CyberNew CyberNew
Threat Intelligence & APT BleepingComputer 1 month ago

Microsoft asks users to ignore 'Antivirus is turned off' errors

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CyberNew Threat Research Desk
• Original Reporting: BleepingComputer
CyberNew Threat Intel Assessment
Assessed Severity: INFORMATIONAL
Impacted Surface
Client Endpoints & Operating Systems
Intelligence Sector
Threat Intelligence & APT

Analyst Takeaway

"Microsoft asked customers this week to ignore alerts that Defender Antivirus has been turned off after installing the latest Defender updates. Although this issue has been affecting users in the Release Preview Channel of the Windows Insider program since June, it appears Microsoft didn't notice it until now. The erroneous alerts appear on affected systems in the Windows Security app and prompt..."

Recommended Defense & Mitigation

  • Threat Monitoring: Ingest published IOCs into SIEM/EDR detection rules for continuous telemetry monitoring.
  • Security Awareness: Alert staff and maintain baseline endpoint hardening across endpoints.
Curated & Verified by CyberNew Threat Intelligence Desk Standard Defense Framework (NIST / MITRE ATT&CK)

Microsoft Defender

Microsoft asked customers this week to ignore alerts that Defender Antivirus has been turned off after installing the latest Defender updates.

Although this issue has been affecting users in the Release Preview Channel of the Windows Insider program since June, it appears Microsoft didn't notice it until now.

The erroneous alerts appear on affected systems in the Windows Security app and prompt users to "Tap or click to turn on Microsoft Defender Antivirus."

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Source Verification & Original Intelligence

This threat report was reviewed by CyberNew analysts and cross-referenced with primary security disclosures from BleepingComputer.

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