I am using Avast Free Antivirus on a Windows 11 computer. Avast Smart Scan repeatedly displays the following warning:
“Malware or other threats could be running in your PC memory. Turn on Data Execution Prevention to detect malicious codes (it will turn on after restart).”
However, I checked the Windows security settings and found the following:
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Windows Security → App & browser control → Exploit protection: Data Execution Prevention is set to “Use default (On).”
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PowerShell command Get-ProcessMitigation -System: DEP Enable is NOTSET, and Override DEP is False.
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Command Prompt command bcdedit /enum {current}: nx is set to AlwaysOn.
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Windows Security reports Avast Antivirus is turned on.
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Avast Firewall is also enabled.
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Avast’s Viruses & malware scan section reports “Looking good.” No specific virus, malware name, or suspicious file is identified. The only persistent warning is the DEP warning.
I have not changed Windows boot settings or disabled any security protections.
Could you please investigate whether this is a false warning or a compatibility issue between Avast Smart Scan and Windows 11 DEP settings? Please advise how to resolve it without purchasing Avast Premium Security.
Thank you for your assistance.