Windows 10 includes Windows Defender, a built-in antivirus software that's a first line of defense against malware infections. It scans your PC in real-time for malicious software, and it is automatically disabled once you have installed an antivirus software on your system. However, if you find that Windows Defender is preventing you from running/installing programs or downloading files, you can remove it manually.
Disable Windows Defender
Temporarily Disable Windows Defender
To temporarily disable Windows Defender, head to
Start >
Settings >
Update & Security >
Windows Defender. Toggle the switch below
Real-time protection to the
Off position.
Permanently Disable Windows Defender
Right-click on the
Start menu >
Run. Type
regedit
and open the
Registry editor by clicking
OK. Navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Windows Defender.
Click
Edit >
New >
Dword (32-bit) value. Rename the new item as
DisableAntiSpyware and set its value to
1 to disable Windows Defender on your system:
Save your settings, and close the
Registry editor. Should you ever try to activate Windows Defender on your system, the following message will be displayed:
You can enable Windows Defender back by setting the value of
DisableAntiSpyware to
0.
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