If you download software or other executable content from insecure web sites.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nIn the event that your system is genuinely at risk, you should arguably stop reading now and leave real time protection enabled.<\/p>\n
Alternately, if you are the sole user of your computer, have a functional brain and don\u2019t download stuff from sites with a lot of spelling errors and graphics you wouldn\u2019t want the rest of your family to know about, you could shut down real time protection and enjoy a substantial performance improvement for Windows 10.<\/p>\n
\u2026if only Windows would quit turning it back on.<\/p>\n
The Secret Incantation<\/h6>\n
Note:<\/strong> The following discussion involves making changes to the system settings and security applications for your computer. While the likelihood of all this going sideways and negatively impacting Windows\u2026 and your ability to use it\u2026 is remote, the possibility exists. We strongly recommend that you create a restore point and back up your hard drive before you proceed. We will be unable to assist you if any of this doesn\u2019t work. By reading beyond this paragraph you agree that Alchemy Mindworks accepts no responsibility for any loss, damage or expense caused by your use of this page and the information therein, however it occurs. You accept these terms and you indemnify and hold blameless Alchemy Mindworks and all its stockholders, employees and suppliers from any and all monetary costs including attorney’s fees and court costs arising out of your use of this page and any information provided by it.<\/p>\nYou can disable Windows Defender\u2019s real time protection functionality without affecting any of the other functions of Defender\u2026 but the procedure for doing so is less than obvious.<\/p>\n
The following requires access to the Windows Group Policy editor, which is only installed in Windows 10 Professional. If you\u2019re using Windows 10 Home, you\u2019ll need to Google for assistance in installing gpedit.msc or sneak around the problem using the Windows Regedit application, to be discussed in a moment.<\/p>\n
To permanently shut down real time protection:<\/p>\n
\n- Open the Settings panel from the Windows Start menu.<\/li>\n
- Select Update and Security<\/strong> from Settings.<\/li>\n
- Select Windows Security<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Select Virus and Threat Protection<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Under Virus And Threat Protection Settings, select Manage Settings<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Scroll down until you locate the Tamper Protection<\/strong> option and turn it off. This will allow the rest of this procedure to work correctly.<\/li>\n
- Close Settings.<\/li>\n
![\"picture\"\/](\"https:\/\/blog.mindworkshop.com\/image\/windows018.png\")
Open the Windows Start menu and select Run. Enter gpedit.msc<\/strong> in the Run field and click on Ok. The Local Group Policy Editor will open.<\/li>\n- Select Computer Configuration<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Select Administrative Templates<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Select Windows Components<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Select Microsoft Defender Antivirus<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Select Real Time Protection<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Enable Turn Off Real Time Protection<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
You might want to repeat the first seven steps, above, to return to the Virus and Threat Protection Settings panel. Real time protection should be off, with a note in red text that says \u201cthis setting is managed by your administrator.\u201d In this example, your administrator is you.<\/p>\n
Reboot your computer and check that real time protection remains history.<\/p>\n
In the event that you subsequently change your mind about disabling real time protection, you can reverse the foregoing to disable the Turn Off Real Time Protection option in the Local Group Policy Editor window, and re-enable real time protection.<\/p>\n
Using Regedit<\/h6>\n
The Group Policy Editor discussed earlier in this posting updates the Windows system registry \u2013 at least, it does in this case. If you don\u2019t have access to Group Policy Editor \u2013 probably because you\u2019re running Windows 10 Home, which doesn\u2019t include it \u2013 you can make these registry changes by hand using Windows Regedit.<\/p>\n
Before you get started, we recommend that you re-read the warning at the beginning of the previous section. Used carefully, Regedit is a powerful tool to adjust Windows\u2019 innumerable parameters and settings. Used incautiously, it has the capacity to leave your computer a smoldering ruin. A restore point and a hard drive backup are seriously recommended.<\/p>\n
To permanently shut down real time protection using Regedit:<\/p>\n
\n- Open the Settings panel from the Windows Start menu.<\/li>\n
- Select Update and Security<\/strong> from Settings.<\/li>\n
- Select Windows Security<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Select Virus and Threat Protection<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Under Virus And Threat Protection Settings, select Manage Settings<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Scroll down until you locate the Tamper Protection<\/strong> option and turn it off. This will allow the rest of this procedure to work correctly.<\/li>\n
- Close Settings.<\/li>\n
![\"picture\"\/](\"https:\/\/blog.mindworkshop.com\/image\/windows019.png\")
Open the Windows Start menu and select Run. Enter regedit.exe<\/strong> in the Run field and click on Ok. The Registry Editor will open.<\/li>\n- Select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE select \\SOFTWARE\\Policies\\Microsoft\\Windows Defender\\<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
- Unless it already exists, you\u2019ll need to add a new key under Windows Defender called Real-Time Protection<\/strong>. Right-click on Windows Defender and select new from the menu that appears. Select Key. A new key will be created under Windows Defender. Right-click on it and rename it to Real-Time Protection<\/strong>. Check that you\u2019ve named it correctly \u2013 spelling counts.<\/li>\n
- Select Real-Time Protection, right-click in the right-most pane of Regedit and select New. Create a new DWORD value. Right-click on your new value and rename it to DisableRealtimeMonitoring<\/strong>. Right-click on DisableRealtimeMonitoring and modify its value to be 1.<\/li>\n
- Exit Regedit.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
You might want to repeat the first seven steps, above, to return to the Virus and Threat Protection Settings panel. Real time protection should be off, with a note in red text that says \u201cthis setting is managed by your administrator.\u201d In this example, your administrator is you.<\/p>\n
Reboot your computer and check that real time protection remains history.<\/p>\n
In the event that you subsequently change your mind about disabling real time protection, you can reverse the foregoing remove the new value and key you’ve created, and re-enable real time protection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Windows Defender application that installs with Windows 10 is an estimable security application, with a rigorously-maintained database of threats. That it costs nothing to use has a lot to be said for it as well. Like most security software, however, it likes to wander into the insanely-paranoid section of the theater from time to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mindworkshop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mindworkshop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mindworkshop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mindworkshop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mindworkshop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mindworkshop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.mindworkshop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mindworkshop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.mindworkshop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"picture\"\/](\"https:\/\/blog.mindworkshop.com\/image\/windows020.png\")
The Windows Defender application that installs with Windows 10 is an estimable security application, with a rigorously-maintained database of threats. That it costs nothing to use has a lot to be said for it as well. Like most security software, however, it likes to wander into the insanely-paranoid section of the theater from time to time.<\/p>\n