooting.
3. Tick the box next to Enable Passive Mode.
4. Select Enable.
5. Click Restart now.

When the restart completes, your Avast Antivirus protection now runs in Passive Mode.

You can still run scans and check for threats manually. However, Avast Antivirus is no longer actively protecting your PC. To disable Passive Mode, repeat steps 1-3 above, unticking the box next to Enable Passive Mode in step 3.