How to Turn OFF & ON Windows Defender in Windows 10, 7, and 8.1?

Are you struggling to turn off Windows Defender? This is an excellent blog to learn how to turn off Windows Defender 10, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1. And if you are also in the need of methods to turn on the Windows Defender on your computer, then this blog will be highly recommended. For every method to turn off and on the Windows Defender, you will also find the step-by-step instructions in this post.

How to turn off Windows Defender on Your Windows 7 Computer?

In the section to come, we have introduced a method for turning off the Windows Defender on your Windows 7 system. In this method, you will be required to visit the Tools and then create certain changes. Get more information about this procedure below.

Method 1: How to turn off Windows Defender on Windows 7?

To turn off Windows Defender Windows 7, our tech experts have found out a simple method. In this method, we will be using the Tools option on the Windows 7 computer. By making certain changes to this option, you will be able to turn off the Windows Defender in no time. 

1. Go to the “Control Panel”. 

2. Look for the option which corresponds to “Windows Defender”. Once you see the option, click on it twice.

3. Click on “Tools”. And then click on “Options”.

4. In the left pane, you would see the option of “Administrator”. Click on this option.

5. Uncheck the box which reads “Use this program”.

6. The previous step will bring up the window with “Windows Defender” information. First, click on “Save” and thereafter, choose the option which reads “Close”.

7. Close all the open Windows on your computer and restart the computer system.

8. As soon as your Windows 7 computer system restarts, you will see that the software has been turned off.

How Do I Turn on Windows Defender App on Windows 7?

At times, Windows Defender won’t turn on when you are using a Windows 7 computer. There can be several reasons for this. You can always try the Control Panel method for turning it on. This method has worked effectively for many users of Windows 7 computers. Check out the exact steps of this method in the upcoming section.  

Method 1: How Do I Turn on My Windows Defender on Windows 7 via Control Panel?

Let us now learn how to turn on Windows Defender Windows 7 from the Control Panel. Take a look at the 5 steps shown below for using this method.  

1. Go to the “Control Panel” on your computer.

2. Look for “Windows Defender” and double tap on it.

3. The information window of “Windows Defender” will show you whether it is on or off. Click on the options to turn it back on again.

4. Next, either click on the red cross at the top right-hand side of each of the Windows that are open on the screen, or press “Alt” and “F4” keys together to cancel out all the open Windows.

5. Now, restart your computer. As soon as you restart your computer, you will find that the Windows Defender antivirus software is running normally on your computer.

How to Turn off Windows Defender 8?

Just like the other versions of Windows, the Group Policy Editor can be used for disabling the Windows Defender on Windows 8 computers too. So, in the next section, we will show you how to turn off Windows Defender smartscreen through the Group Policy editor. 

Method 1: How Do I Turn off Windows Defender on Windows 8 via Group Policy Editor?

For using the Group Policy Editor to turn off the Windows Defender on Windows 8.1, the following set of steps will be very handy. Take a quick look at it.

1. On your Windows 8 PC, open the “Group Policy Editor”.

2. Now, go to the “Computer Configuration”.

3. Then click on the “Administrative Templates”.

4. Tap on “Windows Components”.

5. Access the “Windows Defender” folder.

6. Go to the setting for “Turn off Windows Defender” in the folder.

7. Tap on “Enabled”. 

8. Then click on “Ok”. You will find that Windows Defender is turned off by Group Policy Windows 8.

How to turn on Windows Defender on Windows 8?

The Windows Defender can be simply turned off by accessing the settings of the app on your Windows 8 computer. To know more information about this method and to learn the steps of it, you can continue reading the section given below. 

Method 1: How to turn on Windows Defender on Windows 8 via Settings?

The following procedure will help you turn on the Windows Defender on your computer. In this procedure, you will be opening the settings of the app and then select the option to turn it on.

