How to Turn Off Windows Defender in Windows 10

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Windows Defender is the security application that Microsoft puts in every version of Windows. Sometimes, you may want to turn it off to perform certain tasks that Windows Defender may interfere with, or you plan to install other anti-virus applications. In this article, I will show you how to turn off Windows Defender in Windows 10.

Method 1: Turn off windows defender temporarily

Step 1: Click “Settings” in the “Start Menu”. And then choose “Update & Security”.

Step 2: Select “Windows Security” from the left pane and choose “Open Windows Defender Security Center”.

Step 3: Open Windows Defender’s settings, and then click on the «Virus & Threat Protection settings» link.

Step 4: Click the Real-Time Protection, Cloud-Delivered Protection and Automatic Sample Submission switches to turn Windows Defender off.

Method 2: Using Group Policy to disable Windows Defender

Step 1: Press “Win + R” and Type “gpedit.msc”, then hit Enter or OK.

Step 2: Click on Computer Configuration and Administrative Templates.

Step 3: Click on “Windows Components” and double click “Windows Defender Antivirus”.

Step 4: Double click “Turn off Windows Defender Antivirus”.

At last, select the Enable button on the left edge and click OK.

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How to Disable Windows Defender

Turning off Windows Defender is not recommended as it leaves your computer vulnerable to attacks. However, in some cases, the antivirus can interfere with other necessary programs, or you may have decided to use a third-party antivirus instead.

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Since it isn’t a good idea to run two antivirus programs simultaneously, you may want to disable Windows Defender, especially if Windows 10 has not automatically disabled it. Read on to learn different methods of doing this.

What Is Windows Defender?

Starting with Windows 8, Windows Defender was included as a part of every Microsoft Windows package. Its job is to remove malicious software, perform virus scans, and delete spyware. You can manually run scans any time you want, and at the same time, it runs in the background continuously looking for threats.

Windows Defender replaced Microsoft Security Essentials, which was found on older versions of Windows. In versions of Windows 8, it was recommended you uninstall Windows Defender before installing another antivirus.

This is not necessary with Windows 10 because the program is designed to detect when you install a third-party antivirus and disable itself. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen.

Four Methods to Disable Windows Defender

Disable Constant Monitoring

This method will allow Windows Defender to continue working but only for scheduled scans. Windows Defender will no longer automatically scan files you install or download from the Internet.

If you have a third-party antivirus running, Windows 10 should automatically do this, but it doesn’t hurt to check it and make sure. If you don’t have another antivirus program on your computer, Windows 10 will automatically reset this option, so you need to redo it every time you restart your computer.

Step #1

Type “Settings” into the search bar without quotation marks. Choose “Settings” from the list that appears.

Step #2

Click on “Update & Security” in the Settings menu.

Step #3

Choose “Windows Security” and then open “Windows Defender Security Center.”

Step #4

When Windows Defender opens, pick “Virus & Threat Protection.”

Go to Virus & Threat Protection Settings and switch Real-time Protection “Off” by toggling the button.

Using this method still allows you to choose to scan your computer manually with Windows Defender. It is also great for temporarily preventing Windows Defender from interfering with a trusted download.

Exclude Your System from Windows Defender

Excluding your system from Windows Defender will shut your antivirus protection off a little more permanently than the previous method. Keep in mind that not running any antivirus places your system at risk.

Step #1

Go to the Settings window by typing “Settings” into the search bar without quotation marks. Choose “Settings.”

Then click “Update & Security.”

Step #2

As in the previous method, select “Windows Security” and open the “Windows Defender Security Center.“

Step #3

Click on “Add an Exclusion.” Then choose “Exclude a folder.” Select your entire “C:/” drive as the folder to exclude.

You can repeat this method if there are other drives you wish to exclude from Windows Defender’s antivirus scans.

Using the Group Policy to Disable Windows Defender

The group policy is only available to those who have some versions of Windows 10 Pro, and to those who have Windows 10 Enterprise or Windows 10 Education. Home users and some Windows 10 Pro users will need to skip this method and continue to the next one.

Step #1

Start by pressing the [R] key and the [Windows] key at the same time.

Type “gpedit.msc” without any quotation marks into the box and click on the “OK” button.

