How to Disable McAfee LiveSafe or Total Protection Without Uninstalling

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Learn how to easily turn off McAfee services on your PC or Mac

Written by Hannah Dillon

Last Updated: April 7, 2024 Fact Checked

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On Windows

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On Mac

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Video

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Q&A

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Tips

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Warnings

This wikiHow teaches you how to temporarily turn off McAfee Security Center on your Windows or Mac computer. Disabling McAfee will not remove it from your computer. Keep in mind that, if McAfee is your only antivirus software, turning it off will leave your computer vulnerable to malware.

Disabling Real-Time Scanning, Firewall, or Schedule Scans

Open McAfee Total Protection or LiveSafe. Click “My Protection” on the left menu, then click “Real-Time Scanning,” “Firewall,” or “Schedule Scans.” Toggle the switch to “Off.” You may have to enter your password.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

On Windows

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You must be on an Administrator account to edit your McAfee settings, including disabling functions of the software.
Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen, or press ⊞ Win.

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Doing so searches your computer for the McAfee program.
You may have McAfee Live Safe or TotalProtection. The program should be at the top of the Start window, with the subheading "App" below its name. Doing so opens McAfee.
It's on the left-hand side, and the icon looks like 4 squares in a 2x2 grid. It's below the home button, which is a house icon.
This tab is on the left side of the McAfee window and the icon is a shield with clock hands in it. ^{[1]
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It's in the upper-right side of the Real-Time Scanning page.^{[2]
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Select a time limit, then click Turn off. You can set a time for real-time scanning to reactivate in the "When do you want to resume Real-Time Scanning?" box. The default is 15 minutes.^{[3]
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- If you want to disable McAfee until you manually turn it back on, select Never for the time limit.
It's the option right below Real-Time Scanning.
It's on the right-hand side of the screen. This will turn off McAfee's future automated virus scans.^{[4]
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This option is 3 items below the Real-Time Scanning tab on the left side of the window.
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Click Turn off. It's in the upper-right side of the page.
- If your Firewall page has a black Turn on button instead of one that says Turn off, your Firewall is already disabled and you don't need to follow the next steps.
Doing so will disable the McAfee Firewall until the time limit expires.^{[5]
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This will take you to settings.
This will disable automatic updates to the McAfee software until you decide to turn it back on.^{[6]
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Remove McAfee from your PC. If all else fails, you can disable McAfee's presence on your computer by uninstalling it completely.^{[7]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

On Mac

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1
Click the McAfee icon. It's the white "M" on the red shield icon in the top-right side of your Mac's menu bar.
- If you don't see this icon, click the magnifying glass icon in the top-right corner, type in "McAfee", and click the Internet Security option.
Your product name could be LiveSafe or Total Protection. This is near the bottom of the McAfee drop-down menu.
This will give you a dropdown menu of items to select from.
It's near the top of the gear drop-down menu. Doing so opens a window for Real-Time Scanning.
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Disable Real-Time Scanning. To do so:^{[8]
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- Click the lock icon.
- Enter your administrator password and click OK.
- Click the Real-Time Scanning switch in the top-right corner.
- Close the Real-Time Scanning window.
The Firewall tab is just below the Real-Time Scanning option.
You'll do this in the same way in which you disabled Real-Time Scanning.
Click the gear icon and enter your administrator password, then click OK.^{[9]
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Click the Weekly drop-down box. It's on the far-left side of the "Scheduled scans" page.
- If you don't see this option, click the Scheduled scans tab near the top of the page.
Doing so prevents McAfee from re-activating itself to scan your computer.
Your Mac's McAfee program should now be completely disabled.
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Remove McAfee from your Mac. If you want to completely remove McAfee's notifications, icons, and all other forms of its presence from your Mac, you'll have to uninstall McAfee itself. To do so:^{[10]
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- Open
  Finder.
- Click the Applications folder on the left side of Finder, or click Go and then click Applications in the drop-down menu.
- Find and double-click the McAfee® Total Protection Uninstaller app.
- Click Continue when prompted.
- Enter your administrator password when prompted, then click OK.
- Click Finish once McAfee finishes uninstalling.

Community Q&A

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Can I run both McAfee and Norton on my computer?

Community Answer

No, only one antivirus can be run at a time so that they won't conflict with each other.

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I left the app in the recycling bin. What should I do now?

Community Answer

Go to the control panel, then uninstall a program. Find McAfee, and click uninstall. You may need an additional confirmation.

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Where is the system tray?

Community Answer

The "system tray," also known as the notification area, is an area at the bottom-right corner of your screen. It has the clock and has icons to open programs, notifications, or settings (Action Center, volume, network, keyboard, etc.).

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