Basic question about windows startup

Kevin_C

I have been using Bitdefender Total Security on Windows 10 for quite some time now, and one thing I have been curious about for as long as I have been using it is whether or not there is a delay to when protection kicks in at Windows startup. I have noticed that there is a fairly significant delay between when Windows starts and when the Bitdefender tray app runs, but my question is, does real-time protection start as soon as Windows boots, or does it only become active when the tray app loads?