Hi @mrpeterjohnston ,

Welcome to Trend Micro Community!

Would you be able to provide us with a screenshot of this message from the Trend Micro Security app? This will help us in identifying which feature of the program is triggering the notification.

Been like that for a couple of years now.  I commented on it in the past as I disable it when I am doing my imaging backups.

@tm_helen  when you right click the Trend icon in the taskbar and select disable protection, the enter password box opens up on the screen.  This is what the OP is referring to.

Hi @davevt31​, 

Thank you for the insight. 

Hi @mrpeterjohnston,

May we know if you do have a password for your Trend Micro main console? If not, please provide a screenshot to help us with your concern.

Looking forward to your response. 

@davevt31​ Yes... this guy gets it. I've only ever had this for the last week or two maybe. It is the Password box that opens up when trying to temporarily disable the protection.

WHO thought this was a good idea??? And who decided that it had to be mandatory???

@davevt31​ 

Funny thing though, you need a password to disable protection but nothing to "Exit" TM.....

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@claudiubotezatu​ That AND you have to have a password set to disable.  For years I had no password set at all. Then I had to put one in to do the disable.

Hi @mrpeterjohnston,

If you want to disable the Trend Micro Antivirus , you can use our Trend Micro Diagnostic toolkit to stop all the components and disable the app. You can refer to this link and look for the steps on how to do it: How to Temporarily Disable Trend Micro Protection on Windows | Trend Micro Help Center

Let me know if you have questions.

@tm_vince​ Well... that seems dumb. If I want to disable the anti-virus - I might as well just quit the application (as claudiubotezatu mentioned)

... but being able to temporarily disable it via the system tray was far easier and quicker.

I would highly recommend rescinding this so called "feature" and put it back to the way it was.

Hi @mrpeterjohnston,

Usually when you close the Trend Micro Antivirus via the system tray, it should not ask you to setup the console password.

May I ask for the version of your Trend Micro Antivirus?

How to know the version of Trend Micro Antivirus? You can refer to this link:
https://helpcenter.trendmicro.com/en-us/article/TMKA-19044

Looking forward for your response.

@tm_vince​ I think you completely missed my point. I know you don't get the Password console setup dialog when you exit the program, yet you get it if you try and temporarily disable the live protection... which to me seems rather dumb. If your goal was to have a password to give administrators more rights and privileges over users and to stop them disabling the protection, then you've failed given that they can just close the program and bypass the password.

I like being able to temporarily disable it from time to time without having to close it, and have been doing so happily for years.

It also seems very fiddly to have to go through the Diagnostic Toolkit as well.

Hi @mrpeterjohnston 

The notification reminds users to set up a password to prevent unauthorized modifications to Trend Micro Security settings. Establishing a password is essential for temporarily deactivating the real-time scan and enhancing security by safeguarding against data theft and enabling parental controls.

Your suggestion is highly valued and considered as a valuable feature request.

Thank you.

@tm_helen​ 

"Your suggestion is highly valued and considered as a valuable feature request."

English translation: 

"Even though your request is perfectly logical , nobody cares about it, here at TM, and nothing will change in the next 5 years"

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@tm_helen​ Well... in the case of organisations installing this software on dozens of work computers - sure. For you standard single user like a lot of your clients... this ISN'T needed, and should be optional or toggle-able.

Hi @mrpeterjohnston 

The notification emphasizes the importance of setting up a password for your Trend Micro Security settings. Without this safeguard, anyone could potentially disable your antivirus protection with just a simple click. Adding a password acts as a vital security measure, ensuring that only authorized individuals with the password can make changes to your antivirus settings.

Thank you. 

@tm_ash Without this safeguard, anyone could potentially disable your antivirus protection with just a simple click.

You fail to see the point... they ALREADY can disable the anti-virus without a password with a couple of simple clicks. All they have to do is close the program. The password is redundant in trying to keep the protection on if all people need to do is end the application.

Hi @mrpeterjohnston 

Closing the app doesn't stop the protection—it keeps working quietly in the background. But if you disable it, your computer is left unprotected and could be at risk. That's why it's crucial to have a password for the Trend Micro Mainconsole. With the password, only authorized users can disable or change the app's settings.

Here's an article on How to set up a Trend Micro program password on Windows

Thank you.

@tm_ash​ 

This is another example why shouldn't be random TM employees answering the forum questions...

"Closing the app doesn't stop the protection"

This is not true. Closing (exiting) the app stops the protection 100%. It even triggers a Windows Security alert that there is no protection.

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@mrpeterjohnston 

I get what you're saying that when the password is not set yet you can exit Trend Micro without the enable password prompt whereas disabling protection against viruses and spyware has that specific prompt. We'll clarify why that is but for now this is the current process if you want to specifically disable the Protection against viruses and spyware.

@claudiubotezatu 

There might be a misunderstanding with what @tm_ash said. What he meant by "Closing the app doesn't stop the protection" is simply closing the console, that's why he followed his statement with "But if you disable it, your computer is left unprotected and could be at risk" which is exiting the program.

@tm_chard​ 

"With the password, only authorized users can disable or change the app's settings"

I can EXIT the program without any password, so what's the point of having a password to disable it ???

Hi @claudiubotezatu,@mrpeterjohnston 

Certainly, if no password has been set up, you can exit the program without needing one. This prompt only appears when you haven't created a password for the program yet.

However, once the password is set, you won't be able to modify any settings or exit the program without knowing it.