kindly fix the incompatibility issues with the antiviruses and the windows 8.1 preview. 

kindly fix the incompatibility issues with the antiviruses and the windows 8.1 preview. 

Which antivirus applications are you referring to?

the antivirus creators must fix this. Ask their support for a beta version which supports 8.1.

Currently, I know that Norton is not compatible with windows 8.1. Will Windows Defender pick up the slack?

As of now,all the major antiviruses  like Kaspersky,Mcafee,Norton ,trend micro,eset smart security,avast etc.

 

asking for a solution only works if i have already installed a version. What if i have to do a fresh install and the only thing pops up is " kaspersky has compatibility issues". i tried with the beta version of eset smart securtiy V7 and ended up with a BSOD. Had  to refresh my pc

Norton has a Beta for 8.1:

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/norton-public-betas-now-available-nasdaq-symc-1804448.htm

Currently, I know that Norton is not compatible with windows 8.1. Will Windows Defender pick up the slack?

windows defender is a respectable security product, its a rebadged microsoft security essentials and the old defender all integrated into one component

You have to be a little more specific as to which AV applications are not compatible.  McAfee VirusScan Enterprise 8.81, Patch 3 works normally with Windows 8.1 Preview.