Message: Activate Avira Desktop - what to do?

If the message "Activate Avira Desktop" appears on your computer, there is no need to hide a malicious program behind it. In this practical tip, we explain how to fix the error message.

Activate Avira Desktop - so you get the message away

1. Check whether Avira virus protection is activated. You can recognize this by the umbrella symbol at the bottom of your task bar. If the umbrella is folded in, virus protection is deactivated. If the umbrella is open, Avira works perfectly.
2. Right click on the umbrella icon and uncheck "Activate real-time scanner".
3. Windows should now give you a warning. Then reactivate the real-time scanner.
4. The error message should now be gone.

Update Windows and Avira to permanently remove the warning

1. Left-click on the Avira icon in the taskbar.
2. Move the mouse over the pop-up menu and click on the entry "Free Antivirus".
3. Select the "Start update" button. This will update Avira.
4. If the error message persists, you should also download and install the latest Windows updates.
5. Then restart your PC.

Reinstall Avira to fix the error message

Sometimes you have to uninstall Avira in order to fix the error message.

1. To do this, follow our instructions for uninstalling programs under Windows.
2. Then restart your PC.
3. You can now install the current version of Avira.

Windows update removes Avira message

The error may not be with the antivirus program, but with Windows. An update of the system can help here:

1. Import the Windows updates into your system.
2. Then restart your computer.
3. Windows should now recognize the virus scanner and the error message should no longer appear.

If you no longer want to use Avira, you can find a test here between free and paid virus scanners. These instructions apply to Avira 14 and Windows 7.