Windows 10 Remove Windows Defender

[er557]

In windows 1809, The 3rd party AV is required to be run in protected mode/secure mode, and be compatible with such, otherwise windows defender will remain enabled and will run side by side with your AV, which can cause conflicts, false positives, and I find it annoying it updates definitions on it's own and takes the liberty to delete files I need , which it thinks are suspicious, unwanted, or whatever, and needing constantly to get into settings and restore and exclude manually stuff.
However, no complicated maneuvers are required to disable it, it is quite straightforward. Get winaero tweaker, a free utility to slim down and customize windows 10. Look for windows defender section, and simply click DISABLE WINDOWS DEFENDER. reboot and it should not bother you no more. It's equally easy to re-enable it from the same page in the utility. And this way, you don't tamper with system files or break any built-in consistency. The other protections and the security center will still function, to be able to review your security status and what not.

 

[Athlonite]

Why does your wife need anything other than Windows Defender does she perhaps visit a lot of nefarious porn sites or download a lot of junk from who knows where if the answer is no then stop dicking around and just use Windows Defender and be done with Avast is any better at it's job than Defender anyhow

here are the AVtest.org results for both Avast & Windows Defender

Windows Defender

Avast

Also

On occasion, it will decide your system hasn't been scanned in a while and initiate a scan. Can be quite annoying if you still have mechanical drives in there.

shouldn't happen unless the PC is Idle it shouldn't ever happen whilst your using it to do stuff

 

[lexluthermiester]

What can I say, you've got quite a miracle system over there if it can sustain a continuous read of a mechanical drive with no noticeable performance impact.

They could be running RAID5..

Get winaero tweaker, a free utility to slim down and customize windows 10. Look for windows defender section, and simply click DISABLE WINDOWS DEFENDER.

Unfortunately, Defender is often reenabled by Windows with even a minor update. Removal is the better option.

And this way, you don't tamper with system files or break any built-in consistency.

Removal does not do this.

The other protections and the security center will still function, to be able to review your security status and what not.

The Windows Firewall is not a part of Windows Defender and continues untouched. The same with Security Center. Both will continue to function as needed without the presence of Windows Defender.

 

[GlacierNine]

They could be running RAID5..

I'm running a 960 Evo system drive, a 1TB applications spinner, and 2x4TB Storage spinners set up as a mirrored volume in Storage Manager.

The Defender process either only scans the SSD, or it simply doesn't hurt me when it scans the HDDs, which are where the VAST bulk of my data is.

 

[lexluthermiester]

I'm running a 960 Evo system drive, a 1TB applications spinner, and 2x4TB Storage spinners set up as a mirrored volume in Storage Manager.

The Defender process either only scans the SSD, or it simply doesn't hurt me when it scans the HDDs, which are where the VAST bulk of my data is.

Fair enough.

 

[Vayra86]

Is it possible to completely remove Windows Defender in Windows 10? I don't need it because i have Avast.

If you do important stuff on the internet, most notably banking you may want to keep Windows Defender active, because banks have a clause in their terms where you are required to have up to date security.

On top of that, there is no documented, logical reason to disable it. If Defender gets in the way you can make exceptions for applications and files.

 

[Axaion]

make a custom install with it removed using DISM or something.

good way to get rid of crapware

But keep in mind that defender (the windows 10 one, at least) is better than avast anyway

 

[lexluthermiester]

because banks have a clause in their terms where you are required to have up to date security.

Citation?

On top of that, there is no documented, logical reason to disable it.

How about the many, many people who have experienced Windows Defender pointlessly and consistently deleting files that it deems threatening when they are not without so much as prompting the user let alone asking permission. Or the fact that it blocks applications that are harmless from running or being installed. Windows Defender is a sloppy and incompentent piece of garbage coding which renders false positives more frequently than it does actual positives and is easily eclipsed in both function and accuracy at protecting systems and users by even the weakest antimalware available.

But keep in mind that defender (the windows 10 one, at least) is better than avast anyway

That is opinion not supported by testing and thus patently false.

