Hello everybody!
This video is about how to disable Windows Defender in Windows 10 Creators Update and
remove its icon from the system tray.
Some of the advice will also work with other builds of Windows.
Windows 10 Creators Update (build 1703) has received many functional improvements.
They include a new application, Windows Defender Security Center which was previously known
as Windows Defender control panel.
This application makes it easier to control security and privacy options.
However, if you are using a third-party antivirus software, you may want to disable the built-in
system protection but there can be problems because of the new and unusual interface.
Let’s see how to disable Windows Defender properly and how to hide the Defender icon
from the system tray.
To open the interface of this built-in antivirus, enter “Defender” in Windows search field
and select the link “Windows Defender Security Center.”
You can also get there by right-clicking on its icon in the system tray and selecting
“Open.”
To disable the protection, do the following: • Click on “Settings” icon in the lower
left corner of the screen.
• In the window that opens, click on Virus & Threat Protection settings.
• In the next tab, drag the sliders for Real-Time Protection, Cloud-Based Protection
and Automatic Sample Submission to disable them.
As a result, Windows Defender antivirus protection will be disabled.
Remember, that after some time the protection will be activated automatically again unless
your system has a third-party antivirus.
So it is only a temporary solution.
Certainly, you can disable the system antivirus every time is is automatically enabled, but
there are also methods to disable the Defender for good.
There are two ways to disable Windows Defender forever in Windows 10.
Please keep in mind that one of the ways will only work with some versions of the operating
system.
For example, group policy editor is a component of Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise.
To disable Windows defender with this editor, do the following:
• Right-click on the Start menu and select Run.
• Enter it “gpedit.msc” and press Enter.
• Then go to Go to Local Computer Policy / Computer Configuration / Administrative
Templates / Windows Components / Windows Defender.
• When you are there, find the policy “Turn Off Windows Defender.”
• Double-click on it.
• In the window that opens set the policy value to “Enabled” and apply
the changes.
Windows Defender is disabled after these changes are applied.
To restore functionality of the application, you will have to set the policy value to “Disabled”
or “Not Configured.”
The system antivirus can also be disabled in Windows registry.
To do it: • Right-click on the Start menu and select
Run.
• Enter it “regedit.exe” and press Enter.
• Go to the registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender
• If you see a property named “DisableAntiSpyware”,
change its value to “1” to disable Windows Defender.
• If this property doesn’t exist:  right-click on the Windows Defender icon
in the left navigation pane of the editor,  select “Create / DWORD (32-bit) Parameter,”
 name it “DisableAntiSpyware”  and set its value at “1.”
In order to enable Windows Defender later, change this value into “0” or just delete
this setting.
Windows Defender Security Center shows a particular
icon in the system tray which becomes visible after you install Windows 10 Creators Update.
It starts with the system and appears in the tray.
Disabling the icon does not have any side effects.
If you want to get rid of it, do the following: • Start Task Manager.
• Go to the Startup tab.
• Find the line “Windows Defender notification icon”
• Right-click on this item and select “Disable.”
After you’ve done it, log off and then log in again.
As a result, the Windows Defender icone will not appear in the system tray.
If none of the methods helped you, you can try using third-party software meant to disable
Windows Defender in Windows 10.
However, you should use this method only after other variants failed, because you cannot
know for sure what exactly such program does in the background mode and what registry values
it changes.
Visit our channel to watch a video about the rating of best free antiviruses that you can
use instead of Windows Defender.
Find the link in the description
That is all for now.
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more.
We’ll be glad to answer any questions in comments.
Thank you for watching and good luck!