Windows Defender, officially called Microsoft Defender Antivirus, runs real-time scans in the background — which can slow down performance or block software you trust.
You can disable it temporarily by turning off Real-time Protection, or permanently via Group Policy, the Registry Editor, or by installing a third-party antivirus.
Quick Answer
Open Windows Security ? Virus & threat protection ? Manage settings, then toggle Real-time protection off. This disables Defender until you re-enable it or reboot.
How to Disable Windows Defender Antivirus
Method 1: Temporarily Disable via Real-Time Protection
Turning off Real-time protection pauses Defender’s active scanning — useful when installing software that Defender incorrectly flags as a threat during the installation process.
Open the Windows Security app from the Start menu, navigate to Virus & threat protection, and click Manage settings under the Virus & threat protection settings section.
Toggle Real-time protection to Off. Defender will stop scanning files in real time — but Windows will re-enable it automatically after a short period or on the next reboot.
Note: Administrative privileges are required to toggle Real-time protection. Windows will prompt for UAC confirmation when you attempt to turn it off.
Method 2: Permanently Disable via Group Policy (Pro and Enterprise)
Group Policy provides a permanent disable option for Defender — but only on Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions. Windows Home does not include Group Policy Editor.
Step 1: First disable Tamper Protection from Windows Security ? Virus & threat protection ? Manage settings by toggling Tamper Protection to Off.
Step 2: Open the Local Group Policy Editor from the Start menu, then navigate to Computer Configuration ? Administrative Templates ? Windows Components ? Microsoft Defender Antivirus.
Open Turn off Microsoft Defender Antivirus, set it to Enabled, click OK, and restart your system for the policy to take effect permanently.
Method 3: Permanently Disable via Registry Editor (Windows Home)
Windows Home users can achieve the same Group Policy result using the Registry Editor — this creates the same policy key that gpedit.msc would write for Pro/Enterprise editions.
Step 1: Disable Tamper Protection first (as shown in Method 2) — without this step, Windows will block all Registry changes to Defender’s configuration settings.
Step 2: Open Registry Editor (Win+R ? type regedit), then navigate to the following path — create the Windows Defender key if it does not already exist.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows DefenderStep 3: Right-click in the right pane ? New ? DWORD (32-bit) Value ? name it DisableAntiSpyware ? double-click it and set the value data to 1.
Restart the system. After rebooting with Tamper Protection off and this registry key set, Windows Defender Antivirus will remain permanently disabled until the key is removed.
Method 4: Replace with a Third-Party Antivirus
Installing any reputable third-party antivirus (Malwarebytes, Kaspersky, Bitdefender, etc.) causes Windows to automatically disable Defender and defer protection to the new tool.
After installing, open Windows Security ? Virus & threat protection and click Manage providers under the “Who’s protecting me?” section to confirm the switch is complete.
Defender re-enables itself automatically if you uninstall the third-party antivirus — Windows always keeps at least one active security provider running on the system.
When to Disable Windows Defender
Disable it temporarily when installing software that triggers false positives — re-enable it immediately after to keep your system protected from real threats.
Disable it permanently only if you have an alternative antivirus that you actively maintain. Never leave a system with no active antivirus protection running at all.
If Defender is consuming too much CPU during scans, consider excluding specific folders from its scan scope rather than disabling the entire product — it’s a safer trade-off.
Related Guides
These Windows security and system administration guides cover other areas you may need when managing protection settings and user privileges on Windows.