How to Disable Windows Defender In Windows 10

By default Windows 10 comes with a pre-installed antivirus called Windows defender, Windows defender is automatically disabled when you install a third party antivirus like 360 Total Security Free Antivirus Protection or Norton a premium Antivirus.

If you want to disable Windows Defender without installing a third-party antivirus program, you can either use Group Policy for Windows 10 Pro. or edit the Windows Registry on Windows 10 Home to disable Windows Defender program in Windows 10.

Disable Windows Defender using Group Policy

This method applies to Win 10 Pro. If you’re using Home edition, please scroll down to the second method using the registry editor.

1. Click on start and type Gpedit.msc then hit Enter key to open Local Group Policy Editor. If prompted with the User Account Control, click Yes button to continue.

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2. In the Group Policy Editor, navigate to:

Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows components -> Windows Defender.

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3. On the right pane, look for the policy called Turn off Windows Defender.

4. Double-click on Turn off Windows Defender to open the properties.

5. On the top left select Enabled and then click Apply button. Done!!! Windows defender is disabled.

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Disable Windows Defender using Registry

1. Click on start and type Regedit.exe in Start menu and then hit Enter key to open the registry editor. If prompted with the User Account Control, click Yes button to continue.

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2. Navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender

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3. On the right pane, right-click on the empty area, click New, select DWORD (32-bit) value and then re-name it as DisableAntiSpyware.

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4. Double-click on DisableAntiSpyware and change its value data to 1 to disable Windows Defender.

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5. In the future if you want to enable Windows defender just navigate to DisableAntiSpyware key and restore the value data to “0” again.

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Miguel

I started this tech blog back in 2011 as a place to write down processes I took to fix my client systems and network. Now I write some tips and tricks to help others with the tech issues that one might encounter.

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