Computer

How to disable Windows 10 Defender

Quite often, Windows Defender can interfere with the user’s comfortable work at the computer – some files and folders can cause distrust of the built-in antivirus in Windows 10. Usually, this kind of content is instantly deleted, but, of course, this antivirus, like any other, can be deactivated. Therefore, we have this guide, we’ll help you disable Windows Defender on your computer.

Fortunately, there are many ways at once, each of which is very simple and does not require special knowledge, skills, or experience in this direction from the user. Thus, you can follow the one that is feasible for you, and if you find one doesn’t work, just give a try to its very next.

Different Methods to Disable Windows Defender Explained

Method 1. How to disable Windows Defender

The easiest way to turn off Windows 10 Defender is to turn off real-time protection through the antivirus interface.

Step-by-step instruction:

  1. First, open the list of hidden icons in the lower right corner of the screen;
  2. Right-click on the “Windows Security” icon in the tray;
  3. Select “View Security Dashboard” ;
  4. Go to the menu item “Virus and threat protection” ;
  5. Click on the “Manage settings” button in the “Virus and threat protection settings” ;
  6. In the menu that opens, move all switches to “Off.”…

Windows 10 Defender is now disabled. But, it is worth noting that from time to time the Windows 10 operating system can still automatically launch some anti-virus protection components, plus after updating the system, the Defender can be fully enabled. This option should be used if the subsequent methods seem too complicated for you.

Method 2. How to disable Windows Defender permanently through Group Policy Editor

Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise versions of the operating system have a Group Policy Editor feature that allows you to do a lot of useful actions. In addition, thanks to this editor, you can turn off Windows Defender by following a few very simple steps.

Step-by-step instruction:

  1. On the keyboard, press the Windows + R key combination, then enter gpedit.msc in the field and press Enter;
  2. Follow the path: Local Computer Policy – Computer Configuration – Administrative Templates – Windows Components – Windows Defender Antivirus;
  3. In the right window, select “Disable Microsoft Defender antivirus”, then in the window that opens, select “Enabled” and click OK;
  4. Now you need to open the menu item in “Microsoft Defender Antivirus” – “Real-time protection” ;
  5. In the right window, select “Enable behavior monitoring”, select the “Disabled” option, click OK;
  6. In the same menu, select the item “Check all downloaded files and attachments”, change the parameter to “Disabled”, click OK;
  7. Repeat the procedure with the items “Track the activity of programs and files on the computer” and “Enable process checking if real-time protection is enabled” with the “Disabled” parameter ;
  8. After making changes, open the Start menu, enter “Command Prompt”, in the right window, click on the Run as Administrator button ;
  9. Enter the command gpupdate.exe / force and press Enter;
  10. Restart your computer.

After restarting, Windows Defender Antivirus will stop working completely. To start it back, you need to follow the same steps, only put “Not configured” instead of “Disabled”.

Method 3. How to disable Windows Defender permanently through the registry

Unfortunately, there is no group policy editor in Windows 10 Home edition, so you won’t be able to use the above method in this case. On the other hand, the same procedure can be carried out using the registry editor, which is available in all editions of the operating system.

Step-by-step instruction:

  1. On the keyboard, press the Windows + R key combination, then type regedit in the field and press Enter;
  2. Go to the path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Windows Defender ( you can copy and paste the address into the address bar );
  3. Right-click on the “Windows Defender” folder, then select “New” and then DWORD (32-bit) parameter ;
  4. Enter the name of the parameter “DisableAntiSpyware” and press Enter;
  5. Double-click the left mouse button on the created file, then enter the value “1” and click OK;
  6. Right-click the Windows Defender folder again, select New and the Partition option ;
  7. Enter the name of the section “Real-Time Protection” and press Enter;
  8. Right-click on the “Real-Time Protection” section, then randomly create DWORD parameters (32 bits) with the names: DisableBehaviorMonitoring, DisableOnAccessProtection, DisableScanOnRealtimeEnable, and DisableIOAVProtection;
  9. for each of the parameters created in the folder “Real-Time Protection” set the value “1”;
  10. Restart your computer.

After you restart your computer, Windows Defender will no longer scan your system to detect malicious files and programs. To enable Windows Defender, the user needs to restart the registry editor, go to the above address, and then delete “DisableAntiSpyware” and the “Real-Time Protection” section

Method 4. How to disable Windows Defender using Task Manager

It is worth noting that even if the user has used one of the presented ways to disable the Windows Defender antivirus, the icon of this component will still be displayed in the taskbar. If desired, if this icon interferes with the user, it can also be removed.

Step-by-step instruction:

  1. Open the Task Manager (right-click on the Start menu or Ctrl + Alt + Del);
  2. Go to the “Startup” tab ;
  3. Left-click on the Windows Security notification icon and in the lower right corner click on the “Disable” option.

How to add exclusions to Windows Defender: file, folder, file type or process

Unfortunately, no matter how well Windows Defender works, but occasionally it still fails – it can delete files, interpreting them as malicious, or even entire folders. Naturally, the developers have foreseen this by adding an exclusion function that allows you to protect certain content from deletion if the program considers it dangerous for your computer.

They just “hid” the function deep enough that it was extremely difficult to find it on our own. But, of course, this problem is also solvable.

Step-by-step instruction:

  1. Open the list of hidden icons in the lower right corner of the screen;
  2. Right-click on the “Windows Security” icon in the tray;
  3. Select “View Security Dashboard” ;
  4. go to the menu item “Virus and threat protection” ;
  5. Click on the “Manage settings” button in the “Virus and threat protection settings”;
  6. In the settings menu for protection against viruses and threats, you need to scroll down to “Exclusions”;
  7. On this page, click on the “Add and remove exceptions” button;
  8. A window will open with the + icon and the inscription “Add an exception”;
  9. Click on it, a drop-down menu appears in which you can select a file, folder, file type or process;
  10. Select the desired item, then select the path to the folder, file, and so on;

What to do if Windows Defender resumes

Some users may have problems with deactivating the Defender – after a while it simply turns back on, forcing either to re-run the procedure with the registry or to disable it in the Settings. At the moment, most often the problem occurs for users of Windows 10 with version 2004, but it is possible that other versions of the OS also have the same problem.

The problem is solved quite simply:

  • Download the file from the link;
  • Right-click on it;
  • Select “Run as administrator”;
  • Wait until the end of the procedure (a couple of seconds), press any key on the keyboard;
  • Repeat the procedure again.

Disadvantages of disabling Windows Defender

Developers from Microsoft have done a pretty good job on Windows 10, so that Windows Defender works great – it really protects against various malicious files, prevents phishing programs from receiving user data, protecting the system from various dirty tricks.

So if you do not have an urgent need to disable the Defender, then it is better not to do this – the built-in antivirus is quite suitable to replace the more well-known counterparts from third-party developers. And, of course, when doing any manipulations with the registry, it is better to have a backup of the operating system in reserve before making changes.

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