How to disable Windows Defender in Windows 10 & 11 (Windows Security)

To disable Windows Defender in Windows 10 or Windows 11, open Windows Security, go to Virus & threat protection > Manage settings, turn off Tamper protection, then switch Real-time protection to Off. That switch is temporary, and the only supported way to keep Microsoft Defender Antivirus off for good is to install another antivirus, which puts Defender into disabled mode automatically.

Turning Defender off leaves files you open or download unscanned, so use it for short, specific jobs and switch protection back on afterwards. This guide covers the Windows Security switch, the third-party antivirus route, Group Policy and PowerShell, why the old registry trick no longer works, how to check Defender’s state and how to turn it back on.

How to turn off Windows Defender: quick steps

1. Open Start, type Windows Security and open the app.
2. Select Virus & threat protection, then Manage settings.
3. Switch Tamper protection to Off.
4. Switch Real-time protection to Off and select Yes at the User Account Control prompt.
5. When the job is done, switch both settings back to On.

You need an administrator account for every route in this guide. On a work or school PC that your organization manages, the switches can be greyed out, and only your IT administrator can change them.

How to turn off Windows Defender: easy methods

Method	Windows editions	How long it lasts	Risk
1. Windows Security Real-time protection switch	All, including Home	A short while; it turns itself back on	Low if you turn it back on quickly
2. Install a third-party antivirus	All	Permanent while the other product is active	Low; the PC stays protected
3. Group Policy: Turn off real-time protection	Pro, Enterprise, Education	Until you reset the policy, only with tamper protection off	High; no real-time scanning at all
4. Registry Editor values	None on current builds	No effect	Wasted effort
5. PowerShell Set-MpPreference	All	Until you reverse it, only with tamper protection off	High; no real-time scanning at all
An exclusion for one file or folder	All	Until you remove it	Lowest; the rest of the PC stays scanned

If one trusted installer or folder is the only problem, an exclusion is the narrower fix. Microsoft calls it safer than turning the entire antivirus off.

Can you uninstall Windows Defender

No. Microsoft Defender Antivirus is built into Windows 10 and Windows 11 and cannot be uninstalled on either. You can only remove Windows Defender as a feature on Windows Server, with the Uninstall-WindowsFeature Windows-Defender cmdlet.

The reason Microsoft does not allow full uninstallation on client Windows is that Defender is the fallback protection. When a non-Microsoft antivirus is installed, Defender switches to disabled mode; when that product expires, is uninstalled or stops providing real-time protection, Defender turns itself back on, so the PC is never left without an antivirus.

Method 1: Disable Windows Defender temporarily

This works on every edition of Windows 10 and Windows 11, including Home, and is the route Microsoft documents for consumers.

1. Open Start, type Windows Security and open the app.
2. Select Virus & threat protection.
3. Under Virus & threat protection settings, select Manage settings.
4. Switch Tamper protection to Off if it is on; Real-time protection cannot be turned off while it is on.
5. Switch Real-time protection to Off and select Yes at the User Account Control prompt.
6. Finish the task that needed the pause, then switch Real-time protection and Tamper protection back to On.

Real-time protection turns back on automatically after a short while. Scheduled scans keep running, but files you open or download in the meantime are not scanned until the next scheduled scan.

Method 2: Install a third-party antivirus

There is no supported permanent off switch for Defender on its own. The supported way to disable Windows Defender permanently in Windows 11 or 10 is installing a compatible non-Microsoft antivirus, which puts Microsoft Defender Antivirus into disabled mode automatically.

1. Install a compatible antivirus product from its vendor's official website.
2. Restart the PC if the installer asks you to.
3. Open Windows Security and select Virus & threat protection.
4. Confirm the page now names the new product as the antivirus protecting the PC.
5. Leave the Windows Security Center service at its default; if it is disabled, Defender cannot detect the other product and stays active.

Some security suites switch Defender off this way as soon as they install, which is why Malwarebytes disabled Windows Defender on Windows 10 version 1903. On Windows 11, Defender can show passive mode instead of disabled mode when Smart App Control is on.

Method 3: Disable Defender using Group Policy (Pro editions)

This route needs Windows 10 or Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise or Education. Microsoft warns that disabling real-time protection drastically reduces protection and is not recommended, and with tamper protection on the policy is ignored.

1. Turn off Tamper protection in Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Manage settings.
2. Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc and press Enter.
3. Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Microsoft Defender Antivirus > Real-time Protection.
4. Double-click Turn off real-time protection.
5. Select Enabled, then select OK.
6. Open Command Prompt and run gpupdate /force to apply the policy straight away.

If you are unsure where the console is, these are the same steps you use to open Group Policy Editor for any other policy, and gpupdate /force is how you force a Group Policy update. Tamper protection cannot be turned off through Group Policy, so a policy that looks applied can still do nothing. Set the same policy to Not Configured to undo it.

