disable windows defender icon in the notification area

todd24 · 03 Aug 2016

how do i do this?

TairikuOkami · 03 Aug 2016

Windows Defender Notification Area Icon - Hide or Show in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums

todd24 · 03 Aug 2016

i tried option 1 and 2.. they didnt work... regarding option 3.. windows defender doesnt show up in task manager when i click the start tab

TairikuOkami · 04 Aug 2016

Sorry, I do not really use WD, so I just threw it here.

There are various ways how to do it.

You can run this command to kill that icon. Right click Start and open Run or CMD and copy/paste:

taskkill /im MSASCuiL.exe /f

In order to do it all the time, you need to create a script to run at startup or run it yourself:
Other possibility is to remove all users from that exe, that will prevent it from running ever.
But you will have to take ownership of that file beforehand, not sure, if it worth the effort.

todd24 · 05 Aug 2016

i just tried the taskkill /im MSASCuiL.exe /f solution and it works... but the icon comes back again when i restart my computer...

TairikuOkami said:

In order to do it all the time, you need to create a script to run at startup or run it yourself:
Other possibility is to remove all users from that exe, that will prevent it from running ever.
But you will have to take ownership of that file beforehand, not sure, if it worth the effort.

how do i do that?

TairikuOkami · 05 Aug 2016

How to Take Ownership of Any File/Folder in Windows 10/Windows 8.1 - YouTube

Download: TakeOwnershipEx allows you to get full access to files and folders

Go to: C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\MSASCuiL.exe
Take ownership as described in the video by right clicking on the file.
Right click on the exe and open Properties. Select Tab Security - Edit
Remove All Users and Confirm, restart and see, if the icon appears.

todd24 · 09 Aug 2016

thanks sweetheart im going to try it out

todd24 · 09 Aug 2016

it says acces denied when i try to save.. even when i click take ownership

Brink · 09 Aug 2016

todd24 said:

i tried option 1 and 2.. they didnt work... regarding option 3.. windows defender doesnt show up in task manager when i click the start tab

Hello Todd, :)

Be sure that you sign out and sign in to apply for OPTION TWO for it to work.

todd24 · 09 Aug 2016

thanks that works.. i had to use ccleaner though to get rid of windows defender as a start up program... since windows defender wasn't showing up as a start up program in task manager...one question though.. will windows defender still be protecting my pc?