[Solution] How to Disable Windows Defender Antivirus on Win 10

Q: How do I permanently disable Windows Defender in Windows 10?

<ol><li>Run Command Prompt as Administrator.</li><li>Type msc and press Enter.</li><li>Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Defender.</li><li>Double click Turn Off Windows Defender.</li><li>Check Enabled.</li><li>Click Apply.</li></ol>

Q: How do I stop Windows Defender from deleting files?

Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Virus & threat protection settings. Then, you need to switch to the Exclusions section to add exclusions according to your requirements.

Q: Where can I find deleted files in Windows Defender?

Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security > Virus & threat protection to check the protection history.

Windows Defender Antivirus Windows 10 can protect your computer and its data. However, for some reasons, you may need to disable Windows Defender Antivirus Windows 10. If you don’t know how to do this work, just read this post to get three ways.

Why You Need to Disable Windows Defender Antivirus on Windows 10?

Windows Defender Antivirus is an antimalware feature on Windows 10 and it can protect your computer and the files on the device from viruses, spyware, ransomware and some other types of malware and hackers.

However, when you need to set up the computer without network, perform a task which may be blocked by Windows Defender Antivirus, or need to comply with the organization security policies, you will have to disable Windows Defender Antivirus.

In the following guide, we will show you 3 ways to disable Windows Defender Antivirus permanently or temporarily on Windows 10.

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How to Disable Windows Defender Antivirus with Windows Security

This is a way to disable Windows Defender Antivirus temporarily. You can do this when you want to perform some specific tasks.

Step 1: Search for Windows Security from the Start bar and choose the top result to continue.

Step 2: Choose Virus & threat protection. Then, click Manage settings under Virus & threat protection settings.

Step 3: Turn the switch from Off to On under the Real-time protection section.

After these operations, you will be able to install apps or perform a specific task you couldn’t before since the real-time protection is disabled.

How to turn on Windows Defender in Windows 10 when necessary? You can repeat the above steps until in step 3 to turn on the settings.

How to Disable Windows Defender Antivirus with Group Policy

If you are using Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise, you can use the Local Group Policy Editor to disable Windows Defender Antivirus Windows 10 permanently.

Step 1: Open Start to search for gpedit.msc. Then, choose the top result to open the Local Group Policy Editor.

Step 2: Go to the following path:

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Defender Antivirus

Then, double-click on the Turn off Windows Defender Antivirus policy.

Step 3: Check the Enabled option to disable Windows Defender Antivirus. Next, click Apply and OK buttons. Then, restart your computer.

If you want to re-enable it, you can use the same steps mentioned above but choose Not Configured in the last step. Still, you need to restart the computer to execute the changes.

How to Disable Windows Defender Antivirus with Registry

If you can’t access the Local Group Policy Editor or you are using Windows 10 Home, you can also modify the Registry to permanently disable Windows Defender Antivirus.

Note: You’d better know that editing the Registry is risky and it may lead to irreversible damage to your Windows if you don’t do it correctly. So, we recommend backing up your computer in advance.

Then, you can follow these steps to disable Windows Defender Antivirus:

Step 1: Open Start to search for regedit and open the Registry Editor. Then, go to find the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender

Step 2: Right-click on Windows Defender (folder), choose New, and then click on DWORD (32-bit) Value.

Step 3: Name the key DisableAntiSpyware and press Enter. Then, double-click the newly created DWORD and change to value to 1. Next, click OK.

At last, you still need to reboot the computer to apply the changes.

If you want to revert the changes, please repeat the above steps, but on step 3, you need to right-click the DisableAntiSpyware key to delete it.

Note: There are three ways to disable Windows Defender Antivirus on Windows 10, but we strongly suggest using a computer under the protection of anti-malware software. If you don’t like Windows Defender Antivirus, you can use other professional software.

Bottom line

Now, you should know how to diable or turn off Windows Defender using different ways. If you have any other related questions, you can let us know in the comment.

Disable Windows Defender FAQ

How do I turn off Windows Defender in Windows 10?

The easiest method to turn off Windows Defender is to go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Virus & threat protection settings to turn off the real-time protection.

How do I permanently disable Windows Defender in Windows 10?

Run Command Prompt as Administrator.
Type msc and press Enter.
Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Defender.
Double click Turn Off Windows Defender.
Check Enabled.
Click Apply.

How do I stop Windows Defender from deleting files?

Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Virus & threat protection settings. Then, you need to switch to the Exclusions section to add exclusions according to your requirements.

Where can I find deleted files in Windows Defender?

Go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security > Virus & threat protection to check the protection history.

About The Author

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Stella has been working in MiniTool Software as an English Editor for more than 7 years. Her articles mainly cover the fields of data recovery including storage media data recovery and phone data recovery, YouTube videos download, partition management, and video conversions.