Yes, you can disable Windows Defender in Windows 10. Windows Defender is a built-in antivirus software that comes standard with the Windows 10 operating system. It helps protect your computer from malware and other threats, but some users may prefer to use a third-party antivirus program instead. Fortunately, it’s easy to disable Windows Defender in Windows 10.
Disable Windows Defender Using Settings
The quickest and easiest way to disable Windows Defender on Windows 10 is through the Settings app.
To do this, open the “Settings” app by clicking the “Start” button or pressing Windows+I on your keyboard. Inside the Settings app, find the “Update & Security” category and click it.
Next, look on the left side of the window and click the “Windows Security” option.
On the right side of the window, click the “Open Windows Defender Security Center” button.
Once the Windows Defender Security Center window opens, click the “Virus & threat protection” option. Inside the Virus & threat protection window, you’ll see a “Virus & threat protection settings” section with a toggle switch to enable or disable Windows Defender. Turn the toggle switch to the “Off” position.
Disable Windows Defender Using Group Policy
Another way to disable Windows Defender in Windows 10 is using the Local Group Policy Editor. To do this, open the Start menu and search for “gpedit.msc”. Open the “Local Group Policy Editor” window.
Next, expand the list on the left side of the window and navigate to the following location:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Defender Antivirus
Inside this folder, you’ll find an option called “Turn off Windows Defender Antivirus”. Double-click it and select the “Enabled” radio button. Click the “OK” button to save your changes.
Disable Windows Defender Using Registry Editor
If you’re comfortable editing the registry, you can also disable Windows Defender in Windows 10 by editing the registry. To do this, open the Start menu and search for “regedit”. Open the “Registry Editor” window.
In the Registry Editor window, expand the list on the left and navigate to the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender
Inside this folder, find an option called “DisableAntiSpyware”. Double-click it and set its value to 1. You can also create this option if it doesn’t exist by right-clicking the folder, selecting “New”, and then selecting “DWORD (32-bit) Value”. Name it “DisableAntiSpyware” and set its value to 1.
When you’ve done this, close the Registry Editor window and restart your computer. Windows Defender will now be disabled.
You can always re-enable Windows Defender at any time by repeating the steps above but setting the “DisableAntiSpyware” value to 0 or by changing the toggle switch inside the Windows Defender Security Center to “On”.