Windows 10 came with many surprises. Some of them were pleasant, but others, like its privacy issues or mandatory updates, were very controversial for users.
One of the most annoying is the high processor consumption that occurs even when no processes are running. It is common to find the processor load between 20% and 40%, even when the computer is idle.
Investigating a bit more with the process explorer, we discover that a significant part of this processor consumption is due to Windows Defender, Windows’ built-in antivirus.
We can stop the real-time scan, but among the surprises Microsoft has kindly given us, Windows Defender automatically reactivates itself.
If you find this processor consumption annoying, it is possible to permanently disable Windows Defender by modifying a Windows registry key.
To do this, we need to modify (or add if it doesn’t exist) the following DWORD key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\DisableAntiSpyware
The possible values are:
- 0 = To have Windows Defender active
- 1 = To permanently disable Windows Defender
As long as this key exists and has a value of 1, Windows Defender will be permanently disabled and cannot be activated, not even temporarily.
This poses a security risk for your computer, which will have no antispyware protection. Therefore, disabling it is your responsibility.
However, it is always possible to reactivate it, or install other Antivirus Software that is less intrusive with your processor usage.