 

[bug]

How about the many, many people who have experienced Windows Defender pointlessly and consistently deleting files that it deems threatening when they are not without so much as prompting the user let alone asking permission. Or the fact that it blocks applications that are harmless from running or being installed. Windows Defender is a sloppy and incompentent piece of garbage coding which renders false positives more frequently than it does actual positives and is easily eclipsed in both function and accuracy at protecting systems and users by even the weakest antimalware available.

Tbh, there's no AV that doesn't trigger a false positive every now and then. Though in my experience, every AV I tried has asked me before deleting anything.

 

[R0H1T]

Citation?

How about the many, many people who have experienced Windows Defender pointlessly and consistently deleting files that it deems threatening when they are not without so much as prompting the user let alone asking permission. Or the fact that it blocks applications that are harmless from running or being installed. Windows Defender is a sloppy and incompentent piece of garbage coding which renders false positives more frequently than it does actual positives and is easily eclipsed in both function and accuracy at protecting systems and users by even the weakest antimalware available.


That is opinion not supported by testing and thus patently false.

That's smartscreen or UAC, not windows defender.

Citation needed.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Citation needed

Google " Windows Defender testing ". Have fun.

 

[Kursah]

I have Kaspersky and while Defender does indeed get out of the way, I still get definition updates for it, which is a bit irritating, since they're not used. It hasn't irked me enough to try disabling this, though.

Yes but on the flip side of the coin, it is also a good thing in my eyes. If your Kaspersky license expires or you remove it, an updated version of Defender picks up right away. Considering how small the defender updates are, it's worth that piece of mind IMHO. I know some folks are irritated by that, but I see it as a non-issue from a management/sysadmin side. Redundancy is key.


I also agree with the folks recommended to install your desired AVAM solution (anti-virus anti-malware), let Defender disable and continue to update. Folks are not gaining THAT much by removing or perma-killing it, odds are you're losing more than you're gaining if you step back and look at the whole picture. But I understand that some feel they need to feel in control of their OS, and what they use for security, in that instance run a few commands and be done with it.

Like GlacierNine, I run MBAM Premium and Defender on my systems. They have SSD's for OS and some storage, and they don't scan at the same time. Not that everyone should do it, but again, I believe redundancy is key, and that being said, if you can, you should. Relying on one solution makes little sense to me seeing as every solution has something it fails at or misses. Why leave that to risk? Why assume your single solution is good enough at all times?

I still stand by running Defender + MBAM Free as a solid AVAM solution for many end-users, AVG, Avast, etc. work well enough too. Add in some OpenDNS, Quad9, CloudFlare, etc. to your router and DHCP server to hand out to devices as well, and some common sense usage practices, many folks would be set.

rem Disable Windows Defender
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender" /v DisableAntiSpyware /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender" /v DisableRoutinelyTakingAction /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
reg delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run" /v SecurityHealth /f

This works for me. Run in admin-rights cmd shell

Source: https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/windows-10-tweaks-for-vga-benchmark.228698/

As previously mentioned, Defender should get disabled automatically if another antivirus program is installed.

Exactly this if you wanna kill Defender, at least in my experience this has got it done. However, I don't recommend doing this, but for those that feel they must for whatever reason, this is the way.

Considering it is done with a few simple commands in an elevated command prompt that can be copied and pasted, that should take away the frustration of removing it. Granted some feel they shouldn't have to CLI in the modern era, but it still is the best way to administer OSes in certain cases and really isn't that hard (or scary), especially if you follow directions well.

 

[rtwjunkie]

I've been seeing it happen in Windows 10.

What can I say, you've got quite a miracle system over there if it can sustain a continuous read of a mechanical drive with no noticeable performance impact.

Actually @GlacierNine is correct. It’s not a miracle system. MalwareBytes has been specifically designed to run resident alongside Windows Defender, as well as a handful of other AV software. There is no continuous read of drives or any noticeable performance hit.

 

[INSTG8R]

How about don’t use pirate software then Defender won’t “delete files” Sorry but that’s the only case where Defender is “deleting” things.

 

[Vayra86]

Citation?

