How do I turn off Windows Defender from the command line?

Question

I am searching for a command to temporarily turn off Windows Defender.

Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Using PowerShell (as an administrator) in Windows 10, use the following command:

Set-MpPreference -DisableRealtimeMonitoring $true

To re-enable it:

Set-MpPreference -DisableRealtimeMonitoring $false

Source

Answer 2

I am searching for a command to turn off Windows Defender

You can use sc (Service Control) to stop and start Windows Defender:

sc stop WinDefend

And:

sc start WinDefend

Example output:

F:\test>sc stop WinDefend

SERVICE_NAME: WinDefend
        TYPE               : 20  WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS
        STATE              : 4  RUNNING
                                (STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, ACCEPTS_SHUTDOWN)
        WIN32_EXIT_CODE    : 0  (0x0)
        SERVICE_EXIT_CODE  : 0  (0x0)
        CHECKPOINT         : 0x0
        WAIT_HINT          : 0x0

F:\test>sc query WinDefend

SERVICE_NAME: WinDefend
        TYPE               : 20  WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS
        STATE              : 1  STOPPED
        WIN32_EXIT_CODE    : 0  (0x0)
        SERVICE_EXIT_CODE  : 0  (0x0)
        CHECKPOINT         : 0x0
        WAIT_HINT          : 0x0

F:\test>sc start WinDefend

SERVICE_NAME: WinDefend
        TYPE               : 20  WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS
        STATE              : 2  START_PENDING
                                (NOT_STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, IGNORES_SHUTDOWN)
        WIN32_EXIT_CODE    : 0  (0x0)
        SERVICE_EXIT_CODE  : 0  (0x0)
        CHECKPOINT         : 0x0
        WAIT_HINT          : 0x7d0
        PID                : 6304
        FLAGS              :

F:\test>sc query WinDefend

SERVICE_NAME: WinDefend
        TYPE               : 20  WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS
        STATE              : 4  RUNNING
                                (STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, ACCEPTS_SHUTDOWN)
        WIN32_EXIT_CODE    : 0  (0x0)
        SERVICE_EXIT_CODE  : 0  (0x0)
        CHECKPOINT         : 0x0
        WAIT_HINT          : 0x0

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Further Reading

• An A-Z Index of the Windows CMD command line - An excellent reference for all things Windows cmd line related.
• sc - Service Control - Create, Start, Stop, Query or Delete any Windows SERVICE.

Answer 3

To disable:

sc config WinDefend start= disabled
sc stop WinDefend

To re-enable:

sc config WinDefend start= auto
sc start WinDefend

Don't forget about the space after "start=" or the command will not work.

PS. You can get further description of these commands by typing:

sc /?
sc config /?

Answer 4

Run cmd as administrator for elevated privileges,

type the command to turn off windows defender firewall

netsh advfirewall set all state off

type the command to turn on windows defender firewall

netsh advfirewall set all state on