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Disable Tamper Protection and any Anti-Malware solution

Settings

Windows gives you an option to turn Microsoft Defender off. But, it’s only temporary. Once it’s been off for a while, or you restart your PC, it’ll come back on. If you just need a temporary solution, this is it.

  1. Access it by going to Start -> Settings -> Privacy & security.
  2. Select Windows Security and scroll until you see Virus & threat protection settings. Click the Manage Settings link. image image image

  3. Toggle the various options to Off.

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Note

Turning everything off is just temporary. This is great if you just need to disable Microsoft Defender for a short while, but doesn’t solve the ultimate goal of turning off Windows Defender permanently.

Tip

Note: if you’re already using another antivirus instead of Microsoft Defender, you may not see these settings at all – which is a fix in itself and will be detailed below.

Local Group Policy

  1. Press Win+R to load the Run box, type gpedit.msc into the box, and press OK.
  2. When the Local Group Policy window loads, select Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates on the right.

  3. Go to Windows Components -> Microsoft Defender (Antivirus). If you don’t see Microsoft Defender, look for Windows Defender (Antivirus). Scroll down until you see the Turn off Microsoft Defender file. For older versions of Windows 10, look for Turn off Windows Defender.

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  4. Double-click it, and click Enabled on the left to turn on the Turn off Microsoft Defender policy, which disables Microsoft Defender. If you later change your mind, select Disabled instead.

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Registry

  1. Open the Run command by pressing Win+R . Type regedit, and click OK.
  2. On the left pane of the Registry Editor, navigate to the following folder: 
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender
  3. Select the Windows Defender folder as shown and right-click on the empty space on the right side of the window, and go to New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value. image Windows will create an untitled DWORD file. Right-click the file, and click Rename, then call it DisableAntiSpyware. Make sure you enter the name perfectly!

  4. Right-click the DisableAntiSpyware file, and click Modify. To enable the policy that disables Microsoft Defender, set the value data to 1, and click OK. This tells the computer that the policy that was just created should be enabled, and Windows will disable Defender for you. If you want to bring Microsoft Defender back, return to this file, and change the value to 0 to disable the policy and allow Defender to work again.

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  5. If anything related to Defender is still running, add the following DWORD values in the following folder locations using the same process as above:

    • DisableRealtimeMonitoring – set the value to 1.
    • DisableRoutinelyTakingAction – set the value to 1.
    • DisableAntiVirus – set the value to 1.
    • DisableSpecialRunningModes – set the value to 1.
    • ServiceKeepAlive – set value to 0.
  6. You may also need to create three new folders under Windows Defender. Right-click the Windows Defender folder, and select New -> Key. Add three new Keys: Signature Updates, Real-Time Protection, and Spynet.

  7. Add the following DWORD values to the corresponding folders:

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    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Signature Updates

    • ForceUpdateFromMU – set value to 0.

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    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Real-Time Protection
    • DisableRealtimeMonitoring – set value to 1.
    • DisableOnAccessProtection – set value to 1.
    • DisableBehaviorMonitoring – set value to 1.

    • DisableScanOnRealtimeEnable – set value to 1.

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    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Spynet

    • DisableBlockAtFirstSeen – set value to 1.

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Reference

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