In order to use antivirus protection other than Microsoft Defender under Windows 10 and 11, you must first switch it off. We’ll show you how to turn it off.
- So you disable the Defender temporarily
Turn off Microsoft Defender completely
More handles in Microsoft Defender
Microsoft Defender, which is available to everyone free of charge, is one of the most important protection mechanisms against viruses in Windows 10 and 11. This is one of the reasons why you should always leave it activated. Actually, because there are cases in which deactivation makes sense.
Certain programs, especially those with online access, do not work properly with Microsoft Defender active. Due to the computing power required by the virus protection, it makes sense to switch it off temporarily if you are using other programs at the same time that place a heavy load on your computer’s hardware.
In general, we recommend that you only temporarily disable Microsoft Defender in such cases. If you want to turn it off for a long time, you should definitely install another antivirus program on your computer. Otherwise, your computer is vulnerable to virus attacks, since the periodic scan runs are missing and the Windows firewall no longer protects you.
Turn off Microsoft Defender completely
In the past, you could permanently switch off Microsoft Defender (at that time still Windows Defender) by interfering with the registry of your PC. This has not been possible for some time. Microsoft has removed the function, probably to make it more difficult for hackers to disable the virus protection from outside.
antivirus software
Antivirus software protects computer users from threats in the form of Trojans, malware, etc. Depending on the range of functions, it is freeware or offers that require the purchase of an annual license.
Although there are some programs on the Internet that promise you that you can use them to permanently disable Defender, we advise against most of these solutions. Many of them can be found on dubious websites and could possibly load your computer with malware.
The situation is different with tools for uninstalling antivirus software, which you can download from Netzwelt. Since we regularly check these programs in our archive for malware, you can use them safely. If programs install adware on your computer during setup, we will inform you about this in the corresponding article on the software.
More handles in Microsoft Defender
Microsoft Defender is among the best free antivirus programs that Windows users can use. The software even offers additional malware protection. So that you can also get along with the settings of the tool, we have put together some instructions for you on Netzwelt.
In order to be protected with regard to your data and privacy, we recommend installing a VPN on your PC in addition to the antivirus software, which anonymizes your location and conceals your IP address. An alternative are complete security solutions, which usually provide you with additional security tools.
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