Как исправить ошибку: Windows Defender might be impacting your build performance? PhpStorm

При открытии или создании проекта в PhpStorm (скорее всего и в PyCharm) иногда может возникнуть ошибка: Windows Defender might be impacting your build performance. PhpStorm checked the following directories…

Ее можно решить нажав на пункт Fix во всплывшем окошечке или сделать все манипуляции в ручную.

Если вы решили исправить эту ошибку в ручную, то вам необходимо:

1. Зайти в «Параметры Windows».

2. Далее выбрать «Обновление и безопасность».

3. Далее «Безопасность Windows».

4. Далее «Защита от вирусов и угроз».

5. Под заголовком «Параметры защиты от вирусов и угроз нажмите» на пункт «Управление настройками».

6. Пролистайте вниз до заголовка «Исключения» и нажмите на пункт «Добавление или удаление исключений».

7. Нажмите на кнопку «Добавить исключение», выберите тип «Папка» и добавьте папку со своим проектом и, если вы проделываете это впервые, папку где PhpStorm хранит настройки и кэш (в моем случае C:\Users\Alex\.PhpStorm2019.3\system)

UPD. После обновления Windows 10 до сборки 2004 появилась проблем в том, что даже при добавлении папок в исключения Windows Defender все равно возникает ошибка при каждом открытии проекта.

Пока не нашел как решить эту проблему, как только узнаю, обновлю пост.

Antivirus Impact on Build Speed Follow

Some antivirus software can interfere with the IDE build process, causing builds to run dramatically slower. When you run a build in the IDE, many class files are created on your computer. If your antivirus software has real-time scanning enabled, the antivirus can force the build process to halt each time a file is created while the antivirus scans that file.

If you’re using Windows Defender, the IDE automatically checks whether you have real-time scanning enabled, and whether the scanning is configured to process directories where the IDE writes a lot of files.

The IDE offers you a possibility to exclude those directories from scanning automatically (this feature is available in 2019.2+ IDE versions).

If you prefer to perform the necessary configuration manually, you can do so by following these steps:

• Click the Start button
• Type “Windows Security”
• Click on “Virus and threat protection”
• Click on “Manage settings” under “Virus & threat protection settings”
• Scroll down if needed, and then click on “Add or remove exclusions”
• For every folder shown in the notification, press the + button, select “Folder” from the menu, and select the folder.

If you’re using a different anti-virus product, you still may be impacted by the problem, but there is no possibility to detect or correct this automatically. If you’re experiencing poor build performance, please follow the instructions of your anti-virus product to exclude the following directories from real-time scanning:

• The directory of your project
• The directory used by IntelliJ IDEA to store settings and caches
• The Gradle cache directory ( %USERPROFILE%\.gradle )

We also recommend excluding the IDE process from the antivirus to improve the startup performance.

Caution: To ensure that your computer is safe from malicious software, you should not completely disable real-time scanning or your antivirus software.

Update Windows Defender settings to improve performance

This guide covers how to set up exclusions in your Windows Defender security settings in order to improve your build times and the overall performance speed of your Windows machine.

Windows Defender Overview

In Windows 10, version 1703 and later, the Windows Defender Antivirus app is part of Windows Security. Windows Defender aims to keep your PC safe with built-in, real-time protection against viruses, ransomware, spyware, and other security threats.

However, Windows Defender’s real-time protection will also dramatically slow file system access and build speed when developing Android apps.

During the Android build process, many files are created on your computer. With antivirus real-time scanning enabled, the build process will halt each time a new file is created while the antivirus scans that file.

Fortunately, Windows Defender has the capability to exclude files, project directories, or file types that you know to be secure from it’s antivirus scanning process.

To ensure that your computer is safe from malicious software, you should not completely disable real-time scanning or your Windows Defender antivirus software.

Add exclusions to Windows Defender

To improve your Android build speed, add exclusions in the Windows Defender Security Center by:

1. Select the Windows menu Start button
2. Enter Windows Security
3. Select Virus and threat protection
4. Select Manage settings under Virus & threat protection settings
5. Scroll to the Exclusions heading and select Add or remove exclusions
6. Select + Add an exclusion. You will then need to choose whether the exclusion you wish to add is a File, Folder, File type, or Process.

