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AAbner's avatar
AAbner
Iron Contributor
Aug 24, 2025

How to completely disable Windows Defender from starting up automatically at boot time

In Windows , the Defender process always starts automatically at boot and runs in the background. How can I completely prevent it from starting automatically?

1 Reply

  • Arthurew's avatar
    Arthurew
    Iron Contributor

    Disabling Windows Defender (Microsoft Defender Antivirus) completely is possible, but be aware that doing so may leave your system unprotected unless you install another antivirus solution. Also, starting with Windows 10 version 2004 and later, Microsoft has tightened restrictions on disabling Defender, especially if you're using Windows in a standard (non-Enterprise) version.

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