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Windows 11 Support Center. -
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- HP Support Assistant Shows "Not Secure"

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09-10-2026 09:56 AM
Today the HP Support Assistant shows an alert on my taskbar. Opening, it shows "not secure" and Virus Protection "Off". Nevertheless, Windows 11 settings show virus protection on with no action required. Why is this happening? I've uninstalled and reinstalled HPSA multiple times with no luck. The alert disappears immediately after reinstalling. But then within 5-10 minutes I receive a notification to turn on virus protection, which is already on. Soon after the alert shows up again where I have HPSA pinned to the taskbar. Again, when I open HPSA, I see "not secure" and virus protection "off".
Presumably, these are false alerts. But how can I correct these errors?
Thanks.
09-11-2026 09:46 AM - edited 09-11-2026 06:16 PM
Greetings @lmwapner
You might be seeing a false positive if Windows reports malware protection is running. HPSA should be talking to Windows.
Do you have A-V real time scanning enabled? HPSA could be detecting real time scanning is off. Real time scanning must be enabled.
Do you run periodic manual A-V scans?
You can check your PC's A-V protection status Here. This site is legit.
I test all: new PC builds/new Windows installations at this site. Now, if you're using Windows Security, Windows Security might fail the "phishing page" test.
Are you using Windows Security or third party A-V software?
Poke around in HPSA settings to see if you can granularly disable the missing Anti-Virus protection notification if A-V protection is working and real time scanning is enabled.
Regards