Recommended exclusions

The following list shows the default location of each Android Studio directory recommended to add as an exclusion from Windows Defender real-time scanning:

• Gradle cache: %USERPROFILE%\.gradle
• Android Studio projects: %USERPROFILE%\AndroidStudioProjects
• Android SDK: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Android\SDK
• Android Studio system files: %USERPROFILE%\.AndroidStudio \system

These directory locations may not apply to your project if you have not used the default locations set by Android Studio or if you have downloaded a project from GitHub (for example). Consider adding an exclusion to the directory of your current Android development project, wherever that may be located.

Additional exclusions you may want to consider include:

• Visual Studio dev environment process: devenv.exe
• Visual Studio build process: msbuild.exe
• JetBrains directory: %LOCALAPPDATA%\JetBrains\

For more information on adding antivirus scanning exclusions, including how to customize directory locations for Group Policy controlled environments, see the Antivirus Impact section of the Android Studio documentation.

Daniel Knoodle has set up a GitHub repo with recommended scripts to add Windows Defender exclusions for Visual Studio 2017.

3 Easy Ways To Disable Windows Defender in Windows 10

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Our guide on how-to disable Windows Defender in Windows 10

What is Windows Defender?

Windows Defender (now known as Microsoft Defender Antivirus) is an always on, anti-malware software that guards your computer from external threats. The antivirus is developed by Microsoft to protect computers from virus threats that are running the Windows 10 operating system.

This antivirus comes preinstalled with any version of Windows 10. Windows Defender protects your computer in realtime from not only viruses, but also ransomware, rootkits, trojans, spyware, and many forms of malicious attacks. The program is free to use, and Microsoft sends regular updates on Windows 10.

Why turn off Windows Defender?

Good question you ask! If Microsoft Windows Defender is a free antivirus that protects your system from malware attacks, then why would anyone feel the need to disable it or turn it off? There are however specific cases where you would want to disable the Windows Defender.

You may want to install specific software or program on your system, but Microsoft Windows Defender in Windows 10 might keep interrupting. Take 3rd Party Software as an example. Windows Defender can treat programs or applications from small developers as a threat, and it will not allow you to install it. This can sometimes be helpful as you don’t know if the software is legitimate or it may contain some form of malware which may breach your security.

Nevertheless, sometimes you’re sure that the software is safe and legitimate and want to install it, but the Windows Defender keeps deleting it. In this case, you might want to disable Windows Defender temporarily.

There may arise a case where you don’t trust the capabilities of Microsoft Windows Defender and decide to install a third-party antivirus for virus threat protection. There are numerous third-party antivirus programs on the market that can be used in place of Windows Defender.

One benefit of installing a third-party antivirus is that it gives you more security and control over it. You can disable it at any time and re-enable it again.

You may also want to disable Windows Defender in Windows 10 as it utilizes a lot of resources when it runs in the background. You may not have enough ram, or you may want the processor to focus on some specific task rather than waste resources on scanning your computer.

These are just a few reasons for disabling the Microsoft Defender antivirus.

Whatever your reason may be, Microsoft Windows Defender in Windows 10 is still a valuable resource. Something is better than nothing, meaning your computer is much more prone to being infected while using it with the Defender disabled. If you’re planning to use another antivirus, then disabling the Windows Defender is justifiable. The Defender antivirus does not have a disable or uninstall option anywhere. Keep in mind that when Windows Defender disable, the security of your computer will be at risk of malware attacks.

Let’s look into how to turn off Windows Defender.

Windows Defender can still be disabled on Windows 10 through settings, registry, and through group policy.
Let’s look into each one, step by step on how to turn off Windows Defender.

Turn off Windows Defender through settings:

This is one of the fastest and easiest ways to disable Windows Defender. All of the operations are going to be done through settings. Just follow these steps:

1. Open Start by clicking on the Windows logo on the bottom left of your screen.

2. On the Start menu, locate and click on Open Settings by clicking on the gear-shaped icon on the left panel.

Disable Windows Defender Start Menu Open Settings

3. Windows Settings will open up. Proceed by clicking on Update & Security. It will be the last option.

Disable Windows Defender: Select Update and Security

4. Next, proceed by clicking on Windows Security on the left side panel.

Disable Windows Defender Select Windows Security Left Panel

5. Under Protection Areas, click on Virus & threat protection.

disable windows defender virus and threat detection

6. The Virus & threat protection Window will open up. Under Virus & threat protection settings, proceed by clicking on Manage settings.

disable windows defender manage settings

7. Real time protection will be the first option in front of you. Under real time protection, click on the blue ON switch.

virus and threat detection settings

8. Windows will prompt you if you want to make the change. Click on Yes. You’ll see the message stating that real time protection is off, an indication that you have successfully turned off the Windows Defender.

