How to Turn Off Avast Antivirus | How to Disable Avast

Installing an antivirus tool kit is highly recommended for all PC users. Among other antivirus products, Avast is the most popular one with a legacy of more than two decades in use. No doubt, it works quite effectively and offers real-time antivirus and malware troubleshooting solutions whenever it detects any threat.

Still, you may have to disable or uninstall Avast antivirus or how turn off Avast for various reasons; firstly, if you are installing a new program on your PC, then it might affect the working of Avast.

And another reason when you have to disable antivirus is when it causes too many network and speed-related troubles. Disabling your Avast Antivirus is the first step to troubleshooting your PC.

How to Disable Avast Antivirus?

We will briefly explain below a couple of ways to disable Avast. 

1. Disable Avast Antivirus in Windows OS

• Click on the Avast icon on your taskbar.
• Right-click on the same to see more options.
• Now, tap on the Avast Shields Control
• Several options like disable for 10 minutes/ 1 hour/ permanently will appear.
• Click on “disable permanently” to remove the tool completely from your PC.
• Confirm and proceed.

2. Disable Avast Antivirus In MAC OS

• Type “Avast Security” on Mac OS’ search query box.
• Once the antivirus appears, double-click on it.
• Go to its dashboard and tap ‘preferences’.
• You will find three options here; File System/ Mail/ Web Shield.
• Press the ‘Disable key’ in all of these options.
• A command prompt will appear asking you to enter admin credentials.
• Fill out all required information correctly and soon Avast Antivirus will go away from your PC.

How do I turn off Avast Free Antivirus?

Any Avast subscriber has a couple of ways to tackle this issue; either disable the antivirus temporarily for a few hours or fully disable it by uninstalling the software from your PC’s control panel. Another method is to block and disable each shield separately as per requirements. 

Each shield has a specific set of tasks to perform. For example; some shields may protect files while the other shield may be looking into fraudulent or suspicious emails.

1. Switch Off HTTPS Scanning In The Web Shield Of The Antivirus

HTTPS scanning with antivirus is a shield that protects users from malicious malware. Malicious malware can be obtained when accessing a website that delivers the malware via traffic generated by the website’s TLS and SSL encryption. 

However, if HTTPS scanning is disabled, the system will be open to malware delivery from insecure websites. Therefore, this should only be done in dire situations and if you trust other websites. 

Steps to Switching off HTTPS Scanning:

Step 1: Go to Avast’s main user interface. 

Step 2: Click the menu option in the upper right corner.

Step 3: Select configuration options. 

Step 4: Select the Core Shield option and scroll down from there until you see the Configure   Shield Settings option. 

Step 5: Clear the Enable HTTPS Scan check box and you’re done. If you want to turn on scanning, simply follow steps 1-4 to enable this setting.

2. Disable Specific Individual Avast Shields

Sometimes disabling a few of Avast’s shields should be sufficient to allow you to download the necessary app or unblock a certain website. 

Step 1: Select “Protection” and then “Core Shields” from the Avast user interface. Alternatively, select “Settings” from the Avast interface’s bottom left corner, then select “Components” (or “Active Protection” if you’re running a previous version). The complete list of Avast shields will appear. Select the switcher after locating the ones you wish to turn off. The shield can be temporarily paused for ten minutes, for an hour, until a computer restarts, or forever. Make a decision.

Step 2: The switch will change to “OFF” and the message “File Shield is now off” will appear if the shield was successfully turned off. To get it back, hit the “Turn on” button and hold it down for a moment until it glows green and says “You’re protected.”

Whichever shield you deactivate, you must choose how long you want to deactivate it. Choose the shortest amount of time you can complete your work so that the unprotected state does not last long. 

3. Uninstall – Avast Program

Antivirus software is always required to protect the computer’s stored data from viruses and malware. If disabling Avast antivirus software hasn’t resolved the problem, you can uninstall avast antivirus completely. If you have another antivirus product installed on your computer, skip this step.

How Do I Turn off Avast Data Collection?

For improving the quality of services and technical issues, Avast often collects data from users for in-depth investigation and scrutiny. However, ultimately it’s the user’s call. Avast can’t force every user to share their data and other information with them as per GDPR rules. 

If you are desirous of switching off the Avast Data Collection option, then please follow this process. 

1. Go to Settings → General → Personal Privacy
2. In the Personal Privacy section, Uncheck the first two options which say ‘sharing of threat information and ‘collection of data respectively.’

Frequently Asked Questions on Avast Antivirus

Q. Is Avast Good Antivirus?

A. Avast regularly goes for an internal audit to inspect if all is well with this antivirus tool. Recently, a study conducted into the Avast antivirus tool’s efficacy declared it as one of the most effective antivirus and antimalware tools for PC users.

A team of professional cybersecurity experts found that there are no security lapses within the tool. And it is one of those antivirus solutions, which is impossible to crack or decode. Avast acts as a shield offering full protection to its subscribers from malicious codes and suspicious files. Thus Avast is a good antivirus solution.

Q. Is Avast Completely Free?

A. Avast antivirus software comes with a host of functions and features to protect your Windows 10 OS-operated PC. Starting from remote technical assistance, and frequent browser cleanup to adding extra layers of security—Avast provides all these options absolutely free. 

However, you can subscribe to its paid version or AVAST PRO for more features and functions, especially when you want to use the tool for VPN, Anti Phishing, and DND mode. It is also called Avast Premium Security.

Q. Is Avast Safe to download?

A. Download the Avast antivirus tool anywhere and anytime without any fee. Moreover, the tool is specially built to provide you with full-proof 360-degree protection from online vulnerabilities and hackers. Get it installed as early as possible. 

Q. Is Avast Safe to Use?

A. As discussed above, the Avast antivirus tool is fully safe to use. You won’t face any problems by using this antivirus tool. Currently, Avast Antivirus works seamlessly with Windows 8/10 and Mac OS for PC users. It’s completely safe to use, download and get your PC scanned through this tool to detect any malicious files and codes on your PC.  

The Conclusion

We hope our article has helped you learn how to turn off avast antivirus. By following the above steps and guidelines, you can easily disable Avast from your system or even completely uninstall the same as per your need. 

Though you should keep it installed on your system, in some cases, it becomes essential to remove Avast because of technical glitches. Read this article to safely remove the Avast antivirus toolkit from your system. It will act as your quick reference guide for this purpose.