Phishing Protection in Windows 11 keeps turning off by itself.

Question

Hi,

I'm on Windows 11, and the Phishing protection setting keeps turning off by itself.

I have reinstalled Windows to ensure it's got nothing to do with 3rd-party apps, and even downloaded a fresh copy to make REALLY sure that the issue isn't being transfered when resetting from a local copy.

I had to install a 3rd party antivirus tool just because I'm not fully confident in Microsoft Defender right now, if setting can just randomly be turned off on its own.

I turn it back on, only for it to get turned off again upon a restart.

Is this a known bug, or is this feature being depreciated due to being replaced by something else, or what is going on?

Answer 1

Hi Welcome to Microsoft community.Thank you for reaching out and sharing your experience with the Phishing Protection setting in Windows 11. I understand how frustrating it can be when settings don't behave as expected.The behavior you're experiencing is actually by design. When you enable a PIN for your device, Windows assumes that your security has been enhanced, and as a result, it automatically disables certain features, including Phishing Protection. If you disable the PIN and only use a password, the phishing protection feature will remain enabled once it is turned on. This is intended to provide an additional layer of security for users. I appreciate your understanding and support for Microsoft products. If you have any further questions or need assistance with anything else, please feel free to ask! Best regardsDerrick Qian | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 2

Hi,

I suspected as much after reading the description again.

Wouldn't a better way be to gray-out this section, with a message clearly saying that it's disabled due to you using a PIN instead of a password, and that you don't need this feature enabled when you use a PIN?

The mere fact that I can turn it on, for it to turn off by itself is what made me concerned. If this feature was simply disabled and grayed out so I can't even turn it on, with the note saying why, I would have been far more at ease.

Answer 3

I'm saying that I reinstalled Windows (multiple times), and even downloaded a clean/fresh installation to do so, and checked after installing the system.

I had to install a third-party AV AFTER I noticed that the phishing protection gets turned off, not before. In other words, the setting turned off BEFORE I installed any 3rd party AV solutions on a fresh installation.

Answer 4

FYI

I have already done the following: None of it works.

It seems that this happens automatically out of the box, which is truly astonishing.

Answer 5

As mentioned, I have experienced this on a fresh install.