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How to Disable Smadav Temporarily for Gaming

Team Smadav Soft - Need to squeeze out extra performance from your gaming PC? This guide explains exactly how to disable Smadav temporarily to reduce interruptions, boost FPS, and avoid unnecessary antivirus interference, all without compromising long-term security.

Imagine you're deep in a ranked match. Heartbeat elevated. Fingers locked on WASD. Suddenly, your screen stutters. A background pop-up from Smadav appears, dragging down your frame rate and pulling your focus. This isn't a rare glitch. Many Windows users, especially those with entry-level specs, have faced noticeable slowdowns caused by real-time antivirus scans during gameplay.

Smadav, while popular in Southeast Asia for its lightweight design and strong USB protection, sometimes becomes overprotective. It treats game launchers or mod files as threats, interrupts installations, or consumes resources during key gaming moments. That's why understanding how to disable Smadav just temporarily has become a common need among gamers who want peak performance without sacrificing future security.

Understanding Smadav's Role in Your System

Before you pull the plug, it's crucial to understand what Smadav does. Unlike heavy-duty antivirus solutions like Bitdefender or Kaspersky, Smadav works as a second-layer scanner. It’s especially vigilant against local threats, including autorun.inf viruses often spread via USB drives. Its strength lies in simplicity and USB protection, but that’s also where the friction with gaming begins.

Smadav runs in the background by default. It scans files upon execution and can flag game mods, cheat engines, or cracked executables. Some of these flags are false positives, but the disruption remains. Disabling it during gaming allows your system to allocate more RAM and CPU cycles to your game.

Still, Smadav doesn’t have a dedicated "Game Mode" like some mainstream antiviruses, so users need a manual workaround.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Disable Smadav Temporarily

Disabling Smadav in Just a Few Clicks

Follow these instructions to temporarily disable Smadav safely:

  1. Locate the Smadav Icon
    Navigate to your Windows system tray (bottom-right corner).
    Look for the green Smadav shield icon.
  2. Right-Click for Options
    Right-click the icon.
    A contextual menu will appear. Select "Exit Smadav" or "Turn Off Protection" if available.
  3. Confirm Exit
    If prompted, confirm that you want to exit the application.
    Some versions ask for admin approval, so you may need to click "Yes" or enter your administrator credentials.
  4. Verify Smadav Is Off
    Recheck your system tray to confirm the green icon is gone.
    Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and look for any lingering Smadav.exe processes. If present, right-click and select End Task.

That’s it. You’ve disabled Smadav for the session.

⚠️ Important Note: Disabling Smadav only halts its scanning temporarily. Once you restart your PC or manually reopen the app, protection resumes.

Alternatives to Full Deactivation

While learning how to disable Smadav is straightforward, sometimes it's overkill. You might only need to exclude a specific game directory. Here’s how:

Add an Exception for Your Game Folder

  1. Open Smadav Interface (double-click the system tray icon)
  2. Go to the Protection or Whitelist tab
  3. Click Add Folder to Exception
  4. Browse to your game folder (e.g., C:\Program Files\Epic Games\Fortnite) and confirm

This lets Smadav ignore the folder without turning off all protection. Ideal if your issue is limited to one game.

Is It Safe to Disable Smadav While Gaming?

This is the question that underpins everything. According to a 2024 analysis from AV-Comparatives, most game-related threats are not active while a game is running offline. However, disabling antivirus entirely, especially if you're browsing, downloading mods, or playing online, can pose risks.

Expert Insight:
“If you're using a secure gaming platform like Steam or Epic, and you've already verified the integrity of your files, disabling antivirus for the session is typically low risk,” says Clara Ngyuen, security researcher at Guardix Labs (March 2025 interview).

Still, avoid multitasking risky behaviors while antivirus is off. Don’t download torrents or browse shady mod forums during gameplay sessions.

Performance Gains: Real or Placebo?

Let’s back this with data. A benchmark test by TechTactic ID (2024) showed that turning off background antivirus improved FPS by up to 8 percent in CPU-bound games like CS:GO or Valorant. In RAM-limited systems under 8GB, the improvement was more pronounced. Some users reported up to 15 percent fewer frame drops.

Why? Antivirus background scans compete for CPU time and disk access. Games need those same resources, especially during loading or scene transitions. Disabling Smadav ensures that no background scan interrupts your play mid-fight.

Smadav vs Other Antiviruses for Gamers

Compared to Bitdefender, Norton, or Windows Defender, Smadav lacks a game mode or AI-based scan scheduling. Its focus is USB protection, not full system optimization. This minimalism is its strength and weakness.

Pros for Gamers
Lightweight, doesn’t conflict with most launchers, fast to disable

Cons
No auto-pause, no gaming profile, and limited integration with performance monitoring tools

For gamers who want the best of both worlds, consider pairing Smadav with tools like Razer Cortex or MSI Afterburner to monitor performance while managing background services.

Common Issues When Disabling Smadav

Smadav Re-enables Itself After Restart

This is expected behavior. Smadav is configured to auto-run with Windows. To stop this:

  1. Press Win + R and type msconfig
  2. Go to the Startup tab
  3. Disable Smadav from auto-launching

Or:
Open Task Manager → Startup Tab, right-click Smadav → Disable

Smadav Flags Game Launchers After Re-enabling

Sometimes, after re-enabling, Smadav falsely flags .exe files. To avoid this:

  • Whitelist the game folder first (see section above)
  • Submit false positives to Smadav Labs via their official site

Final Thoughts: Tuning Security for Performance

Disabling antivirus might seem counterintuitive. Why lower your defenses? But in high-performance computing, it’s about balance. By learning how to disable Smadav temporarily for gaming, you're not rejecting security. You're timing it smartly.

Modern cybersecurity is not only about blanket protection. It’s about situational control. In the same way gamers tweak GPU overclock settings, knowing how to toggle antivirus behavior is part of the toolkit for smoother gameplay. For Smadav users, that control starts with right-clicking the tray icon.