What is Early Launch Malware Protection in Windows 10?

Early launch Malware Protection is a feature that was added to Windows to specifically protect computers against the threat that is posed by rootkits. Rootkit are a particularly nefarious type of computer malware that is used to hide malware on infected computers. They are used by people who create computer malware to keep certain programs hidden.

What is Early Launch Malware Protection?

Protection from early launching malware is a feature that was added to Windows to help thwart pieces of malware that execute immediately after a computer is turned on. Rootkits, as already noted, are one type of malware that behaves this way. By executing early, they are then able to hide malicious programs on your PC. 

How does it work?

So, how does it all work? Well, with early launch malware protection, Windows allows antivirus programs that support the functionality to launch their own drivers before everything else. This then give them the ability to detect and block boot drivers that may be infected with malware. By stopping the malware infected boot drivers from loading, early launch malware protection effectively prevents the entire malware program from executing.

The problem

All that is well and good, save for the fact that it sometimes happens that needed boot drivers are misidentified as malware. This can cause you to have problems starting your computer. That is when it becomes necessary for you to disable early launch malware protection.

How to [temporarily] disable early launch malware protection

Should you encounter problems booting up your computer, you may need to temporarily disable the functionality. This gives you the ability to get into your PC and solve the problem. To disable early launch malware protection on a Windows 10 computer, all that you need to do is the following;

1. Turn your computer off and then on
2. On the login screen, click on the power button to the bottom left of your screen while, simultaneously, pressing on the Shift button.
3. You will be informed that other people are logged in. Choose to restart your PC anyway.
4. You computer will now restart and you will be taken into the Advanced Startup Options window
5. In the Advanced Startup Options window, choose Troubleshoot
6. Next, choose “Advanced Option.”
7. Next, click on “Startup Settings.”
8. In the next window, click on the “Restart,” button.
9. Your computer will now be restarted and will immediately go to the “Startup Settings,” window.
10. This is where you choose the “Disable Early Launch Malware Protection,” option.

Summary

That’s it. Your computer will now restart without early launch malware protection. This should enable you to solve whatever it is has been bugging your PC. The functionality will be restored the next time that you restart your computer.