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Windows 10How to Open and Use Windows Defender in Windows 8/10

How to Open and Use Windows Defender in Windows 8/10

By Achilles Hill | Last Updated

The article summarizes some methods to open and use Windows Defender on Windows 8/10 computer for your reference.

Part 1: How to Open the Windows Defender?

Video guide on how to open Windows Defender in Windows:

Way 1: Turn it on by searching.

Type windows in the search box on taskbar and choose Windows Defender from the result.

open Windows defender by search

Way 2: Open it in Start Menu.

Step 1: Enter Start Menu.

Step 2: Select All apps, open Windows System and tap Windows Defender.

open Windows defender in start menu

Way 3: Access it in Settings.

Step 1: Open Settings.

Step 2: Choose Update & security.

Step 3: Select Windows Defender and click Use Windows Defender.

open Windows defender in settings

Way 4: Open it in Control Panel.

Step 1: Get into Control Panel.

Step 2: Input win in the top-right box and tap Windows Defender in the options.

open Windows defender in control panel

Way 5: Turn it on in Disk C.

Step 1: Access Disk C/Program Files/Windows Defender.

Step 2: Open MSASCui.

open Windows defender in disk c

Way 6: Open it by Run.

Press Windows+R to show the Run dialog, type C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\msascui.exe and hit OK.

open Windows defender by run

Part 2: How to Use the Windows Defender?

Open Windows Defender. In the Home settings of Windows Defender, choose a scan option from Quick, Full and Custom on the right, and tap Scan now button.

choose a scan option and tap scan now

Tips:

Quick scan checks the areas that malicious software, including viruses, spyware and other potentially unwanted malware, are most likely to infect.
Full scan checks all the files on the hard disks and all your running programs, and it can take more time depending on your system.
Custom scan checks only the files and locations that you select, as shown in the following picture.

files and locations selected

Step 3: Suppose viruses or other malware are detected, remove them according to the prompts.

Part 3: How to Enable the Windows Defender?

Method 1: Enable Windows Defender in Group Policy.

Step 1: Open Local Group Policy Editor.

Step 2: Locate and open the "Turn off Windows Defender" setting.

It is in Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/Windows Components/Windows Defender.

open Turn off Windows defender setting

Step 3: Choose Not Configured (or Disabled), and click OK.

disable or do not configure turn off Windows defender setting

Method 2: Enable Windows Defender in the Action Center.

Step 1: Access Control Panel, input action center in the top-right search box and tap Action Center to get into it.

open Action center

Step 2: Tap the Turn on now button on the right of "Spyware and unwanted software protection (Important)".

click Turn on now

Method 3: Enable Windows Defender in Windows Defender Service.

Step 1: Type services in the Windows search bar, choose Settings and open Services.

open Services by search

Step 2: Find and double-click Windows Defender Service.

open Windows Defender service

Step 3: As the Windows Defender Service Properties window turns up, in General settings, click the bar beside Startup type, choose Automatic from the drop-down list and tap OK to complete the setting.

enable Windows defender in its service

Part 4: How to Disable the Windows Defender?

Way 1: Disable Windows Defender in the app's Settings.

Start Windows Defender. Enter Settings, choose Administrator on the left, uncheck the small box before Turn on Windows Defender on the right and click Save changes on the bottom.

disable Windows defender in its settings

Way 2: Disable the app in Group Policy.

Step 1: Open Group Policy Editor.

Step 2: Find and open Windows Defender folder which is located in Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/Windows Components.

open Windows defender folder

Step 3: Access the setting called Turn off Windows Defender in Windows Defender folder.

open Turn off Windows Defender setting

Step 4: Choose Enabled and tap OK to enable the setting.

enable turn off Windows Defender setting

Way 3: Disable the Windows Defender in Services.

Step 1: Press Windows key+R to open Run dialog, enter services.msc and click OK to enter Services.

open Service with run command

Step 2: Right-click Windows Defender Service in the Services window, and select Properties in the context menu.

open Windows Defender service properties

Step 3: As the Windows Defender Service Properties (Local Computer) dialog appears, in General settings, click the small down arrow and choose Disabled as the startup type. Then, tap OK to finish the setting.

choose disabled as startup type

Step 4: Restart your computer to make the setting effective.

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