Disable Windows Defender

[:: Lyon ::]

Used to install different sorts of antivirus in the past but I like Windows Defender because it's lightweight (or so it seems) and I know not to click or install anything suspicious (or so I think anyway)

[Guest]

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Does this dialog not exist anymore?

 

Afraid not, it has been replaced with a new settings panel page without specific options for security messages.

[deni88]

I've been looking for an answer to this one too! Thanks for this post. VPN's been helpful too for the past years that I am using it.

[kahmeal]

People here so quick to dismiss the idea of disabling defender should check the plethora of google results for battery drain issues that point their finger at AV software. This is something I ran into with my surface tablet on many occasions -- it would randomly start eating 30-40% cpu for up to a half hour at a time. The culprit was windows defender, though the cause of it's constant cpu load I was never able to determine. Even turning off real time protection would often not fix the issue so I disabled it altogether and voila, 2 more hours of battery life on average.

 

TL;DR- Just because something doesn't affect you doesn't mean it doesn't affect someone else.

[Guest]

Untitled.png

 

Does this dialog not exist anymore?

 

 

So I just figured out that you can access the old panel by using the old "god mode" trick from previous windows versions.

 

Create a folder called: "GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}"

 

Sorted

 

You can access a bunch of older legacy stuff in there too like the old resolutions panel.

[kozukumi]

The following batch file makes disabling Defender much easier btw

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender]
"DisableAntiSpyware"=dword:00000001

[techbeck]

Look on the bright side: running Windows Defender is like running no AV at all. Its not going to nag you because it never catches anything. I'd just leave it alone and not worry about it. You're not going to see a huge performance boost from disabling it, anyway.

 

So true.  Sucked for the past couple of years for those who need protection but dont know any better.  Would have hoped MS improved things by now.

[JustGeorge]

So true.  Sucked for the past couple of years for those who need protection but dont know any better.  Would have hoped MS improved things by now.

I think its a combination of Microsoft not adequately funding it (no profit in free) and their desire not to anger other security vendors.

[WndSks]

I wonder if someone could create some null antivirus software so windows thinks you have something installed, both disabling Windows Defender and hiding the notification too.

The API used by other AV vendors to disable Windows Defender/Firewall is secret, you have to be a real AV vendor and contact MS directly and probably sign a NDA before you can register with the security center...