Windows 10 comes with primary antivirus known as Windows Defender. Windows Defender is the successor of Microsoft Security Essentials. However, with Windows 10 V1703 (Creators Update), Microsoft bundled this antivirus into Windows Defender Security Center app. The Windows team has added additional settings to the app, there were not available in the earlier present Desktop app.

Microsoft is improving the Windows Defender Security Center app version by version. In the next version, i.e. V1709, Microsoft allowed the app to show information from third-party security suites. Also this new app is capable of delivering ransomware protection along with a safe authentication for Windows Hello. The app manages things automatically when you first time start your Windows 10 V1703+ system. You don’t need to be security expert to configure the app.

How To Disable Windows Defender Security Center In Windows 10

There might be instances when you may need to disable this app. If this is your requirement, then this article will show you how to disable Windows Defender Security Center app in Windows 10.

How To Disable Windows Defender Security Center In Windows 10

Registry Disclaimer: The further steps will involve registry manipulation. Making mistakes while manipulating registry could affect your system adversely. So be careful while editing registry entries and create a System Restore point first.

1. Press W8K + R and put regedit in Run dialog box to open Registry Editor (if you’re not familiar with Registry Editor, then click here). Click OK.

Windows 10 Registry Editor

2. In left pane of Registry Editor window, navigate to following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SecurityHealthService

How To Disable Windows Defender Security Center In Windows 10

3. In the right pane of SecurityHealthService registry key, look for the registry DWORD (REG_SZ) named Start. It must be having its Data set to 2. Double click on this DWORD to modify its Value data:

How To Disable Windows Defender Security Center In Windows 10

4. Finally, set the Value data as 4 and click OK. Close the Registry Editor and reboot the machine to make changes effective.

To re-enable the app later, simply restore 2 as Value data for Start registry DWORD we configured in step 4 above.

That’s it!

4 Comments

Add your comment

  • Shlomo Keramer

    Thanks, you made things clear and simple. I wonder why windows did not adopt the simple way to answer questions.

  • Kapil Arya

    ^^ Glad to help 😊

  • Peter Luo

    It works, Thanks!

  • Kapil Arya

    ^^ Welcome 😊

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