Windows 10: virus scan blocking downloads

I cannot download/open any pdf files from email or internet. Keeps giving me virus scan failed. Is there a setting that I need to adjust?

:)

 

Windows Security Virus Scan

Please confirm you don't have a list like this:




e.g. from here (or via the control panel):




If not, suggests deeper problems. To which uninstall option are you referring? (A picture is worth...)

 

Virus Scan ONLY tool?

I was using Malwarebytes to run scans on things I downloaded to make sure they're clean before I run them... but now Malwarebytes wants to run constantly and wants to do virus scans all the time, even though I told it not to (I'll scan a single file then it starts another threat scan on its own).

Are there any good tools that do virus scanning only?

 

Slow as mollasses virus scan on file downloads from Chrome

I run a standard Windows 10 setup, with Microsoft Windows Defender and the only virus and malware tool. I also use Chrome almost exclusively.

When I download a large file (~50-100mb), it takes for-ever (15 to 20 minutes) for the virus scan to happen. I am not sure what the hold up is, but I do know it is very irritating. All of this on a behemoth machine, 8 cores, 16 threads, 32Gb Ram, NVME drives.

Any suggestions?