If you’re looking for a permanent solution to disable Windows Defender, in this guide we show you how to turn it off using Group Policy and the Registry.
Windows Defender is the free antivirus software that Microsoft includes on every installation of Windows 10 (and Windows 8.1). The security software is meant to offer the first line of defense to protect your computer against viruses, rootkits, spyware, and other types of malicious code.
The antivirus runs automatically on your computer, but it’ll disable itself automatically when it detects another security software is installed on your device. The only caveat is that unlike the Windows Defender integration with Windows 8.1, you can’t permanently disable the antivirus anymore.
Perhaps the reason is obvious, Microsoft doesn’t want you to use Windows 10 with zero protection – which it’s a good reason. However, there are still those cases where users may prefer not to run an antivirus on particular scenarios. For example, on a kiosk computer that won’t be joining a network and no one will be allowed to connect peripherals.
Windows 10 offers an option to disable Windows Defender, but it’s a temporary option when you probably are looking for a more permanent solution.
How to disable Windows Defender using Local Group Policy
If you’re using Windows 10 Pro or any other enterprise variant, such as Windows 10 Enterprise or Windows 10 Education, you can use the Local Group Policy Editor to disable Windows Defender from your computer permanently.
- Use the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run command.
- Type gpedit.msc and click OK to open the Local Group Policy Editor.
- Browse the following path:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Defender - On the right, double-click Turn off Windows Defender.
- Select Enabled to disable Windows Defender.
- Click Apply.
- Click OK.
Once you complete the above steps, you will notice the Windows Defender shield icon will continue to run in the system tray. To get rid of the icon, simply restart your computer.
At any time, if you want to re-enable Windows Defender, you only need to follow the same steps, but this time, on step 5 select the option Not configured. Then restart your computer to complete reverting the changes.