How to turn off Smadav on a PC Computer (A-Z Tutorial)

This complete A-Z tutorial provides every method for how to turn off Smadav on your PC computer. We will cover the quick, temporary “pause” for fixing software conflicts, the advanced steps to permanently disable the background service without uninstalling, and the final, clean removal of the program.

You have a powerful PC computer. It is a machine built for performance, with a high-end processor, a fast SSD, and a graphics card that can handle anything you throw at it. Yet, you feel a subtle drain. You notice a micro-stutter when your game loads a new area. You see a “false positive” when you download a niche, trusted developer tool. You open your Task Manager, and you see it: SMARTP.exe, a process from your Smadav antivirus, quietly consuming CPU cycles and disk resources.

Smadav Antivirus carved out a unique and valuable niche in the security world. It was never meant to be your only antivirus. It was the “second-layer” specialist, the nimble guard that ran alongside your main security suite to catch the specific, nasty script-based malware and “autorun” viruses that spread via USB flash drives. On a family laptop, this made perfect sense.

But this is your performance PC. The equation is different. Your machine is likely running Windows 10 or 11, which includes the powerhouse that is Microsoft Defender. This has created a “two-guard” problem. You have two real-time scanners, both trying to inspect the same files, creating redundancy and, worse, conflict. You are not here to debate security. You are here to take back control.

A: The Temporary “Pause” (The Official & Safest Method)

This is the most common and “A-list” solution. This is the “pause” button, designed for when you need Smadav to step aside for a few minutes. You should use this method when:

• You are installing a new, trusted piece of software (like a game from Steam or the Adobe Creative Suite).
• Smadav is incorrectly flagging a safe file as a virus (a “false positive”).
• You are about to launch a high-performance game and want to ensure zero lag or stutter.

This method is safe, fast, and temporary. The protection will automatically restart the next time you boot your PC.

How to Temporarily Pause Smadav

1. Navigate to your system tray in the bottom-right corner of your screen (next to the clock).
2. You will see a cluster of icons. Click the small upward-facing arrow (^) to reveal all of them.
3. Find the green Smadav “S” logo. The green color confirms its real-time protection is active.
4. Right-click the Smadav icon. This will open a small context menu.
5. At the top of the menu, you will see a checked option: “Disable Protection.”
6. Click “Disable Protection” to uncheck it.

The Smadav icon in your tray will immediately turn red. This is your visual confirmation. The real-time protection engine (SMARTP.exe) is now dormant. You can proceed with your task without interference.

G: The “Guest List” (A Smarter Fix: Whitelisting)

Perhaps turning off your entire protection just to play a game seems like overkill. You trust your Steam library. You trust your developer tools.

A smarter, more permanent solution is to give Smadav a “guest list.” This is the “Exception List,” also known as whitelisting. This is the true “pro” move. You are not firing the guard; you are just telling him that your friends are allowed in.

1. Double-click the Smadav icon in your system tray to open the main dashboard.
2. On the left-hand side, click the “Settings” tab.
3. Look for a button or link labeled “Exception List” (it may be called “Exclusion”).
4. Click the “Add” button. This will open a file browser.
5. Navigate to the installation folder of the program you trust. For example:

• C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\[Your Game Name]
• C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Premiere Pro 2025

Select the entire folder and add it to the list.

By doing this, you have solved your performance problem without compromising your security. Smadav will continue to scan your downloads and USB drives, but it will completely ignore your trusted, high-performance applications.

P: The “Permanent” Pause (How to Turn Off Smadav Without Uninstalling)

This is the “deep-sleep” method. You are tired of the pop-ups. You are tired of the background resource use. You want Smadav to be completely dormant, but you are not ready to uninstall it. You want to demote it from a “24/7 guard” to an “on-demand specialist” that you only use to manually scan a suspicious USB drive.

This is the true how to turn off Smadav method, and it is a mandatory two-step process. Most people only do the first step and fail.

Step 1: Disabling the “Face” (The Startup Application)

First, we stop the user interface (SmadAV.exe), the tray icon, and the pop-ups from loading when you log into your PC.

