How to Disable McAfee Total Protection in Windows
Follow the instructions below to disable McAfee Total Protection temporarily on a Windows PC.
Select the McAfee icon located in the Notifications section of the Windows taskbar in the lower-right corner of the screen. It looks like a red shield. When the pop-out menu appears, select Open McAfee Total Protection. Alternatively, open the program from a desktop icon, if there is one, or search for it using the Windows search bar. Go to the PC Security tab. Choose Real-Time Scanning, found in the left menu pane. To disable McAfee Firewall, choose Firewall. The Real-Time Scanning dialog window appears, overlaying the McAfee Total Protection dashboard. Select Turn Off to disable active scanning. A confirmation message appears asking if you’re sure you want to turn off real-time scanning. Select Turn Off to continue. To re-enable scanning automatically at a later time, select the When do you want to resume Real-Time Scanning drop-down menu and choose a time interval.
How to Disable McAfee Total Protection in macOS
Take these steps to disable McAfee Total Protection temporarily on your Mac:
Click the McAfee Total Protection logo, represented by a red shield, located in the upper-right corner of the screen next to the battery indicator and Wi-Fi icon. If you don’t see this icon, open McAfee by selecting the magnifying glass icon in the upper-right corner, typing McAfee, then selecting Internet Security. Select Total Protection Console from the drop-down menu. In the McAfee Total Protection console, go to the Mac Security tab. Select Real-Time Scanning, located in the left menu pane. To disable McAfee Firewall, select Firewall. The Real-Time Scanning settings options should appear, overlaying the Total Protection console window. Click the Lock icon, located in the lower-left corner. Enter your macOS password when prompted and click OK to continue. Click the On/Off toggle, located in the upper-right corner of the Real-Time Scanning dialog, so that it turns from blue (On) to gray (Off). Click the X in the upper-left corner to close the Real-Time Scanning dialog box.
