Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (MDE) Live Response and Performance Script.
Importance of MDE Live Response and Scripts Live Response is crucial for incident response and forensic investigations. It enables analysts to: Collect evidence remotely. Run diagnostics without interrupting users. Remediate threats in real time. For more information on MDE Live Response visit the below documentation. Investigate entities on devices using live response in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint - Microsoft Defender for Endpoint | Microsoft Learn PowerShell scripts enhance this capability by automating tasks such as: Performance monitoring. Log collection. Configuration validation. This automation improves efficiency, consistency, and accuracy in security operations. For more details on running performance analyzer visit the below link. Performance analyzer for Microsoft Defender Antivirus - Microsoft Defender for Endpoint | Microsoft Learn While performance analyzer is run locally on the system to collect Microsoft Defender Anti-Virus performance details , in this document we are describing on running the performance analyzer from MDE Live Response console. This is a situation where Security administrators do not have access to the servers managed by Infra administrators. Prerequisites Required Roles and Permissions To use Live Response in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (MDE), specific roles and permissions are necessary. The Security Administrator role, or an equivalent custom role, is typically required to enable Live Response within the portal. Users must possess the “Manage Portal Settings” permission to activate Live Response features. Permissions Needed for Live Response Actions Active Remediation Actions under Security Operations: Take response actions Approve or dismiss pending remediation actions Manage allowed/blocked lists for automation and indicators Unified Role-Based Access Control (URBAC): From 16/02/2025, new customers must use URBAC. Roles are assigned to Microsoft Entra groups. Access must be assigned to device groups for Live Response to function properly. Setup Requirements Enable Live Response: Navigate to Advanced Features in the Defender portal. Only users with the “Manage Portal Settings” permission can enable this feature. Supported Operating System Versions: Windows 10/11 (Version 1909 or later) Windows Server (2012 R2 with KB5005292, 2016 with KB5005292, 2019, 2022, 2025) macOS and Linux (specific minimum versions apply) Actual Script Details and Usage The following PowerShell script records Microsoft Defender performance for 60 seconds and saves the output to a temporary file: # Get the default temp folder for the current user $tempPath = [System.IO.Path]::GetTempPath() $outputFile = Join-Path -Path $tempPath -ChildPath "DefenderTrace.etl" $durationSeconds = 60 try { Write-Host "Starting Microsoft Defender performance recording for $durationSeconds seconds..." Write-Host "Recording will be saved to: $outputFile" # Start performance recording with duration New-MpPerformanceRecording -RecordTo $outputFile -Seconds $durationSeconds Write-Host "Recording completed. Output saved to $outputFile" } catch { Write-Host "Failed to start or complete performance recording: $_" } 🔧 Usage Notes: Run this script in an elevated PowerShell session. Ensure Defender is active, and the system supports performance recording. The output .etl file can be analyzed using performance tools like Windows Performance Analyzer. Steps to Initiate Live Response Session and Run the script. Below are the steps to initiate a Live Response session from Security.Microsoft.com portal. Below screenshot shows that console session is established. Then upload the script file to console library from your local system. Type “Library” to list the files. You can see that script got uploaded to Library. Now you execute the script by “run <file name>” command. Output of the script gets saved in the Library. Run “getfile <path of the file>” to get the file downloaded to your local system download folder. Then you can run Get-MpPerformanceReport command from your local system PowerShell as shown below to generate the report from the output file collected in above steps. Summary and Benefits This document outlines the use of MDE Live Response and PowerShell scripting for performance diagnostics. The provided script helps security teams monitor Defender performance efficiently. Similar scripts can be executed from Live Response console including signature updates , start/stop services etc. These scripts are required as a part of security investigation or MDE performance troubleshooting process. Benefits: Faster incident response through remote diagnostics. Improved visibility into endpoint behaviour. Automation of routine performance checks. Enhanced forensic capabilities with minimal user disruption.