1. Click on “Start”.

2. Search for “Windows Defender” and launch it.

3. When the “Windows Defender” window shows up, go to “Settings”.

4. Check that “Real-time protection” has been chosen.

5. Select “Turn on real-time protection (recommended).

6. Tap “Save changes” and that is all. 

How to Turn off Windows Defender 8.1?

The most commonly used method for turning off the Windows Defender in Windows 8.1 is through the settings of the app. This is the only method you require for turning it off within a few seconds. Below we have explained this method in an elaborated manner. 

How Do I Turn off Windows Defender Windows 8.1 via Settings?

Turning off the Windows Defender on your computer with Windows 8.1 is very smooth. All you have to do is access the settings of the app and select the option to turn off Windows Defender. To execute the steps in the right way, read below.

1. On your Windows 8.1 computer, click on “Start”.

2. Search for “Windows Defender” and click on it.

3. Go to the “Settings” tab in the “Windows Defender”.

4. Click on “Administrator” on the left.

5. On the right, you will see the checkbox selected for “Turn on this app”. Uncheck it and the Windows Defender will get disabled.

How to turn on Windows Defender Windows 8.1?

Unlike Windows 10 or Windows 7, the process to enable Windows Defender on Windows 8 and 8.1 is a little tricky. This is due to the complexity involved in the operation of this operating system. Given the fact that both the looks as well as functionalities of these operating systems differ from the previous version, Windows 7, users prefer to use these operating systems for personal uses rather than using them in offices.

There are three methods to enable Windows Defender on your Windows 8.1 computer. If you are looking for ways to activate Windows Defender on your computer with Windows 8.1, then follow the methods given below.

Method 1: How to Turn on Windows Defender in Windows 8.1 via Action Center?

To turn on Defender in Windows 8.1, you can open the Action Center and enable it. This method can be performed in only 3 steps. You can read these steps below.

1. Proceed to “Control Panel” and type “Action Center” in the “Search Box” which appears on the screen.

2. On completing the previous step, you will see the “Action Center” screen. Click on it.

3. Thereafter, press the “Turn on now” option on the screen which ensues.

Method 2: How to Turn Windows Defender Back on Windows 8.1 via Group Policy Editor?

This method to turn on Windows Defender Windows 8.1 requires the use of the Group Policy Editor. And the best thing about this procedure is that you can complete it in just 3 steps. These steps have been mentioned as follows.

1. Bring the Local Group Policy Editor on the screen by using the procedure suggested in the aforementioned steps.

2. Now, look for the option which relates to disabling the Windows Defender software.

3. Next, choose the option which reads “Disabled or Not Configured”, followed by “OK”.

Method 3: How to Turn on Windows Defender Windows 8.1 via Windows Defender Service?

What should you do if you can’t turn on Windows Defender Windows 8.1 easily? We will suggest you use the Windows Defender Service. Here, we have explained how to use this service in only 4 steps.

1. Bring up the search button by either hitting the “Windows” key on the keyboard or by pushing the “Start” button.

2. Type “Services” in the “Search Box” and then select “Settings” among the options that come up on the screen. This will show you the list of available services on the screen.

3. Double-click on the option which reads “Windows Defender Service” using the left mouse button of your mouse.

4. When the “Properties” window of the service shows up on the screen, select the “Automatic” option from the drop-down menu to make sure that it is automatically enabled whenever you turn on your machine.

How to Turn off Windows Defender in Windows 10?

If you wish to learn how to turn Windows Defender back on Windows 10, then we have 3 great methods to help you with that. If you are using Windows 10 on your personal computer, you can disable Windows Defender malware protection software on it in three different ways, depending on the version of Windows 10 you are using. These include the Group Policy method, Windows Registry method, and the Task Scheduler method. 

To find the details of these 3 methods, you will have to read the following sections.

Method 1: How Do I Turn off Windows Defender in Windows 10 via Group Policy?

First, we will learn how to turn off Windows Defender smartscreen on your Windows 10 computer system with the help of the Group Policy. In the Group Policy method for turning off the Windows Defender, you will have to enable this policy and save the changes. To perform this method correctly, you can read the 10 steps given below. 

