Windows Security does not detect 3rd party Antivirus or Firewall

If Windows Defender Security Center does not detect or register your 3rd party antivirus or security software in Windows 11/10, then this post will help you. The Security Center in Windows 11/10 requires all 3rd party security software to run as a protected process. If it does, Windows 11/10 registers it; if it does not, then, it will not get registered and so will not appear in the Security Center.

Windows Security does not detect 3rd party Antivirus or Firewall

Before you begin, create a system restore point first.

1] Run Batch file to repair WMI

After some research, we found Windows Management Instrumentation  (WMI) is responsible for reporting if Security software is installed on the machine or not.  So run the following script file in the form of the batch file:

cd /d %windir%\System32\Wbem
net stop winmgmt

sc sdset winmgmt D:(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;BA)(A;;CCLCSWLOCRRC;;;AU)(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;DA)(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRRC;;;PU)(A;;CCDCLCSWRPWPDTLOCRSDRCWDWO;;;SY)

REM REG IMPORT %windir%\WBEM.reg

winmgmt /clearadap
winmgmt /kill
winmgmt /unregserver
winmgmt /regserver
winmgmt /resyncperf

del %windir%\System32\Wbem\Repository /Q
del %windir%\System32\Wbem\AutoRecover /Q

for %%i in (*.dll) do Regsvr32 -s %%i
for %%i in (*.mof,*.mfl) do Mofcomp %%i
wmiadap.exe /Regsvr32
wmiapsrv.exe /Regsvr32
wmiprvse.exe /Regsvr32

net start winmgmt

See if this helps you.

2] Re-register WMIUTILS.DLL

There is a specific dll that is responsible for reporting if security software is present or not. We need to re-register WMIUTILS.DLL. It seems like the script didn’t uninstall and re-register.

To re-register the dll file:

Press Win + X

Click on “Command Prompt (Admin)

regsvr32 /u WMIUTILS.DLL

Reboot the System and run it now

regsvr32 WMIUTILS.DLL

Reboot your system and check.

If this does not help you, try the workaround, next.

3] Edit the Registry

You need to disable the AV check. If you are using Windows 11/10 you will have to edit the Registry as follows:

Run regedit and navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Security Center\Feature

Under Feature key, in right-side pane, right-click > New > DWORD. Name it as DisableAvCheck and change its value to 1.

Restart your PC and see.

If you are using Windows 7 or Windows Vista and have antivirus software installed on your Windows 7, and still the Windows Security Center or Action Center does not detect it as being installed, you may want to apply this Hotfix and see if it helps you.

Let’s say, you have a computer that is running Windows 7, and you have installed an antivirus application on the computer. You generate a system health report for the computer.

In this scenario, the system health report reports that no antivirus application is installed on the computer.

You may receive an error:

The Security Center has not recorded an anti-virus product. Cause: The Security Center is unable to identify an active anti-virus application. Either there is no anti-virus product installed or it is not recognized.

Additionally, the following message is included in the report:

• Symptom: The Windows Security Center has not recorded an anti-virus product.
• Cause: The Security Center is unable to identify an active anti-virus application. Either there is no anti-virus product installed, or it is not recognized.
• Resolution: 1. Verify that an anti-virus product is installed. 2. If an anti-virus product is installed and functioning, configure the Security Center to stop monitoring the anti-virus status.

This hotfix from Microsoft uses a new WMI namespace and may help resolve the issue. Head over to KB2482947 and request a Hotfix. Windows Vista users may want to check out KB952923.

See this post if Windows identifies old security software as still installed.