Method 4: Disable Defender using Registry Editor (no longer works)

Older guides on how to turn off Windows Defender from the registry tell you to create a DisableAntiSpyware value under the Windows Defender policies key, or to take ownership of Defender's registry keys. Microsoft has removed that value for consumer devices, and tamper protection blocks registry changes to Defender settings, so neither trick disables Defender on current Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Registry value	What Microsoft says now	Use it?
DisableAntiSpyware	Removed; not intended for consumer devices and ignored on devices onboarded to Defender for Endpoint from platform 4.18.2108.4	No
DisableAntivirus	Removed alongside DisableAntiSpyware	No
Either value on Windows 10 version 1903 or later	Protected by tamper protection, which is on by default for consumers	No

Taking ownership of system registry keys to force the change can break Windows Security and future updates. Installing another antivirus does the job these values used to do, without the risk.

Disable Windows Defender real-time protection with PowerShell in Windows 11

Open Windows PowerShell with Run as administrator and run the command below. Turn off tamper protection first, or the change is ignored.

Set-MpPreference -DisableRealtimeMonitoring $true

Sets Microsoft Defender Antivirus to stop real-time monitoring. Run Set-MpPreference -DisableRealtimeMonitoring $false to turn it back on, which Microsoft recommends.

You should see: The command returns no output, and Windows Security shows Real-time protection as Off.

How to turn off Windows Defender Firewall in Windows 11

Windows Defender Firewall is a separate feature from the antivirus, and turning one off leaves the other running. If a single app is blocked, allow that app through the firewall instead.

1. Open Windows Security and select Firewall & network protection.
2. Select the network profile marked as active: Domain network, Private network or Public network.
3. Under Microsoft Defender Firewall, switch the setting to Off.
4. Switch it back to On when you are done.

To undo every firewall change at once, select Restore firewalls to default on the Firewall & network protection page.

How to disable Windows Defender in Windows 7, 8.1, 10 and 11

Windows version	Built-in antivirus	Where to turn it off
Windows 11	Microsoft Defender Antivirus	Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Manage settings
Windows 10	Microsoft Defender Antivirus	Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Manage settings
Windows 8.1	Windows Defender (consumer devices)	Out of support since January 10, 2023; upgrade instead
Windows 7	None by default; Microsoft Security Essentials reached end of service on January 14, 2020	Out of support since January 14, 2020; upgrade instead

An unsupported version of Windows gets no security updates, so disabling its protection leaves the PC more exposed than on Windows 10 or 11.

How to check if Windows Defender is turned off

Run these in PowerShell as administrator. The first reports the antivirus mode, the second the real-time setting.

Get-MpComputerStatus | select AMRunningMode
Get-MpPreference | Select-Object DisableRealtimeMonitoring

AMRunningMode shows the mode Microsoft Defender Antivirus runs in; DisableRealtimeMonitoring shows whether real-time protection is switched off.

You should see: Normal, Passive or EDR Block Mode means Defender Antivirus is still enabled. DisableRealtimeMonitoring True means real-time protection is off.

In Windows Security > Virus & threat protection, the page also names the antivirus currently protecting the PC. A missing Virus & threat protection tile does not mean Defender is off: a policy can hide virus and threat protection and leave it running.

Why disable Windows Defender?

Most reasons to switch Defender off have a narrower fix that keeps the rest of the PC protected.

Reason	Narrower fix
A trusted installer is blocked or quarantined	Add the file or folder as an exclusion
A program you trust appears under Protection history	Restore it only if you trust its source, then exclude it
You use another antivirus	Install it; Defender switches to disabled mode by itself
An app is blocked from the network	Use Allow an app through firewall instead of turning the firewall off
An app cannot save to Documents or Pictures	Allow the app through Controlled folder access
Scans slow down a developer drive	Use Dev Drive protection on Windows 11

Add an exclusion instead of disabling Windows Defender

1. Open Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Manage settings.
2. Under Exclusions, select Add or remove exclusions and approve the prompt.
3. Select Add an exclusion and choose File, Folder, File type or Process.
4. Pick the item you trust.

Exclusions only apply to real-time scanning; scheduled scans can still check those files. For a process exclusion, use the full path so malware cannot reuse a trusted file name.

Re-enabling Windows Defender in Windows 10 and 11

1. Uninstall the third-party antivirus, or let its subscription lapse; Defender turns back on automatically.
2. Open Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Manage settings.
3. Switch Real-time protection, Cloud-delivered protection and Tamper protection to On.

Revert the change

Undo whichever manual method you used, or Defender stays off after a restart:

• Group Policy: set Turn off real-time protection back to Not Configured, then run gpupdate /force.
• PowerShell: run Set-MpPreference -DisableRealtimeMonitoring $false as administrator.
• Registry: delete any DisableAntiSpyware or DisableAntivirus value you created.

If the app reports that protection is off or managed, turn Windows Security back on from its home page warnings. Then run a Microsoft Defender full scan so files that arrived while protection was off get checked.

