Windows 11 misses the pointer while Defender cries wolf
Microsoft has flagged two fresh Windows problems on its release health dashboard, published on 28 August: a bug causing Microsoft Defender Antivirus to falsely claim it is disabled, and reports that the 27 August Windows 11 update is disrupting custom mouse cursor settings. Both issues add to a run of update-related annoyances for Windows users, and neither yet has an official fix, meaning affected users must wait for Microsoft to act.
Microsoft has confirmed the Defender bug outright, saying notifications wrongly stating that "Microsoft Defender Antivirus is turned off" can appear at startup and intermittently afterwards, even when protection is fully active, and persist even if notifications are disabled. It affects any Windows or Windows Server device running the latest Defender updates, with no workaround yet available beyond a promise of a future fix. The cursor issue, still under investigation, reportedly replaces high-DPI and custom cursors with larger, plain white ones and reverts custom animations, with restoration attempts failing; some users say uninstalling the update helps, though this is not an official recommendation. The same update also introduced a movable taskbar and an option to hide web and Microsoft Store suggestions from local search results.
- Windows Defender wrongly reports itself as switched off, no fix yet.
- August 27 Windows 11 update may be scrambling custom mouse cursors.
- Microsoft is investigating; no official workaround confirmed so far.
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Windows 11 is Microsoft’s operating system for personal computers, and it receives updates that can change features and fix security problems. Microsoft Defender Antivirus is built into Windows to help protect devices from malicious software, while cursor settings let people choose how the mouse pointer looks and moves on screen.
The issues affect different parts of Windows: one concerns messages about Defender’s status, and the other concerns personalised mouse pointers. They matter because users rely on security alerts to understand whether a device is protected, and on their chosen pointer settings to use the computer comfortably.
Microsoft maintains a release health dashboard to report known problems with Windows updates. Its notices help users and organisations understand which devices may be affected and whether a fix or workaround is available.
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