How to Disable McAfee

May 2023 · 3 minute read

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...

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On Mac

  • Picture 17 of How to Disable McAfee 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.
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    Click Total Protection Console…. This is near the bottom of the McAfee drop-down menu.

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    Click the Home tab. It's in the upper-left side of the window.

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    Click the gear icon. You'll find this in the top-right corner of the Home tab.

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    Click Real-Time Scanning. It's near the top of the gear drop-down menu. Doing so opens a window for Real-Time Scanning.

  • Picture 22 of How to Disable McAfee Disable Real-Time Scanning. To do so:
  • 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.
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    Click the gear icon again, then click Firewall. The Firewall tab is just below the Real-Time Scanning option.

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    Disable McAfee's Firewall. You'll do this in the same way in which you disabled Real-Time Scanning.

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    Click the gear icon again, then click Automatic Updates. It's below the Firewall option.

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    Disable automatic updates. You'll do this in the same way in which you disabled Real-Time Scanning and the Firewall.

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    Click the gear icon again, then click Scheduled scans. It's at the bottom of the "Mac Security" group of options.

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    Unlock the Full and Custom Scan Settings page. Click the gear icon and enter your administrator password, then click OK.

  • Picture 29 of How to Disable McAfee 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.
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    Click Never. Doing so prevents McAfee from re-activating itself to scan your computer.

  • Click the gear icon again, then click McAfee SiteAdvisor. It's near the bottom of the drop-down menu.
  • SiteAdvisor is responsible for McAfee's presence in your Mac's browsers.
  • Disable SiteAdvisor. Click the switch in the top-right corner of the SiteAdvisor page to do so.
  • You may have to click the lock icon and enter your administrator password in order to be able to click the switch.
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    Close the settings window. Your Mac's McAfee program should now be completely disabled.

  • 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:
  • Open Picture 32 of How to Disable McAfee 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.
    • Isabella Humphrey Isabella Humphrey

    Update 05 March 2020

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