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amueller-tf's avatar
amueller-tf
Brass Contributor
Jul 02, 2021
Solved

Defender Antivirus (AV) Passive Mode

Hi,

 

While researching how to set Defender AV to passive mode I stumbled upon two registry keys:

  • ForceDefenderPassiveMode
    • https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/security/defender-endpoint/microsoft-defender-antivirus-compatibility?view=o365-worldwide#microsoft-defender-antivirus-and-non-microsoft-antivirusantimalware-solutions
    • https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/security/defender-endpoint/microsoft-defender-antivirus-on-windows-server?view=o365-worldwide#set-microsoft-defender-antivirus-to-passive-mode-using-a-registry-key

 

  • ForcePassiveMode
    • https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/security/defender-endpoint/switch-to-microsoft-defender-onboard?view=o365-worldwide#set-microsoft-defender-antivirus-on-windows-server-to-passive-mode-manually
    • https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/security/defender-endpoint/switch-to-microsoft-defender-setup?view=o365-worldwide#set-microsoft-defender-antivirus-to-passive-mode-on-windows-server

 

 

Does either of you know which one is the correct one?

 

Thanks,

Andre

  • amueller-tf's avatar
    amueller-tf
    Jul 23, 2021
    It looks like this has been resolved and all four links above now show that "ForceDefenderPassiveMode" puts Defender AV in passive mode.

3 Replies

  • AxelHellstroem's avatar
    AxelHellstroem
    Copper Contributor
    Good catch! Haven't been utilizing the passive mode yet, but this sure needs some clear statement from MS.
    This article describes it as ForceDefenderPassiveMode: https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/windows-itpro-docs/issues/7929

    However, i don't get my Defender to passive mode with the entry (most likely because of Tamper Protection).
    • amueller-tf's avatar
      amueller-tf
      Brass Contributor
      It looks like this has been resolved and all four links above now show that "ForceDefenderPassiveMode" puts Defender AV in passive mode.

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