How about the many, many people who have experienced Windows Defender pointlessly and consistently deleting files that it deems threatening when they are not without so much as prompting the user let alone asking permission. Or the fact that it blocks applications that are harmless from running or being installed. Windows Defender is a sloppy and incompentent piece of garbage coding which renders false positives more frequently than it does actual positives and is easily eclipsed in both function and accuracy at protecting systems and users by even the weakest antimalware available.

If you don't mind, I'm not going to go past all the banking terms worldwide to figure it out for you. I do know that in my country these clauses exist. And regardless: deleting provided security measures and then getting compromised is simply called negligence and there is no insurance anywhere that allows that.

As for citations on your second bit of text I'll quote you:
That is opinion not supported by testing and thus patently false.

Windows Defender has vastly improved, what you're saying is what was cool during the Windows 7 days.

How about don’t use pirate software then Defender won’t “delete files” Sorry but that’s the only case where Defender is “deleting” things.

QFT

 

[R0H1T]

Google " Windows Defender testing ". Have fun.

I don't need to, I am a regular beta tester for various applications, including AV, as well as Windows.
Meanwhile you seem to be stuck in some place where everything windows was bad, except everyone's favorite win 7, have fun with your outdated opinions ~

 

[Kursah]

@R0H1T and @lexluthermiester I don't mind disagreements carried out in an appropriate fashion that is constructive, seeing I have to say something it is not trending that way. Let's keep it from getting any more personal moving forward please. Only warning. Thanks!

 

[GlacierNine]

I don't need to, I am a regular beta tester for various applications, including AV, as well as Windows.
Meanwhile you seem to be stuck in some place where everything windows was bad, except everyone's favorite win 7, have fun with your outdated opinions ~
View attachment 108797

I've also frequently heard the claim that in 2018, Antivirus programs actually introduce MORE risk, rather than less.

All of the below is *my understanding* and could be wrong, BUT, this is what I've been told:

The explanation I've heard is that because Antivirus Programs need to be given access beyond what a malicious program has, so that those malicious programs can't hide themselves from the AV, most of them run in Ring 0 of the OS (Which is the most powerful, least secure ring, and usually only things like hardware drivers are allowed to access it directly).

This property is why things like Norton and McAfee are so difficult to remove - their Ring 0 access prevents regular uninstallers from fully removing them unless the uninstaller goes to great lengths (Which of course Norton and McAfee's uninstallers don't bother going to, leaving plenty of rubbish on a host system even after uninstallation)

Because compromising a popular AV therefore almost guarantees Ring 0 access to the attacker, they are the prime target for exploits seeking to compromise a system completely, because once you get past one or hijack it's access, your malicious code is running in a privileged state that regular programs don't even see. They also directly interact with almost all of the parts of your PC in some way or another, in order to do their job. As a result they present a huge attack surface compared to other Ring 0 items like hardware drivers.

This is why I've heard a multitude of security professionals recommend ditching AV suites in general unless they only supplement the OS's built in protections rather than replacing them. MBAM is a piece of software that seems to be designed this way.

 

[R-T-B]

you cannot turn it off or remove it, because it does a lot more than what it used to previousl

You can turn it off.

How about don’t use pirate software then Defender won’t “delete files” Sorry but that’s the only case where Defender is “deleting” things.

Nope. Mining too. Other false positives I've run into over the years as well.

 

[lexluthermiester]

@R0H1T @Vayra86 @rtwjunkie
When my clients and customers bring me systems that are behaving badly and they describe their problems, I troubleshoot. When I discover that something seems to be causing the problem, remove/change that something and the problem goes away, problem solved. In the case of Windows Defender, it is one of the most consistent and ongoing culprits of user problems in all versions of Windows that come with it, mostly Windows 10. Deleting it and replacing it consistently resolves users problems while not compromising their security. The methods I described in the process in the earlier post is exclusive to Windows 10 as the process is different and can be done entirely from within Windows on Windows 7. So the notions that these procedures are outdated or leftovers from a previous version of Windows are entirely incorrect. Additionally, as the graph R0H1T provided shows, there are many competent security suites available from a variety of trustworthy vendors and can handily entirely replace Microsoft's offering, but without all of the irritations. Progress and technology marches on.

