IS Windows Defender on or not?

Phrixos · 15 Dec 2022

Hello.

In Windows 10/ Settings, Windows Defender is shown as on. And yet, every so often a warning box shows up in the lower right corner saying Windows Defender is turned off. So I go into settings to check (again!)—and there is Windows Defender indicated as turned on. How do I know which is which?

RickC · 15 Dec 2022

You can easily get the status of Windows Defender components using PowerShell:

1. Right-click on the Start button and choose Windows PowerShell (Admin).
2. When the PowerShell console opens type (or copy/paste) the following then press RETURN/ENTER:

Code:

Get-MpComputerStatus

This should return a fairly lengthy list of the Windows Defender components showing their status, i.e. whether each component is 'Enabled'. For example, you should see AntivirusEnabled : True and RealTimeProtectionEnabled : True in the list.

Note that this won't work if you have a third-party anti-malware product installed.

Hope this helps...

Try3 · 15 Dec 2022

Phrixos said:

... every so often a warning box shows up in the lower right corner saying Windows Defender is turned off. ...

The next time one of these boxes appears, take a screenshot and post it here.

Assuming you have not deliberately turned off WD, it's probably a spoof created by a compromised webpage that wants you to click on it [to download malware].

Denis