How to Disable Windows Defender Antivirus on Windows 10

Virus and spyware protection on Windows was barebones until Windows 8 and 10 came out. That’s when Microsoft brought a fully-fledged antivirus of their own called Windows Defender (now called Windows Security) with support for anti-malware execution, real-time detection, and regular virus definition updates. However, some users don’t find the native antivirus effective and want to install an antivirus of their own. If you’re one of them, here’s how to disable Windows Defender Antivirus on Windows 10.

There are two ways to go about disabling Windows Defender (or Windows Security) on Windows 10 — Registry Hacks or Editing the Group Policy. There are other methods too but the aforementioned methods work best in completely disabling Windows Defender on Windows 10.

Method 1: Using Registry Editor on Windows 10

If you’ve been using Windows for a long time, you may be familiar with the Windows Registry tool. It’s more or less similar toChromeOS flagsand can be used to disable Windows Defender Antivirus. For this method, make sure you areusing the Administrator accountbefore proceeding. Here’s how to disable it:

Note:

If the method doesn’t work, you may need to try the process again. It usually ends up working in two to three tries.

If you change your mind and want to bring back Windows Defender, all you need to do is delete the “DisableAntiSpyware” registry file and restart your computer. The built-in antivirus will then start functioning normally again.

Method 2: Using Windows 10 Using Group Policy

If the Registry option did not work for you, using Group Policy Editor to disable Windows Defender permanently could work. However, keep in mind Group Policy Editor isonly available on Admin accounts and PCs runningWindows 10 Pro; not Home. Learn how to use Group Policy Editor to disable Microsoft Defender on Windows 10:

These are the two ways you can use to remove Windows Defender Antivirus from your Windows 10 PC. While the Registry method works most of the time, Microsoft is known to reverse these changes after an update. If you face the same issue, we suggest using the Group Policy Editor which controls the behavior of all system applications on Windows 10 Pro.

Abubakar Mohammed

Abubakar covers Tech on Beebom. Hailing from a Computer Science background, the start of his love for Tech dates back to 2011, when he was gifted a Dell Inspiron 5100. When he’s not covering Tech, you’ll find him binge-watching anime and Tech content on YouTube, hunting heads in competitive FPS games, or exploring Teyvat in Genshin Impact. He has previously worked for leading publications such as Fossbytes, How-To Geek, and Android Police.

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