Windows Defender real time protection is off

Anytime you can follow steps 1 to 7 and again click on the Off button to re-enable real time protection.

The benefit of turning off real time protection through virus threat protection settings is convenience and speed. You can quickly turn it off and then again on. One thing to keep in mind is that when you restart your computer, Windows Defender will automatically be turned on. By disabling real time protection, you can install your desired application or software which you previously could not, but your security will be at risk. You can also make your desired system changes. This is not a permanent solution, but it is the fastest solution through virus threat protection settings.

How to disable Windows Defender through the registry:

This is a bit of lengthy process to disable Windows Defender:
Follow these steps to permanently disable Windows Defender through Registry.

1. Open Start, by clicking on the Windows logo on the bottom left of your screen.

2. Type “Regedit” in the search bar, and proceed by clicking on the Registry Editor with the blue icon. Click on yes when prompted by Windows.

Type “Regedit” to open the Registry Editor

3. The registry editor will open. On the left side, you’ll see different options. You need to locate to Microsoft Defenders location, by expanding the following:

• First, expand the “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE” folder by double-clicking on it.
• Next, expand the “SOFTWARE” folder.
• Scroll down and find the “Policies” folder and expand it.
• Expand the “Microsoft” folder.
• Next, click once on the “Windows Defender” folder.

Windows Defender folder

4. Now, right-click on the “Microsoft Defender” folder and hover your cursor above “New.” A new menu will pop out. Proceed by clicking on “DWORD (32-bit) Value”.

DWORD (32-bit) Value

5. A new file will appear on the right side with the option to name it. Enter “DisableAntiSpyware” as the name and hit Enter.

6. Next, double click on the newly created “DisableAntiSpyware” file.

7. Edit the value under “Value data:” as 1.

8. Press “Ok” on the bottom to save the value.

9. Finally, restart your system for the changes to take place. After restarting, the Microsoft Windows Defender will be disabled successfully.

If anytime you want to enable the Windows Defender again, follow these steps:

• Open the registry editor.
• Locate to the “Windows Defender.”
• Double click on “DisableAntiSpyware.”
• Edit the “Value Data” as 0, and click on Ok.
• Restart your system for the changes to take effect.

This method is a bit tricky and lengthy, but this will disable Windows Defender permanently. Restarting your computer will not enable the Defender again. Through this method, you can install any app and tweak any setting without the fear of Windows Defender interrupting in Windows 10. Your computers security will be compromised so make sure to enable the Defender again so your security stays active.

How to turn off Windows Defender through Group Policy:

This is our last instruction set to disable Windows Defender.
Follow these steps to turn off Windows Defender permanently:

1. Press “Win + R,” Window key, plus the “R” key together.

2. A dialogue box will appear. Type in “gpedit.msc” and hit Enter.

3. The local group policy editor Window will open in front of you.

local group policy editor

4. Under “Computer Configuration,” double-click on “Administrative Templates.”

5. Next, click on “Windows Components” to expand it.

6. Scroll down, locate, and click on “Windows Defender Antivirus.”

Windows Defender Antivirus Group Folder

7. On the right side, double-click on “Turn off Windows Defender Antivirus.”

Turn off Windows Defender Antivirus

8. A new Window opens. Highlight the “Enabled” option on the left and click on Apply and then Ok.

Turn off Windows Defender Antivirus “Enabled”

9. Finally, restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

In case you need to enable Windows Defender again, follow steps 1 to 7, highlight the “Not Configured,” click on Apply and then Ok. Restart your computer, and Windows Defender will be enabled again.

This is the third and final way to disable Windows Defender permanently. In this way, the Defender antivirus will not enable itself automatically when you restart your system. This is a permanent fix for the Defender antivirus.

Verdict:

Temporarily disabling the Defender antivirus to install some software or tweak some settings, is fine. There is no issue with that, but disabling the Defender antivirus for a prolonged time can put your security at risk. At any time, your system can be attacked by malicious programs. So, it’s a good practice to at least have a third-party antivirus installed, or to just disable it temporarily.