Microsoft Defender is antivirus operating system star Windows, being a key piece in the digital security of millions of users since its appearance in 2006, and it is a software designed specifically for this type of device so it works perfectly and comes pre-installed at the factory to avoid possible security errors that affect the user privacy. Although Windows and Microsoft systems are now compatible with a multitude of antivirus that you can download, both free and paid. However, you may want temporarily disable it or permanently uninstall it for some reason. In this case it is important that you know that it is possible to do it.
Microsoft's basic recommendation is that you never disable Defender for security reasons, especially if you do not have other antivirus installed at the time since all network threats become especially dangerous. However, this is a decision that you have to make, which is why Microsoft allows the option to uninstall it. If you want to know how to do it in this tutorial we teach you the steps you have to follow to achieve it quickly and without assuming security risks.
Why disable Microsoft Defender'
Before commenting on the methods and tricks that exist to disable Microsoft Defender, it is important to understand the reasons for carrying out this action, since it is a effective tool to protect against threats of the digital world. Here we present the specific circumstances that could lead you to consider disabling this software.
- Compatibility issues and conflicts with other security software: Many times, in addition to Microsoft Defender we have other antiviruses installed and they may not be compatible with each other.
- Incompatibility with installation software: When we download files and/or programs, especially if we do it online, it is possible that the system asks us Temporarily disable Microsoft Defender to install these files, not knowing the source where they come from.
- Performance: If our PC's memory is full and performance is getting worse, an easy option to optimize its operation is to uninstall programs. Disabling Defender reduces the load on the resources used by the computer.
- Using other antivirus: It is possible that we have a preferred antivirus for various reasons and do not need Defender.
Methods to disable Microsoft Defender
Microsoft includes this antivirus default way in all its operating systems, making it difficult to uninstall it for security reasons. However, here we show you the methods that you can follow to achieve it.
Temporary deactivation through settings
For this click on the start button and access «Configuration«. Here you find the option «Update and security»And select«Windows security«. Open this function and select «Protection against viruses and threats«. Once here you will have to deactivate the option «Real-time protection«.
Deactivation via terminal
In this case we will use the terminal to disable Defender.
- To do this, use the “Windows + R” command and writes "regedit" for run the terminal.
- Here copy the following command «HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Windows Defender«.
- In this location find «Disable AntiSpyware«, if it does not exist create it by selecting "New" and adding the following «DWORD value (32 bits)«.
- change the name from this new value to «Disable AntiSpyware» and put 1 value to disable Defender.
Use the Group Policy Editor
The Windows Pro operating systems and higher versions They have an extra tool that can be very useful for you to deactivate this type of pre-installed applications.
- Write in the windows search box the following address «gpedit.msc«. Here the Group Policy Editor.
- Go to «Computer Configuration» > «Administrative Templates» > «Windows Components» > «Microsoft Defender Antivirus«.
- Find and select the option «Disable Microsoft Defender Antivirus«.
Important considerations before disabling Microsoft Defender
Since it is software as important as an antivirus that protects us from a large number of threats and dangers, it is important to take into account a series of ckey considerations that can affect the performance and safety of our system before deactivating it.
Security risk
The main risk we assume when we uninstall Windows Defender is that our system becomes more vulnerable to the large number of threats, viruses, malware and other malicious software on the network. This is especially important if when you remove this antivirus you do not have another installed that works properly.
Threat detection and removal
In addition to protecting our system against real and known threats, this software works in the background detecting and removing these types of malicious files long before they can affect our PC. By removing it you will lose this detection ability and it will be easier for our computer to become infected.
Problems with Windows updates
As we have mentioned, Defender is a basic Microsoft application that is installed by default in our operating system. Therefore, it is possible that by deactivating it we will have problems updating our operating system and this one stays obsolete, this being a risk unable to correct the errors detected by Microsoft.
Conflicts with other applications
It is possible that some of the applications from our computer do not work correctly due to the absence of an antivirus that supports your function, especially those that work with private or online files.
Impact on performance
Although it is true that at disable Windows Defender our computer will have more space available and can release system resources and even improve performance when memory is saturated, this option can also have adverse effects since Defender is responsible for optimizing the performance and operation of our PC. If we urgently need to free up space, our recommendation is that dispense before other applications and not the basic ones.
Additional Tips and Considerations
If you definitely decide to uninstall Windows Defender, not all is lost, since there are some actions and tasks that you can carry out so that this does not pose a problem for the security of your computer.
Antivirus alternatives
Before turning off Defender, Make sure you have other updated antivirus software installed and that it works properly so that it fulfills the services that the previous one performed. Have a PC without antivirus is a risk.
Temporary deactivation
If you only want to disable Windows Defender so you can install a third-party application or perform a "risky" action that the antivirus does not allow, always remember to activate it again once you have performed said action.