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My windows security icon has an "x" and it says actions needed. I have searched for the past few days and can't find anything that needs to be fixed. I've restarted my computer and it was fine for about 10 minutes, and then the "x" shows up again, and I'm back to square 1.
Can someone please tell me what else I can do.
Thank you in advance.
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Hello, Jeanette Mazzola.
This sometimes happens if a "quick check" has not been performed for a long time. Open "Windows Security"-"Protection against viruses and threats" and click on the "Quick Check" button there.
Also, do you have any third-party antivirus installed on your PC (or was it installed once)?
Firstly, thanks so much for your response.
If "quick check" is the same as "quick scan", then I've already done that. I also checked for any updates.
No, I don't have any third-party antivirus installed. Should I install one? I'm not sure what else to try.
You should not remove the protection. As for reinstalling, there are some nuances. You can reinstall/restore using PowerShell. But this method doesn't always work for everyone. Check out these discussions on a third-party website*:
https://www.reddit.com/r/WindowsHelp/comments/1elpwi2/how_to_reinstall_windows_defender/
and
https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/xcaa4u/how_do_i_reinstall_windows_defender/
*Note: This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.
A safer way is to use an offline OS image to do this.:
download the ISO image and save it in a separate folder.
I was glad to help you.
You do not need to install a third-party antivirus.
Check the "Resolved Threats" and "Protection Log". If everything is in order there, as well as in other sections of "No action required", then this is just a bug in the Defender interface (as I said earlier, this happens) due to the launch time of the security services. Well, just in case, perform a scan with Offline Defender (click on "Scan Options", select "offline scan" there and click on "Scan now"). The PC will reboot and the Defender will perform a check. If there are any threats, notifications will appear on the screen. If there are no notifications, it means that everything is in order and there is no cause for concern.
I think the offline scan finally fixed it. It's been 20 minutes and the checkmark hasn't changed to an x. usually, it'll change to an x within 3 minutes. Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate it.
That was a temporary fix because after a few hours, it's got the x on it again. I ran an offline scan again, and it was fine, again, for only a couple of hours. Is there any way of uninstalling and reinstalling windows security?