Tamper Protection Not turing on on newly deployed devices
I have no issue with device deployed before. Now new devices with Windows 11 22H2 Build 22621.525 are having this issue. Tamper Protection is enabled in Defender 365 Portal for all Endpoints. Intune configuration policy: Windows Security Experience. TamperProtection (Device) On Fails with error type 2 Error code 65000. Checking Event logs. MDM ConfigurationManager: Command failure status. Configuration Source ID: (C127515F-5427-49C7-B6AE-4275FB1AE464), Enrollment Name: (MDMDeviceWithAAD), Provider Name: (Defender), Command Type: (Add: from Replace or Add), CSP URI: (./Vendor/MSFT/Defender/Configuration/TamperProtection), Result: (The system cannot find the file specified.). I only have this issue on newly deployed devices
Firewall Off despite policy being enabled
In Firewall and network protection, It says Firewall is off for all Network types. However it should be on. Is this normal/expected? However, In Sec. providers, Firewall is enabled. ========== In PS, Firewall appears to be enabled too. C:\Windows\System32>netsh advfirewall Show allprofiles Domain Profile Settings: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- State ON Firewall Policy BlockInbound,AllowOutbound LocalFirewallRules N/A (GPO-store only) LocalConSecRules N/A (GPO-store only) InboundUserNotification Enable RemoteManagement Disable UnicastResponseToMulticast Enable Logging: LogAllowedConnections Disable LogDroppedConnections Disable FileName %systemroot%\system32\LogFiles\Firewall\pfirewall.log MaxFileSize 4096 Private Profile Settings: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- State ON Firewall Policy BlockInbound,AllowOutbound LocalFirewallRules N/A (GPO-store only) LocalConSecRules N/A (GPO-store only) InboundUserNotification Enable RemoteManagement Disable UnicastResponseToMulticast Enable Logging: LogAllowedConnections Disable LogDroppedConnections Disable FileName %systemroot%\system32\LogFiles\Firewall\pfirewall.log MaxFileSize 4096 Public Profile Settings: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- State ON Firewall Policy BlockInbound,AllowOutbound LocalFirewallRules N/A (GPO-store only) LocalConSecRules N/A (GPO-store only) InboundUserNotification Enable RemoteManagement Disable UnicastResponseToMulticast Enable Logging: LogAllowedConnections Disable LogDroppedConnections Disable FileName %systemroot%\system32\LogFiles\Firewall\pfirewall.log MaxFileSize 4096 Ok. =========== In the Intune Firewall Policy the three options are enabled:Defender AV - Active/Passive Mode - Advanced Hunting
While researching how to verify if Defender AV is in active or passive mode I found an Advanced Hunting query that searches "DeviceTvmSecureConfigurationAssessment" and then filters "ConfigurationId" by "scid-2010" as the "Context" column contains the status of Defender AV. So far, I discovered that: "0" = Defender AV is active, "1" = Defender AV is passive, "4" = Defender AV is in "EDR Block Mode" I am not sure what "Unknown" in the "Context" column means though. Does it mean that Defender AV is not installed, or that it was manually disabled (via registry keys, GPO, ...) or that it running but not reporting?Prohibit standard users from adding exclusions to Windows Defender (Windows Security)
Hello there, How can I prohibit standard users from adding exclusions in Windows Defender? I would like to only control the Defender-exclusions from a central point and the standard users should not be able to add exclusions themselves. I've searched through GPO's and settings in Intune but can't seem to find the correct setting. Does anyone know if this is possible? If it is, where is the setting then? Windows 10 Enterprise, 1903 and 2004. Devices are Hybrid Azure AD Joined
Scheduled Scans with Defender AV with ATP
Good afternoon. I'm working on migrating our company over to Microsoft Defender AV with Defender ATP as ATP is included in our E5 license. Is there any guidance regarding running scheduled AV scans with Defender Antivirus when making use of Defender ATP? Is there any need to run scheduled scans with Defender Antivirus or does Defender ATP cover that aspect? I have been looking online and reading through some other post but have not found anything definite regarding is scheduled quick or full scans with Defender Antivirus are recommend to supplement the protection provided by ATP so any assistance with this would be appreciated. Thank you.