Everyone seems gripped with fear of not doing things the Microsoft way. That is not the only way to do things and often isn't even the best way. In the case of antimalware, Windows Defender may be rated well but in practice it shows itself to be more trouble than it's worth. Deleting/replacing it will not magically break a system, nor will it become unstable. Most systems benefit from it's removal and replacement which is why I promote doing so.

 

[John Naylor]

As AV vendors have risen to prominence, it seems they all fall into the Norton tactic of being overly concerned about piracy that they go to such lengths as to make removal of even PC usage unbearable. I would say that a good 5-10% of the "slow puters" left on my work bench, had their issues resolved by removing the AV. Given the cost of site licenses these days, it's hard to imagine folks balking at the cost. I often found myself thanking my lucky stars that there were some good guys out there that a) had a fully functional 30 day free trial and installation, management and removal is a "piece of pie / easy as cake" (bonus point is ya guess the movie that quote from.

Bitdefender fit that model until the point were I had to sit at each machine and individually d/l and install at each box.... PITA... goodbye. Then we switched to Kaspersky and the only annoying thing about them was that the initial purchase price was half the price of the renewal. So we'd just let the license expire and buy a new one. But now, 1) They auto renew your license even when you a) select the dontt renew option b) call them up and make sure thay did it. 10 days before it expired, they renewed me and I had to call and get a refund.

Purchasing new for 5 site licenses and 3 years runs about $4.50 per year per PC (Had my company purchase instead of me) ... as I said, the proverbial no brainer. However I noticed, uninstalling the old one and installing the new one ... I couldn't find any place to put in the license number. The next day the program told me I had 6 days left on my 1085 day license. Was no big deal uninstalling again, "with all saved preferences files" rebooting, cleaning registry, rebooting and reinstalling but it's an unnecessary PITA. And the other ironic thing ... since we let BitDefender / Old Kaspersky, we keep getting emails for bargain prices, well below their renewal price. If they just keep the prices low instead of trying to scam folks, they'd all lose less subscribers. I know BD has a "remove all our crap" removal tool ... haven't had to use Kaspersky one yet.

OS protection has gotten way better ... with the old essentials / Defender i was getting boxes with infections numbering into 4 figures. In avtest.org's most recent test Windows Defender caught 100% of Win 10 baddies ... beating Avast, Avira and AVG. However performance was a bit off the mark compared to market leaders. Win 7, it missed a few. As it continues to improve I expect the "why spend money" it's just or almost as good argument to become more prevalent. But until MS loosens the reigns a bit with regard to what users can control and what they are willing to share, I remain mistrustful.

 

[INSTG8R]

You can turn it off.



Nope. Mining too. Other false positives I've run into over the years as well.

All the OPs other threads have strictly been about games, let’s put 2 and 2 together shall we?

 

[R-T-B]

All the OPs other threads have strictly been about games, let’s put 2 and 2 together shall we?

I don't play the assumption game. I've run into game utility false positives as well years ago (Joshua.exe in the game SuperPower 2 is a good example, which is both a virus name and the game's exe name), wouldn't surprise me if they are still going on (no idea frankly since I personally stopped using AV a while back when I learned what to click / not click).

 

[INSTG8R]

I don't play the assumption game. I've run into game utility false positives as well years ago (Joshua.exe in the game SuperPower 2 is a good example, which is both a virus name and the game's exe name), wouldn't surprise me if they are still going on (no idea frankly since I personally stopped using AV a while back when I learned what to click / not click).

Well I’m going too. The OP had been asking about games, next post is about Defender “deleting files” Guess what Defender likes to delete? Cracks It’s just doing it’s job as intended as they are considered malicious.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Guess what Defender likes to delete?

Guess what else Defender likes to delete? Pictures, office documents, video transferred from phones/camera's and programs that are known safe like offline antimalware installers and browser setup files.

Cracks

That's not a great assumption. You have no way of knowing.