14 DAY TRIAL // Not a long time, it was discovered that Microsoft silently pulled a method to disable Windows Defender antivirus via the Windows Registry.
And while Microsoft originally remained tight-lipped on the change, the company now provides more information on the whole thing.
Microsoft explains that the purpose of DisableAntiSpyware in the Windows registry is to allow IT pros and admins to disable the antivirus engine whenever they want to install a third-party security product in Windows 10.
However, the software giant says it a legacy option that has been left behind and it no longer makes any sense today, as technically, Windows Defender automatically turns off whenever users install another antivirus product on their devices.
Windows Defender antivirus performance
“This setting is not intended for consumer devices, and we’ve decided to remove this registry key. This change is included with Microsoft Defender AntiMalware platform versions 4.18.2007.8 and higher KB 4052623. Enterprise E3 and E5 editions will be released at a future date,” Microsoft explains.
“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 using Microsoft Defender Antivirus. This change does not impact third party antivirus connections to the Windows Security app. Those will still work as expected.”
In the meantime, Windows Defender continues to impress in antivirus tests, as its performance is now on par with what third-party products offer these days.
This means that users can stick with Windows Defender on Windows 10 without having to purchase another solution, as the native protection comes with features like cloud analysis, real-time scanning, and virus definition updates that are shipped to their devices via Windows Update.