1. Open the “Start Menu” on your Windows 10 computer.

2. Enter “gpedit.msc” and then hit the “Enter” key.

3. You will see a “UAC prompt” now. Select the “Confirm” option to proceed.

4. Go to “Local Computer Policy”.

5. Click on “Computer Configuration”.

6. The next step is to go to “Administrative Templates”.

7. Then click on “Windows Components”.

8. Next, tap on “Windows Defender”.

9. You will see the option to turn off Windows Defender software. Click on the policy twice.

10. Enable the policy that comes up. Then click on “Ok” to save the new configuration.

Method 2: How to Turn Windows Defender off Windows 10 via Windows Registry?

The users of Windows 10 often look for “How can I turn off Windows Defender through the Windows Registry”? The procedure to do so is not difficult at all. Here, we have defined the 6 steps to turn it off quickly through the Windows Registry. 

1.Go to the “Start Menu” on your computer.

2. Enter “regedit.exe” and then hit the “Enter” key.

3. You will see a “UAC prompt” now. Tap “Confirm” to proceed to the subsequent steps.

4. Now, go to the key “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender”.

5. The following screen will show a prompt to deactivate “AntiSpyware”. Click on it twice and choose its value as “1” to make sure that the Windows Defender antimalware program is turned off.

6. In case you do not see the preference, then right-click on the program and tap “New” followed by “Dword (32 bit)”. Name it as “DisableAntiSpyware”.

Note: If you ever feel the need to activate the software once again, then all you need to do is remove the key and choose its value as “0”. And the software will get activated easily. 

Method 3: How Do I Turn off My Windows Defender on Windows 10 via Task Scheduler?

Here we are with another guaranteed Windows Defender antivirus turn off procedure. In this procedure, we will show you how to use the Task Scheduler for this purpose. You only need to do 10 steps for administering this method. 

1. Open the “Start Menu” by tapping on the key with the icon of Windows.

2. Type in “taskschd.msc” and then hit the “Enter” key.

3. You will see a “UAC prompt” now. Click on “Confirm” to continue.

4. The fourth step is to click on “Library”.

5. Then tap “Microsoft”.

6. The next step is to click on “Windows”.

7. Head on to “Windows Defender”.

8. The above step will display the option of “Windows Defender Scheduled Scan”. Click on this option twice using the left mouse button.

9. Next, navigate to the tab with the conditions that follow.

10. Choose the option which corresponds to the selection of the task if the computer is ideal for a certain duration of time. Set a larger duration of time to make sure that the software does not cause any performance issue for much time.

How to Turn on Windows Defender in Windows 10?

Many of you may be thinking “How do I turn on Windows Defender in the easiest way”? We have one of the best methods to help you out with this. In this method, we will be using the tools and make some changes. More information about this method has been shared in the next section. 

Method 1: How to Turn on Windows Defender on Windows 10 via Tools?

Have you disabled Windows Defender computer protection software on your machine? Are you now looking for ways to turn it back on once again? If yes, then follow the step-by-step procedure given below. This is the easiest procedure for those of you who can’t turn on Windows Defender Windows 10 with ease.

1. Click on the “Start” button or press the “Windows” key.

2. Type in “Windows Defender” in the “Search Box” which comes up on the screen.

3. Choose the option that says “Tools”, followed by “Options”.

4. Now, choose the option of “Administrator” using the left mouse button. Check the box for “Use this program”. 

5. Next, click on “Save” to save the new change made by you. Now you will be able to turn on Windows Defender app on your Windows 10 computer. 

Coming to an End

This post helped you turn on and off the Windows Defender app on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10. For every method mentioned in this post, we have provided clear steps. We hope you find these steps simple to carry out the procedure correctly. Keep reading our posts to become an expert at solving all the tech problems with your Windows computers.

Our post on how to stop Windows 10 update and the most convenient Windows 10 disable automatic restart procedures are the top reads of this week. Do take a look at these reads as well!

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