How to disable Windows Defender in all ways and on all devices

Windows Defender can do a good job of keeping your data safe from all kinds of threats even without installing third-party antivirus programs. Although Windows Defender protects your computer from various threats, it may also prevent your computer from running certain programs, especially those created by unknown or lesser-known third parties. In this case, you need to disable Windows Defender to run the desired programs smoothly.

Read also: How to use Microsoft Defender

How to disable Windows Defender

Windows Defender can be easily disabled in minutes. In case these methods don’t work for you, find listed more in-depth solutions to disable Windows Defender on your PC.

1. Disable Windows Defender on Windows 10 and Windows 11

Disabling Windows Defender will put your PC at risk though you have not installed any antivirus programs of third parties. But, if you have it, then you can safely disable Windows Defender. To disable Windows Defender real-time protection on Windows 10 or Windows 11, follow these steps:

1. Go up Settings.
2. click on Updates and security.
3. click on Windows security from the left pane.
4. Click on ” Virus and threat protection “And choose” Manage settings ”From the menu.
5. Deactivate the real-time protection and Windows Defender will be disabled.

Although, when your computer restarts, Windows Defender will start by itself and continue to protect your computer from any threats. And in the meantime, if malicious files are found, they will be quarantined and users will have the option to recover or permanently remove them.

2. Disable Windows Defender on Windows 7 and Windows 8

Windows Defender is also available for Windows 7/8 and protects your computer from various malware and spyware. But if you want to disable Windows Defender on Windows 7, you will need to follow the steps below:

1. Awards start and click on ‘Panel control ‘from the menu.
2. Search for “Windows Defender”And double-click on it.
3. If real-time protection is on, click “Instrument“Located in the”Menu bar”At the top of the window.
4. click on Options.
5. Go to section ‘ Administrator ‘and uncheck the box that says’Uknows this program ‘and click Save.

3. Permanently disable Windows Defender on Windows

The method discussed above temporarily disables Windows Defender until the computer restarts, but it’s not a long-term solution. If users want to permanently disable Windows Defender on Windows, they will need to disable it via Registry Editor. To permanently disable Windows Defender, do the following:

1. Awards’Windows + R‘.
2. You write ‘ regedit ‘and press Enter.
3. From the listed folder, go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software > Policies > Microsoft > Windows Defender
4. After selecting the folder ” Windows Defender “in the registry editor, right click on the screen and create a value file” New one > DWORD (32 bit).
5. Name the file ” DisableAntiSpyware “.
6. Then double click on the file ” DisableAntiSpyware “And tax” Value Data su 1.”
7. Click on ‘ Ok ‘and restart your computer.

By doing this, you will permanently disable Windows Defender from your computer. When your computer restarts, Windows Defender services will be suspended. Also, if you want to reactivate Windows Defender, you will need to delete the “DisableAntiSpyware” file from the Registry Editor.

On some computers, users need to disable the “Protection against tampering” to make changes in Registry Editor. If you are unable to create / edit the Windows Defender file in Registry Editor, make sure “Tamper Protection” is turned off. To disable “Tamper Protection”, follow the steps below:

1. Go up Settings.
2. Go up ” Updates and security “And go up” Virus and threat protection “.
3. Scroll down the window and find the section ” Tamper protection “.
4. Deactivate tamper protection.

Now you can edit the Registry Editor if it wasn’t previously possible to do so.

4. Disable Windows Defender on Windows via Group Policy

An alternative method that could be used to disable Windows Defender is to disable it from Windows Group Policy. Using this method permanently disables Windows Defender on your computer. All real-time protection is turned off and scheduled scans will stop running as well. To disable Windows Defender on Windows, follow these steps:

1. Awards ” Windows + R “And type” gpedit.msc”In the search bar and press Enter.
2. The ” Local Group Policy Editor “.
3. Next, go to: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Defender Antivirus (Windows Defender on Windows 7)
4. After having successfully navigated to the folder ” Windows Defender Antivirus “, Double click” Disable Windows Defender Antivirus “.
5. From the window, check the box ” Ability “And click” Apply “.
6. Close the window and restart your computer.

5. Disable Windows Defender from services

Windows Defender can also be disabled from the services section. Users can use this option to temporarily or permanently disable Windows Defender services, depending on their preferences. To disable Windows Defender from the “Services” section, perform the following section:

1. Awards ” Windows + R “
2. To type ” services.msc”And press Enter.
3. From the services section, find and double click on ” Windows Defender “.
4. Choose the option ” Disabled “From the menu” Startup type “.
5. Click on ” Apply “.
6. Restart the computer and check if the service is running or not.

To restart the Windows Defender service, choose “Automatic (Delayed Start)” from the “Startup Type” menu.

6. Disable Windows Defender using Windows Powershell

The built-in Windows Powershell tool can also be used to disable Windows Defender. To use this method, follow these instructions:

1. Awards start and search ” Windows Powershell ”And run it as an administrator.
2. Run this command:
   Set-MpPreference -DisableRealtimeMonitoring $true
   (Using the command will disable Windows Defender real-time protection and scheduled scans will also be stopped.)
3. And once you’ve decided to activate Windows Defender using Windows Powershell, type this command in Windows Powershell:
   Set-MpPreference -DisableRealtimeMonitoring $false

Also, if you want to completely uninstall Windows Defender using Windows Powershell, you will need to follow these steps:

1. You open Windows Powershell with administrator privileges.
2. Type and run this command:
   Uninstall-WindowsFeature -Name Windows-Defender

6. Disable Windows Defender using the command prompt

Command Prompt or CMD can be used to disable and check its status in real time. In addition to disabling Windows Defender, CMD may also disable it permanently. To disable Windows Defender using Command Prompt, do the following:

1. Awards Start and search ‘ CMD ‘and run it as an administrator.
2. Type and run this command:
   sc stop WinDefend
3. To make sure Windows Defender stops running, run this command:
   sc query WinDefend

Windows Defender status will be displayed. If it has stopped working, the status will appear as stopped. Also, to permanently disable Windows Defender using CMD, do the following:

1. Run this command:
   sc config WinDefend start= disabled
2. So this command:
   sc stop WinDefend
3. Restart your computer.
4. Run the query command again to view Windows Defender status:
   sc query WinDefend