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Temporarily disabling other antivirus software

If you use third-party antivirus software on your PC, you may need to temporarily disable your antivirus protection before installing an Avast application. This is because third-party antivirus software may incorrectly flag Avast applications as malicious and block installation.

This article does not apply if you want to install Avast Premium Security or Avast Free Antivirus. You must completely uninstall any third-party antivirus software from your PC before installing an Avast antivirus application, as it is not possible to have multiple antivirus applications installed on one PC. For detailed instructions, refer to the following article: Uninstalling other antivirus software.

Follow the instructions in this article to first verify the default antivirus application on your PC, before temporarily disabling third-party antivirus protection.

Verify your default antivirus

  1. Click the Windows Start button, then type Windows Security in the search box, and select Open in the Windows Security panel.
  2. Select Virus & threat protection in the left panel.
  3. Your default antivirus application appears at the top of the Virus & threat protection screen.

You may need to disable your default antivirus before installing Avast software on your PC.

  1. Click the Windows Start button, then type Windows Security in the search box, and select Open in the Windows Security panel.
  2. Select Virus & threat protection in the left panel.
  3. Your default antivirus application appears at the top of the Virus & threat protection screen.

You may need to disable your default antivirus before installing Avast software on your PC.

  1. On your keyboard, press the Win and X keys simultaneously.
  2. Select Control Panel from the menu that appears.
  3. Follow option A or option B below according to your view:
    • Option A (Category view): Under System and Security, select Review your computer's status.
    • Option B (Large/small icons view): Select Action Center.
  4. Click the Security panel to expand it.
  5. Your default antivirus application appears under Virus protection.

You may need to disable your default antivirus before installing Avast software on your PC.

  1. Click the Windows Start button, and select Control Panel.
  2. Follow option A or option B below according to your view:
    • Option A (Category view): Under System and Security, select Review your computer's status.
    • Option B (Large/small icons view): Select Action Center.
  3. Click the Security panel to expand it.
  4. Your default antivirus application appears under Virus protection.

You may need to disable your default antivirus before installing Avast software on your PC.

Disable other antivirus software

Refer to the alphabetical list below to access the websites of common antivirus software for instructions to temporarily disable your protection. Avast is not responsible for any of the content on the linked web pages. If the antivirus application that you are trying to disable is not on this list, refer to the support website for your antivirus provider.

After successfully installing your Avast application, ensure that you re-enable your third-party antivirus software.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | K | L | M | N | P | Q | S | T | U | V | W | Z

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DocID: disable-other-antivirusLast modified: 10/23/2026

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