What changed with Windows Defender, my protection, and Ethernet? And what steps can be taken to resolve these issues?

F5F Stay Refreshed Hardware Desktop What changed with Windows Defender, my protection, and Ethernet? And what steps can be taken to resolve these issues?

What changed with Windows Defender, my protection, and Ethernet? And what steps can be taken to resolve these issues?

What changed with Windows Defender, my protection, and Ethernet? And what steps can be taken to resolve these issues?

Y

YoYoRabbit
Junior Member

17

02-08-2026, 04:35 PM

#1

Hi
I'm facing some unusual issues with my firewall, Ethernet setup, and security settings. They seem connected. I can't add exclusions in Windows Defender, and I see a message saying I can't even disable Real-time Protection. When I briefly turned off my Ethernet connection through Network Connections, the error appeared. I also can't view the Properties.

I followed the advice on the link you shared, but it didn't help. Then I tried disabling and uninstalling the adapter drivers via Device Manager and restarted, but the problem persists.

Additionally, I'm unable to change permissions. When I go to the Security tab of a file or folder and try to modify user or group settings, I get an error:
"Any ideas/suggestions? I'm totally stuck with this and don't know what to do."
🙁
Thanks

Y

YoYoRabbit

02-08-2026, 04:35 PM #1

Hi
I'm facing some unusual issues with my firewall, Ethernet setup, and security settings. They seem connected. I can't add exclusions in Windows Defender, and I see a message saying I can't even disable Real-time Protection. When I briefly turned off my Ethernet connection through Network Connections, the error appeared. I also can't view the Properties.

I followed the advice on the link you shared, but it didn't help. Then I tried disabling and uninstalling the adapter drivers via Device Manager and restarted, but the problem persists.

Additionally, I'm unable to change permissions. When I go to the Security tab of a file or folder and try to modify user or group settings, I get an error:
"Any ideas/suggestions? I'm totally stuck with this and don't know what to do."
🙁
Thanks

N

NekoKagamine
Member

120

02-08-2026, 06:21 PM

#2

Check if this meets your needs; watch the video at the provided link. If it doesn’t and the problem appeared unexpectedly after an OS update, attempt a system restore.

N

NekoKagamine

02-08-2026, 06:21 PM #2

Check if this meets your needs; watch the video at the provided link. If it doesn’t and the problem appeared unexpectedly after an OS update, attempt a system restore.

J

josiecatz__10
Senior Member

640

02-09-2026, 02:27 AM

#3

Hey, sorry again—I didn’t receive any notification about your reply. No email or message here. :-\ I’ll save the video for later reference.
It seems I’ve resolved the problems using the Windows 10 Manager tool. I should use it more often! 😀
I’m not sure which fix worked, but I tried each one in order, restarted, and all three issues disappeared. The UAC is now at its default setting. Success!
EDIT: Just checked the video and actually tried it myself. It worked, though it disables UAC, which isn’t ideal. Still, it helped as a temporary fix for troubleshooting.

J

josiecatz__10

02-09-2026, 02:27 AM #3

Hey, sorry again—I didn’t receive any notification about your reply. No email or message here. :-\ I’ll save the video for later reference.
It seems I’ve resolved the problems using the Windows 10 Manager tool. I should use it more often! 😀
I’m not sure which fix worked, but I tried each one in order, restarted, and all three issues disappeared. The UAC is now at its default setting. Success!
EDIT: Just checked the video and actually tried it myself. It worked, though it disables UAC, which isn’t ideal. Still, it helped as a temporary fix for troubleshooting.