cBselfmonkey said:
So, earlier today (after having been gone for the last week on a trip) I installed a update for my Windows 10 computer. After the update (and it seemed like a doosy) the system worked fine for about 5-10 minutes and so I set about doing the usual disk cleanup. During this though Windows Defender turned itself off. Attempts to open the program either result in a window that just reads that the app is 'turned off' and isn't monitoring the computer. Following the tabs on the 'action center' pull out seem to open up the Defender tab properly and allows me to turn it on...but then it turns itself off again after a couple of seconds.

I'm not currently running any other kind of virus scan/spyware protection software on the machine atm. Kinda lost as to what happened here or how to fix it. Aside from just installing new anti-virus software.

Thoughts?
Give this a try................................

Right click at Start > Run > type services.msc > OK > scroll down to Windows defender service >
under Status ............................... it should say Running
under Startup type................... it should say Automatic
If it does not say that, RIGHT click at WD Service > Properties >
at Startup type, is the box greyed out ? If not, click the pointer and select Automatic
at Service Status, are the boxes greyed out ? If not, click Start
> OK and exit.