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On Windows 10 and Windows 11:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.
2. Click the “Startup Apps” tab on the left-hand side (on Windows 10, it is the “Startup” tab).
3. Find “Smadav” (or “SmadAV-T”) in the list.
4. Right-click on it and select “Disable.”

Your PC will now boot faster, and the green icon will be gone. But you are not finished. The “engine” is still running in the background.

Step 2: Disabling the “Engine” (The Core Protection Service)

This is the most critical step. We must now disable the SMARTP.exe real-time protection service. This is the part that actually consumes resources.

1. Press the Windows key + R to open the “Run” dialog.
2. Type services.msc and press Enter. This opens the Windows Services console, the master list of all background processes.
3. Scroll down the alphabetical list and find the service named “SmadAV Protection Service.”
4. Right-click on this service and select “Properties.”
5. A new window will open. First, stop the service from running right now. Click the “Stop” button.
6. Next, prevent it from ever starting again. Find the “Startup type” dropdown menu. It is currently set to “Automatic.”
7. Change the “Startup type” from “Automatic” to “Disabled.”
8. Click “Apply,” then “OK.”

You have now successfully put Smadav into a completely dormant state. It will not run, scan, or use any resources. It is now just an “on-demand” tool that you can run manually from your Start Menu whenever you choose.

T: The “Troubleshooting” Fix (For a Frozen or Erroring Smadav)

What if you try to do all this, but Smadav is frozen? You try to right-click the icon, but it does not work. You open Task Manager and see SMARTP.exe stuck at 99% CPU. The program is broken.

In this case, you must use force.

1. Force-Quit the Process: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. Go to the “Details” tab. Find SMARTP.exe, right-click it, and select "End task." This may not stick, as the service might try to restart.
2. Use Safe Mode: If the program is truly broken and you cannot even stop the service, you must use the “nuclear option.” Restart your PC in Safe Mode. (You can do this by holding SHIFT while clicking “Restart” from the power menu). Safe Mode loads only essential Windows files. Smadav’s services will not be running. From Safe Mode, you can go to services.msc and set the service to "Disabled," or you can proceed to the final "Z" method.

Z: The “Zero-Trace” Removal (The Final Uninstall)

You have reached the end of the line. You have decided that on your powerful, modern PC, the redundancy of Smadav is no longer a feature. It is bloat. You want it gone, completely and cleanly.

This is the simplest and, in 2025, the most recommended solution.

1. Click the Start Menu (or press the Windows key).
2. Type “Add or remove programs.”
3. Open the System Settings panel that appears.
4. You will see a list of all your installed software. Scroll down and find “Smadav.”
5. Click the three-dot menu (…) on the right side and select “Uninstall.”
6. A confirmation box will appear. Click “Uninstall” again.
7. The official Smadav uninstaller wizard will launch. Follow its prompts to remove the program.
8. After the uninstallation is complete, restart your PC computer. This is a critical final step to ensure all leftover files and registry entries are cleared.

The moment Smadav is removed, your primary antivirus, Microsoft Defender, will automatically take full, active control.

Security Analysis: The “Two-Guard” Problem on a Modern PC

This entire A-Z tutorial for how to turn off Smadav must conclude with a professional security analysis. Is this risky?

The answer, on a fully updated Windows 10 or 11 PC, is a definitive no.

The “layered security” model that Smadav was built for came from an era when the built-in Windows security was weak. That era is long over. In the 2024 and 2025 independent tests from security labs like AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives, Microsoft Defender consistently receives perfect, top-tier scores for protection, performance, and usability. It is a world-class solution that is deeply integrated into the operating system.

Running Smadav’s real-time protection alongside Defender does not create “double” the protection. It creates conflict. It introduces “alert fatigue,” where you get so many pop-ups from both programs that you start ignoring them all. It creates the very performance bottlenecks that sent you searching for this guide.

By disabling or removing Smadav, you are not creating a security hole. You are streamlining your defenses. You are removing a redundant, conflicting, and resource-hungry process and placing your full trust in the single, unified, and highly capable security solution that is already built into your PC. You have moved from a cluttered setup to a clean, efficient, and secure one.