High CPU Usage by Microsoft Defender (MsMpEng.exe) on Azure Windows Server 2019
Hi everyone, I’ve been seeing consistent CPU spikes from MsMpEng.exe (Antimalware Service Executable) on several Windows Server 2019 Datacenter VMs hosted in Azure. The usage reaches 100% for about 10–15 minutes daily, always around the same time. No manual scans are scheduled, and limiting CPU usage with Set-MpPreference -ScanAvgCPULoadFactor didn’t help. Could this be related to Defender’s cloud protection update cycle, or possibly a backend maintenance task from Defender for Cloud? Is there a recommended way to throttle or schedule these background Defender tasks in production environments? Appreciate any insights, LucaDefender for Endpoint Conflicting with Internal Firewall Authentication
Hi Security Experts, After onboarding a few devices into Defender for Endpoint, I noticed that those machines started having connection drops to the company’s internal firewall. They constantly re-authenticate before regaining web access. Devices not onboarded into Defender don’t experience this issue. Could Defender’s network protection or proxy policies be interfering with the internal firewall authentication flow? Any recommendations on how to keep Defender active while keeping the internal firewall as the primary control point? Thanks for any suggestions, LucaCan’t Remove Defender Tag After Asset Rule Was Deleted
Hi all, I’m facing an issue where a rule-based tag in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint remains visible on devices even after I deleted the original asset rule. The rule was disabled and deleted months ago, but the tag still appears under Rule-based tags in the device details. Even using the API or PowerShell doesn’t show or remove it. Is there any supported way to force a tag refresh or clear orphaned rule-based tags from the Defender portal? Thanks in advance, LucaDefender for Endpoint Firewall Rules Not Applying to Devices
Hello Security Experts, I’m currently deploying Microsoft Defender for Business and trying to enforce firewall configurations directly from the Defender portal. However, I’ve noticed that the settings are not applying to any of the onboarded devices — nothing changes on the endpoints. Do firewall rules in Defender for Endpoint require Intune to be enforced, or should they work standalone? And if Intune isn’t used, what’s the best approach to apply consistent Defender firewall rules across devices? Thanks, LucaAutomating Defender Alerts with CISA KEV and n8n – Has anyone tried similar workflows?
Hi everyone, I’ve been experimenting with n8n automation to improve vulnerability management. I created a workflow that cross-references Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vulnerabilities with the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, and then automatically creates Jira tickets for remediation. The flow takes about 16 seconds to run and prioritizes only the CVEs that are both present in the environment and listed in KEV. Has anyone here built similar automation (maybe with Logic Apps, Power Automate, or Sentinel playbooks)? Would love to hear how others handle vulnerability prioritization or ticket creation!
EDR logs explanation
Hello, would it be possible for an expert from this forum to analyze the EDR logs? Could you also explain to me in detail what happened? Furthermore, can you tell me if it is clearly established that the deleted files were deleted by someone physically present on the machine, or if there are other possible explanations? Thanks in advance.Microsoft Defender for Cloud App and Managed identities
I would like to check if we can use Microsoft Managed Identities to enable App connectors connection in Microsoft Defender for Cloud App? If No, looking forward for the best practices for the service/integration accounts to be used in these integrations.
My laptop has been blocked by BitLocker.
However, there is no BitLocker recovery keys on my Microsoft account. I have tried to call Microsoft support, but I only get bot messages that take me to sites that asks me to go and check my Microsoft account. Is there any way I can chat with a human that can actually help me how to get around this BitLocker? thanks
Unwanted Linked device
Hi 2 devices have access to my Microsoft account, sometimes when I log into my device it welcomes me as the other person vice versa. When we try creating a new alias on the other device it does not allow us (I don't even know what an alias is, all I know is it's in my name on another person's device) Sometimes I find the other device linked to mine, I keep removing the device however it keeps linking itself. Please help me because it turns out the other device has access to my cloud documents, regardless of whether I've logged in or not. I have to get this fixed within next 2 weeks otherwise I'm done for.
