How to Disable Windows Defender in Windows Vista

Mircosoft’s Windows Defender, is a software that prevents, removes and quarantines spyware in Windows. It is included in Windows Vista and Windows 7 by default. However, if you have your own Anti-virus or Anti-spyware software such as KasperSky or AVG you probably won’t need Windows Defender help to protect your system.

Unfortunately, Windows hasn’t provided any mechanism to un-install it and you will have to manually do the labor to disable it as it is using precious resources of your system. If you are confident about the antivirus/antispware software you are using, here’s what you have to do to disable it permanently.

Turn off Windows Defender in Windows Vista

1. Go to Start and in the search box type, Windows Defender or search for it inside the All Programs menu,

2. A small window will pop out, click ‘Tools‘ button,

3. Under the ‘Tools and Settings‘ section click Options,

4. Scroll down to the end. Under the Administrator Options, un-check the ‘Use Windows Defender‘ box,

5. Once you hit the Save button, a ‘Windows Defender is turned off‘ dialog message will appear, confirming that the Windows Defender has been disabled

In addition to that a notification message will be displayed above the system tray, warning users that the security functionality is no longer working. If you are an above average user you can permanetly disable this warning using the hack mentioned here. I won’t advice novice users to follow this hack as this will prevent them knowing about any security changes that may occour if they have accidently disabled any security feature.