Disable Windows Defender Service in Windows Server 2008 or Vista
Apr 21st, 2008 by MrGroove
So…. I’ve already written 2 articles about how-to disable Windows Defender however, a user here recently posted a comment that they were still having problems. So….. Here is yet 1 MORE way to get rid of that Pesky Windows Defender app. from your system running Windows Vista or the latest Microsoft release, Windows Server 2008 (yup… it comes installed and enabled by default).
1: Click Start Button and Type Services. Click Services once it appears:
2: Scroll Down and Right Click on Windows Defender then Click Properties
3: Click Down Arrow under Startup type: and Click Disabled. Click OK a few times to apply changes.
Groovy! Your done! The next time you reboot your machine, there is NO WAY Windows Defender will start. Looking back, this is probably what I should have recommended in previous articles but….. oh well.
Any questions or comments, let me know here or in the forum!
btw…. Earlier I wrote a few articles on this same subject. Take a look if interested:
Tags: disable, windows defender, security, windows server 2008, spyware, windows vista
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well, is there a possibility to completely remove it and reinstall the thing????
@Buddha - First, Welcome to the Site!
In regards to your question, unfortunatly there is no way to uninstall Windows Defender. With Windows Vista and Server 2008, it’s built into the OS like Internet Explorer. That being said, are you trying to reinstall it? Looks like you might be from your question….?
I think what we are all trying to fix with Windows Defender for Vista is we keep getting a message that the “Application failed to initialize: 0×800106a” and we are trying to restore Defender. Thanks James
Finaly!… i manage to disable windows defender.
Funny, I tried disabling defender in xp this very way and it didn’t work. Craziest thing I’ve ever seen. It started even when disabled in services! Eventually I was able to keep msmpeng.exe from running by going under tools options. Doing this completely disables defender though so that you have to turn it back on to do a scan. You also have to turn it back off once your done scanning unless you want msmpeng.exe running. I wish ms would add an option to defender to keep it from running in the background all the time and using up resources. Manual scans are all I need.
[...] UPDATE - Since I wrote this article, I’ve written YET ANOTHER another article on the subject which works for both Vista and Windows Server 2008. I find it’s a little simpler as well. Take a look at it here: Disable Windows Defender Service. [...]
I’ve got a question hopefully someone can answer. I purchased Windows OneCare and unfortunately, it wont install. it gives me the error code 0020-80070643, which according to the internet, is that Windows Defender is on the computer and wont complete unless Defender is gone. I’ve tried totally disabling it, and yet the installation of OneCare still wont complete. And to inform ya, i’m using Vista. Will anyone help me please?
great read however, if you disable the service you also need to remove it from startup. so if you do this, be sure to follow the article here - http://www.groovypost.com/howto/microsoft/vista/remove-windows-defender-from-vista-system-startup/
I had already used this procedure, the problem is now every time the computer is turned on an error window pops up stating that something has caused Windows Defender to stop working. I was looking for a way to get rid of this “pest ware” rather than disable it.
@Gary - As mentioned by pc4life, if you disable the service you should also remove it from startup IE MSConfig - http://www.groovypost.com/howto/microsoft/vista/remove-windows-defender-from-vista-system-startup/