How to Turn On or Off Microsoft Defender Antivirus in Windows 10  

MS has updated the info, this change affects only versions without Tamper Protection, so it should still work.

Note that this setting is protected by tamper protection. Tamper protection is available in all Home and Pro editions of Windows 10 version 1903 and higher and is enabled by default. The impact of the DisableAntiSpyware removal is limited to Windows 10 versions prior to 1903

fortree said:

Can't you just boot from Linux and remove the .exe?

Tampering with Windows files expected to run at startup can result in Critical Process Died BSOD.

Microsoft Defender Antivirus tamper protection is turned on by default for all consumer Windows 10 devices. This feature protects devices from cyber attacks that try to disable built-security solutions, such as antivirus protection, in an attempt to gain access to your data, to install malware, or to otherwise exploit your data, identity, and devices. As Microsoft Defender antivirus automatically turns itself off when it detects another antivirus program, we are removing a legacy registry setting called DisableAntiSpyware. Intended to be used by OEMs and IT admins to disable Microsoft Defender Antivirus for the purpose of deploying another antivirus product during deployment, DisableAntiSpyware is not applicable to consumer devices and will be removed beginning with Microsoft Defender Antimalware platform versions 4.18.2007.8 and higher (see KB4052623 for details). This update will be rolled out to devices running Windows Enterprise E3 and E5 at a future date.

Source: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/win...age-center#465

blueskyler said:

hi
Does the tips to disable defender permantly on win 2004 with gpedit are still working ?

Hello,

They still work in 2004, but require step 1 first.