Defeat Windows Defender On Win11pro 23h2

I am at my wit's end. I have tried everything I can find online. Nothing will get Windows Defender to go away. I remember when buying a computer meant you owned itand could decide what did or did not run on it. Those days are so incredibly frustratingly over and I can't stand it. Tried making group policy editstried stopping services and ending taskstried disabling real time protectiontried registry edits. Nothing works. Nothing. I hate this operating system so much I could scream.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

 

If you are removing Windows Defenderwhat are you replacing it by? Some suggestsions are listed here under Anti-Virus protection here: MajorGeeks Top Freeware Picks - MajorGeeks

Here are some MG resources that may help you:
1. How to Turn Microsoft Defender Firewall on or Off in Windows 10 & 11 - MajorGeeks
2. 4 Ways to Turn On or Off Windows Defender Real-time Protection - MajorGeeks
3. Disable Windows Defender Temporarily on Windows 10 - MajorGeeks

Here are some external resources that provide step-by-step instructions on disabling Windows Defender on Windows 11 Pro (23H2):
1. How to Turn Off Windows Defender in Windows 11: A Step-by-Step Guide - Solve Your Tech
2. How to Permanently Disable Microsoft Defender on Windows 11

Additionallyhere are some YouTube videos that may help:
1. Windows 11 disable Microsoft Defender Antivirus permanently - YouTube
2. How to Disable or Enable Windows Defender on Windows 11 - YouTube
3. Turn Off or Disable Windows Defender in Windows 11/10 (2023) - YouTube

 

Thanks for your prompt reply. I should have mentioned that I have already attempted registry editsgroup policy editsdisabling real time protectionthe reassigning of ownership on relevant foldersand at least one or two other methodsand none of them have worked. MsMpEng.exe continues to automatically run upon startupand my sort of McGyvered "Administrator" account lacks the requisite permissions even just to kill the processmuch less prevent it from running at all. When I enter:

"Get-MpComputerStatus | select AMRunningMode"

into PowerShell (run in Administrator mode)it always comes back "Normal."

At this point I am completely out of ideasand am contemplating reformatting with Win10 LTSC 21H2at the expense of multiple driverswhich require Win11 in order to function.

Note: disregard the specs listed in my signature. those refer to my Win10 machinewhich is not the subject of this thread.

 

FirstI disable Tamper Protection.
You can do that through the Windows Defender settings.
I use this .REG file.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Features]
"TamperProtection"=dword:00000000

I then use the programOptimizer (https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/optimizer.html).

https://github.com/hellzerg/optimizer#--how-to-disable-defender-in-windows-10-1903-and-later

I'm not sure that it works for everyonebut it has for me.

 

Are you planning on replacing Defender with something elseor are you going to go without an AV/security program?

If you are replacing it with somethingreading this article (that @Maxwell provided) will show you that Defender will disable itself when you install a recognized third-party program.

https://www.howtogeek.com/permanently-disable-microsoft-defender-on-windows-11/

 

Have you tried these utilities:
Download ToggleDefender - MajorGeeks
Download Defender Control - MajorGeeks 1.5 Authored by: qtkite
Download Defender Control - MajorGeeks 2.1 Authored by: Sordum