
It is recommended that you leave this policy setting unconfigured. Otherwise, Microsoft Defender Antivirus will scan your computers for malware and other potentially unwanted software.Įnabling or disabling this policy may lead to unexpected or unsupported behavior.

If you install another antivirus program, Windows automatically disables Microsoft Defender Antivirus. If you do not configure this policy setting, Windows will internally manage Microsoft Defender Antivirus. If you disable this policy setting, Microsoft Defender Antivirus will run regardless of any other installed antivirus product. If you enable this policy setting, Microsoft Defender Antivirus does not run, and will not scan computers for malware or other potentially unwanted software. This policy setting turns off Microsoft Defender Antivirus. Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Microsoft Defender Antivirus > Turn off Windows Defender. If your Windows has Group Policy Editor, Run gpedit.msc and navigate to and Enable the following setting:

Type services.msc in taskbar search bar and hit Enter to open Services Manager.Ĭhange the startup type of the Windows Defender Service from Automatic to Disabled.Īlso, disable the WdNisSvc or Windows Defender Network Inspection Service. 2] Disable Windows Defender Service using Service Manager Make sure Real-time protection and Cloud-based Protection is turned off.Īlso, toggle Tamper Protection and any other settings you see there to Off. Navigate to Virus & Threat Protection > Virus & Threat Protection settings and toggle the switch against Real-time protection. You can disable or turn off Microsoft Defender via:


How to disable Microsoft Defender in Windows 11/10 Nevertheless, if you feel the need to disable it completely, you may do so via its Settings, Registry, GPEDIT as well as disable its Services. If the 3rd-party antivirus stops functioning for some reason, it will automatically activate itself. If you install any other 3rd-party antivirus software, Microsoft Defender will automatically take a back seat and disable itself. Microsoft has integrated Microsoft Defender Anitvirus in Windows 11 or Windows 10, and while it is easy to turn off or disable Windows Defender or Microsoft Defender as it is now called, it is not possible to uninstall it.
