Microsoft Busted: Antivirus Notification a 'Cosmetic Bug'
Microsoft is dealing with two separate problems in its Windows servicing. The first issue causes a notification to appear on users' screens, stating that their antivirus software is turned off. However, this notification is incorrect and has been reported by many users.
According to Microsoft's own Windows Release Health dashboard and an updated Defender support document, the problem affects supported client and server editions of both Windows 10 and Windows 11 running recent Defender definition packages. The company says a fix will arrive in a future Defender update but has not committed to a specific date.
It's worth noting that users can verify their antivirus status by opening PowerShell and running the Get-MpComputerStatus command. If all three values (AntivirusEnabled, RealTimeProtectionEnabled, and AMServiceEnabled) return True, the notification is likely incorrect. If any of them return False, there may be an actual problem to fix.
The second issue is also cosmetic and unrelated to the first one. Microsoft has acknowledged that mouse cursor personalization can be lost after installing KB5120998, the optional August preview update for Windows 11. Users have reported custom cursor schemes and animations reverting to defaults, as well as high-DPI cursors being replaced with oversized white ones.