Disable Windows Defender: common problems faced

Real-time protection turns itself back on in Windows 11

The Windows Security switch is a temporary pause by design.

1. Add an exclusion if only one file or folder is the problem.
2. Install another antivirus if you want Defender off permanently.

The Real-time protection switch is grayed out in Windows 10

Your organization manages real-time protection, or a policy is set.

1. On a work PC, ask your IT administrator.
2. On a personal PC, open gpedit.msc and set Turn off real-time protection to Not Configured.
3. Run gpupdate /force, then check Manage settings again.

Group Policy or PowerShell says it worked but Defender is still on

Tamper protection ignores changes to protected settings, even when a management tool reports success.

1. Open Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Manage settings.
2. Switch Tamper protection to Off.
3. Apply the change again, then switch Tamper protection back On when you are done.

Defender stays active after another antivirus is installed

Defender cannot detect the other product when the Windows Security Center service is disabled.

1. Leave the Windows Security Center service at its default.
2. Open Windows Security and check whether it lists the other antivirus.
3. Reinstall the other antivirus if Windows Security still does not list it.

gpedit.msc is not found on Windows 11 Home

Home editions do not include the Local Group Policy Editor. Use Method 1 or Method 2 instead; guides that enable gpedit.msc on Windows 11 Home still cannot get past tamper protection.

Is it safe to disable Windows Defender

Only for a short, specific task, or when another antivirus takes over. Microsoft says disabling real-time protection drastically reduces protection, and disabling Defender is not recommended unless another product protects the PC.

Risk	What happens
No other antivirus installed	Files you open or download while real-time protection is off are not scanned
Two antivirus products active at once	Both try to provide active protection, which hurts performance and is not supported
Tamper protection left off	Other apps, including malware, can change Defender settings such as real-time and cloud-delivered protection
Defender services disabled by hand	Defender cannot detect a replacement antivirus and stays active
Firewall turned off	The PC is more exposed to unauthorized network access

To disable Windows Defender safely: pause it only while you need to, disconnect from untrusted downloads while it is off, keep SmartScreen on, turn Tamper protection back on afterwards and run a quick scan. The SmartScreen settings in Windows 11 live under App & browser control in the same app.

Disable Windows Defender FAQ

How do I disable Windows Defender in Windows 11?

Open Windows Security, select Virus & threat protection, then Manage settings. Turn off Tamper protection, then switch Real-time protection to Off and approve the prompt. Windows 11 turns real-time protection back on automatically after a short while.

How do I disable Windows Defender in Windows 10?

Windows 10 uses the same Windows Security path as Windows 11: Virus & threat protection > Manage settings, turn off Tamper protection, then turn off Real-time protection. On Pro, Enterprise or Education, the Turn off real-time protection policy is another route.

How do I disable Windows Defender permanently in Windows 10 or 11?

Install a compatible third-party antivirus. Windows then keeps Microsoft Defender Antivirus in disabled mode for as long as that product provides real-time protection, and turns Defender back on if it expires or is uninstalled.

Can you uninstall Windows Defender in Windows 11?

No. Defender is part of Windows 10 and 11 and cannot be uninstalled there; only Windows Server lets you remove the feature. Installing another antivirus is the supported way to stop Defender from scanning.

How do I disable Windows Defender in Windows 7?

Windows 7 support ended on January 14, 2020, and Microsoft Security Essentials reached end of service the same day. The PC no longer gets security updates, so upgrading to a supported Windows version is the safer move.

How do I enable Windows Defender in Windows 10?

Open Windows Security, go to Virus & threat protection > Manage settings and switch Real-time protection on. If another antivirus is installed, uninstall it and Defender turns back on automatically. Reset any Group Policy you changed to Not Configured.

How do I enable Windows Defender in Windows 11?

In Windows Security, select Virus & threat protection > Manage settings and turn on Real-time protection, Cloud-delivered protection and Tamper protection. Removing a third-party antivirus also re-enables Defender automatically.

How do I disable Windows Defender Firewall in Windows 11?

Open Windows Security, select Firewall & network protection, pick the active network profile and switch Microsoft Defender Firewall to Off. The firewall is separate from the antivirus, and allowing one app through it is safer.

Can I disable Windows Defender in Windows 11 with cmd?

Use PowerShell as administrator: Set-MpPreference -DisableRealtimeMonitoring $true turns off real-time protection. Turn off tamper protection first, or Windows ignores the change. Run the same command with $false to turn it back on.

Is there a Windows Defender disable tool for Windows 11?

Microsoft does not offer a separate disable tool. The supported controls are Windows Security, Group Policy and Set-MpPreference. Tamper protection exists to stop other apps from changing Defender settings, so third-party disable scripts are blocked while it is on.

Does the registry trick still disable Windows Defender?

No. Microsoft removed the DisableAntiSpyware and DisableAntivirus values for consumer devices, and tamper protection guards them on Windows 10 version 1903 and later. Installing another antivirus does what those values used to do.