Step #2

If you see an error message, make sure you typed the file name correctly. If you did, you probably do not have a version of Windows 10 that supports the Group Policy Editor. You will have to use a different method.

If the Group Policy Editor opens, continue to step #3.

Step #3

On the left side of the Group Policy Editor window, select “Computer Configuration” and then “Administrative Templates” from the list that appears by clicking it to open it.

Then select “Windows Components” and finally click on “Windows Defender.”

Step #4

On the right side of the Group Policy Editor window, you should now have the option to “Turn off Windows Defender.”

Step #5

Now, you need to click “Enabled.” This enables a policy that disables Windows Defender. Click “Apply” and “OK.”

Step #6

Refresh the Group Policy Settings by typing “cmd” into the search bar and right-clicking on the “Command Prompt” option.

Choose “Run as Administrator.” Finally, type “gpupdate /force” into the prompt.

You may have to restart the computer to allow these changes to take place.

Editing the Registry to Disable Windows Defender

Editing the registry is one valid method of disabling Windows Defender, but it needs to be done with extreme care.

Always perform a full backup of your system before attempting to edit the registry.

Even if you modify the register correctly, you may experience unwanted side effects and performance issues on your computer.

Step #1

Press the [R] key and the [Windows] key simultaneously.

This opens the run box window. Type “regedit” without any quotation marks into the box and press [Enter].

When you see a warning about the app making changes to the registry, click “Yes” to continue.

Step #2

From the list on the left select “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE” and then “SOFTWARE.” Then select “Policies” and “Microsoft.”

Step #3

Finally, choose “Windows Defender.”

From the list that appears on the right, double-click “DisableAntiSpyware.”

If you do not see this option, you will need to create it by right-clicking on the blank area on the right and selecting “New.”

Choose “DWORD (32-bit) Value” from the menu that appears. Name the new task “DisableAntiSpyware” and hit [Enter].

Once it is created, click on it.

Step #4

In the window that appears, change the current value data to “1.” It is “0” by default.

Click “OK.”

Step #5

Restart your computer by clicking the Power icon found in the Start menu and selecting “Restart.”

Conclusion

Disabling Microsoft’s antivirus program is not as easy as it once was, but it still can be done by following one of the methods listed above.

Just remember, it is dangerous for your computer to have no antivirus protection. You should download an antivirus program from a reputable third party or turn Windows Defender back on when the reason you needed to disable it is no longer an issue.

How to Turn Off Windows Defender

Disable your antivirus if you dare

All modern Windows computers come with a built-in security feature called Windows Defender that protects your PC from malware. Before you install a third-party antivirus program, you should know how to turn off Windows Defender so that it doesn’t cause conflicts. You may also need to temporarily turn off Windows Defender for troubleshooting purposes.

Instructions in this article apply to Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7.

How to Turn off Windows Defender in Windows 10

To disable Windows Defender in Windows 10:

Select the Windows Start Menu, then select the Settings gear.

Select Update & Security in the Windows Settings interface.

Select Windows Security in the left menu pane, then select Open Windows Security.

Select Virus & threat protection.

Select Manage settings under Virus & threat protection settings.

Select the Real-time protection toggle so that it’s turned to the Off position. If a pop-up ‘window appears asking if you want to allow the app to make changes to your device, select Yes.

Real-time protection will only be temporarily disabled until you reboot your PC; however, if you install a third-party application such as Avast or Norton, Windows Defender will be disabled until you turn it on again.

Select the Cloud-delivered protection and Automatic sample submission toggles so that they are turned to the Off position.

How to Disable Windows Defender in Windows 7 and Windows 8

The steps for disabling Windows Defender in Windows 8 and Windows 7 are a little different:

Select the Windows Start Menu in the bottom-left corner of the screen.

When the Windows menu appears, enter the following text in the search field provided: windows defender

Select Windows Defender, which should now be displayed in the search results under the Control Panel heading.

Select Tools near the top of the Windows Defender interface.

Select Options on the Tools and Settings screen.

Select Administrator in the left menu pane.

Uncheck the box beside Use this program, which should instantly disable Windows Defender. Repeat these steps to activate it again at any time.

Some third-party antivirus applications will disable Windows Defender’s active protection automatically, so don’t be surprised to find certain features already turned off.