How To Disable Windows Defender in Windows 11 Permanently

Overview – Disable Windows Defender

Windows Defender is the built-in Windows Antivirus and Firewall protection responsible for blocking external cyber-attacks including malware, virus, and trojans from accessing, stealing data, and hijacking the system.

It appears that Windows Defender is blocking some apps from installing on your version of Windows, so, that’s why you want to disable Windows Defender in Windows 11.

disable windows defender antivirus and firewall in windows

By the end of this article, you’ll be able to disable Windows Defender in Windows 11:

Using Control Panel

Using Windows Settings

Using Registry Editor

Using Local Group Policy

Reasons To Disable Windows Defender

Reasons why you shouldn’t disable Windows Defender

Method 1: Using Control Panel

Step 1: Open the “Control Panel” from the Start menu.

Control Panel Icon

Step 2: Select the “System and Security” option.

select the "system and security" option in control panel — “System and Security” option

Step 3: Select the “Windows Defender Firewall” option.

Step 4: Select the “Turn off Windows Defender Firewall” option for both the Private and Public Network Settings, and press the “OK” button.

select the "turn off windows defender" option for both public and private networks — Turn Off Windows Defender

Note: If your antivirus and firewall settings are controlled by a third-party external application such as McAfee antivirus, then you’ll see a notification stating the following message:
“These settings are being managed by vendor application“.
In this scenario, disable the antivirus and follow the steps listed above or refer to other methods listed below.

these settings are being managed by vendor application message in windows defender

Method 2: Using Windows Settings

Step 1: Open the “Windows Settings” from the Start menu.

windows setting app in windows 11 — Windows Settings App

Step 2: Select the “Privacy & Security” option from the sidebar and click the “Windows Security” option.

select the "windows security" option from privacy option in the sidebar — “Windows Security” option

Step 3: Click the “Virus & Threat Protection” option under the Protection Areas Section.

select the "virus and threat protection" option — “Virus and Threat Protection” option

Step 4: Click the “Manage Settings” option under the Virus & Threat Protection Settings.

select the "manage settings" option — “Manage Settings” option

Step 5: Toggle off the “Windows Defender Real Time Protection”.

turn off "windows defender real time protection" option — “Windows Defender Real-Time Protection” option

Method 3: Using Registry Editor

Step 1: Type “Registry Editor” or “Regedit” in the start menu and open it.

Registry Editor Icon

Step 2: Navigate to the following path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender

locate to windows defender key in registry — Windows Defender Key in Registry

Step 3: Right-click the “Windows Defender” key and add the “DWORD (32-bit) Value”.

create dword 32-bit value in windows defender key in registry — DWORD 32-bit Value

Step 4: Right-click the newly created DWORD 32-bit Value and rename it as “DisableAntiSpyware“.

rename the value to "DisableAntiSpyware" — Renaming value to DisableAntiSpyware

Step 5: Double-click the Value to modify it, then, set its “value data” from 0 to 1 and press the “OK” button.

set the value data from 0 to 1 — Set Value Data to 0

Step #6: Restart the device to make changes take effect. The Windows Defender will be disabled the next time you boot your computer.

restart device to make changes take effect in windows — Restart the Device

Method 4: Using Group Policy

Step 1: In the Start menu, type Edit Group Policy and hit the enter key. Also, you can open Windows Run and search for “gpedit.msc” to open Local Group Policy.

Group Policy App

Step 2: Navigate to the following path:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Microsoft Defender Antivirus.

navigate to microsoft defender key and select the "turn off microsoft defender antivirus" option — “Turn off Microsoft Defender Antivirus” option

Step 3: Double-click the “Turn off Windows Defender Antivirus” option and select the “Enabled” option and press the apply button.

Step 4: Restart the device to make changes take effect properly.

If you enable this policy setting, Microsoft Defender Antivirus does not run, and will not scan computers for malware or other potentially unwanted software otherwise it will run regardless of any other installed antivirus product.

If you do not configure this policy setting, Windows will internally manage Microsoft Defender Antivirus. If you install another antivirus program, Windows automatically disable Defender.

Reasons why you should disable Windows Defender

1. Improved Windows Performance

The Windows Defender keeps running in the background on a regular basis, thus consuming a high amount of memory. So, stopping the Windows Defender services will free up RAM and enhance the overall performance of Windows.

2. Fix program Installation Problems

Windows Defender sometimes interprets programs as malware due to code conflicts or depreciated file formats, thus ending up blocking its installation on the computer, so, blocking the Windows defender service permanently or temporarily can solve the issue.

Reasons why you shouldn’t disable Windows Defender

1. Reduced Protection

Windows Defender is capable to defend your computer against viruses, trojans, worms, and even ransomware. Your device will be exposed to the vulnerabilities once you disable Windows Defender.

2. No Warnings to inform potential threats

When you visit a spam website, Windows Defender shows a security warning notice informing you that the site is engaged in spammy and phishing activities and is attempting to mislead you into exploring it in order to infect your device with malware.

Does Windows 11 Defender scan automatically?

Yes, Windows scans the device automatically at regular intervals. Without interrupting your workflow, it’ll keep running in the background automatically.

Does Windows Defender affect Internet speed?

Certain connections, apps, and websites are sometimes blocked by Windows Defender, which saves a lot of bandwidth and data but sometimes slows down the internet performance on your device.

Does Windows Defender run all the time?

No, the Windows Defender runs at regular intervals and doesn’t keep scanning the system throughout the day. The rate of scanning by Windows Defender depends on the scheduled time you’ve manually set and suspicious activities occurring on your computer.

Next Steps

We’ve covered how to disable Windows Defender in Windows 11 permanently and temporarily.

Windows Defender is a built-in antivirus and firewall protection responsible for Windows security that prevents malware and viruses from penetrating the computer. It’s suggested not to turn it off unless you have a compelling justification to do so, such as if it consumes a large amount of RAM or if the computer is not performing a proper memory allocation.

Further, customize Windows for better performance and protection by following related articles below.