Why you might need to disable Malwarebytes temporarily

You may need to turn off Malwarebytes for a few common reasons: installing software that the program flags as suspicious (but you trust), running a game or application that conflicts with the real-time scanner, or troubleshooting whether Malwarebytes itself is causing a problem on your computer. Disabling it is different from uninstalling — you keep the program but turn off its active protection so you can test something or complete a task.

The steps differ depending on whether you want to pause protection temporarily or disable it completely. Most of the time, pausing for 15 minutes or an hour is what you actually need, not a full shutdown.

Key Takeaways

  • Pausing Malwarebytes protection for 15 minutes or an hour is faster than disabling it completely and is the right choice for most situations.
  • To pause, open Malwarebytes, click the three-line menu icon, select Settings, then toggle off "Enable protection" — it will turn back on automatically after your chosen time.
  • Disabling the real-time scanner alone (rather than pausing everything) lets you keep on-demand scans working while stopping background monitoring.
  • If you disable Malwarebytes and forget to turn it back on, your computer will have no active malware protection until you do.

How to pause Malwarebytes for a set time

Pausing is the safest option because the protection comes back on automatically. Open Malwarebytes on your computer. In the top-left corner, you will see three horizontal lines (called a menu icon) — click it.

From the menu that opens, select Settings. Look for the toggle switch next to "Enable protection" and click it to turn protection off. A window will appear asking how long you want to pause — choose 15 minutes, 1 hour, or 4 hours depending on what you are doing. Malwarebytes will resume protection automatically when that time runs out, so you do not have to remember to turn it back on.

How to disable the real-time scanner only

If you want to keep on-demand scanning (the ability to manually scan your computer for threats) but stop the background monitoring, you can disable just the real-time scanner. Open Malwarebytes and click the three-line menu, then select Settings.

Look for Protection in the left sidebar and click it. You will see several toggles for different types of protection: Malware Protection, Exploit Protection, Malicious Website Protection, and others. Turn off only the ones causing your problem — usually Malware Protection is the main one. The program will stop scanning files in real time, but you can still run a manual scan whenever you want by clicking the Scan button on the main screen.

How to fully disable Malwarebytes

If you need to turn off all Malwarebytes functions completely, open the program and click the three-line menu. Select Settings, then find Protection in the left sidebar. Toggle off every protection option: Malware Protection, Exploit Protection, Malicious Website Protection, and any others listed. This disables all active scanning and monitoring.

Be aware that with all protections off, your computer has no active malware defense from Malwarebytes. Turn protection back on as soon as you finish what you needed to do. If you close Malwarebytes without re-enabling protection, the program will stay disabled until you manually turn it back on — it will not restart on its own.

What to do if Malwarebytes won't disable

Sometimes the Settings menu is grayed out or the toggles will not move. This usually means Malwarebytes is running in a protected mode that prevents changes. Close Malwarebytes completely by right-clicking its icon in the system tray (bottom-right corner of your screen on Windows, or the menu bar on Mac) and selecting Exit or Quit.

If that does not work, restart your computer. When it boots back up, open Malwarebytes again and try disabling protection through Settings. If the toggles are still locked, your computer may be in Safe Mode or there may be another security program preventing changes — check whether Windows Defender or another antivirus is also running and try disabling that first.

How to turn Malwarebytes protection back on

If you paused protection, it will resume automatically after the time you selected. If you disabled it manually, open Malwarebytes, click the three-line menu, and select Settings. Go to Protection and toggle every option back on. The toggles should turn green when active.

After you re-enable protection, Malwarebytes will begin scanning your computer in the background again. This may take a few minutes depending on how many files you have. You can continue using your computer while it scans.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will my computer be unprotected if I disable Malwarebytes?

Yes — if you disable Malwarebytes and no other antivirus is running, your computer will have no active malware protection. Windows includes a built-in antivirus called Windows Defender that runs automatically, but it is less aggressive than Malwarebytes. Turn Malwarebytes back on as soon as you finish what you needed to do.

How long does it take to pause Malwarebytes?

Pausing takes about 10 seconds — just open the program, click the menu, go to Settings, and toggle off protection. The pause window appears immediately, and you select your time. It is much faster than disabling individual protection types.

Can I disable Malwarebytes without opening the program?

Not easily. You need to open Malwarebytes itself to access the Settings menu where the toggles are. You cannot disable it from the system tray icon alone. If the program will not open, restart your computer and try again.

What is the difference between pausing and disabling?

Pausing turns off protection for a set time (15 minutes to 4 hours) and then automatically turns it back on. Disabling turns it off indefinitely until you manually turn it back on. Pausing is safer because you cannot forget to re-enable it.

Does disabling Malwarebytes remove it from my computer?

No. Disabling just turns off its protection — the program stays installed. If you want to remove Malwarebytes completely, you need to uninstall it through your computer's Add/Remove Programs menu (Windows) or Applications folder (Mac).