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I've seen there's plenty of documentation online about disabling Windows Defender system-wide.
For example, in this Superuser question (and I bet a couple of duplicates too) a couple of methods are described that involve GPOs or their equivalent Registry modifications for those that don't have access to the Group Policy editor.
However I wonder if it's possible to disable Windows Defender per user, e.g. keeping it enabled for every other user of a PC save one or two.
I've tried creating the creating the registry keys and values that accompany those policies in the Current User tree but they don't seem to take effect, after restarting the computer real-time protection is on for example.
Note that although this question is geared towards handling such a case in a Home environment (i.e. no Pro or Enterprise handling options available) I'd also welcome information on how to do it there.
James Russell
Posted 2018-02-15T15:39:14.253
Reputation: 159
I don't think Windows Defender can be disabled per user at all. If you want a per user AV solution, use a third party AV solution that you install only for that user, or that has this option. Do note, if your objective is to make sure files from a user are not scanned, you can often add a folder to a whitelist and make it not being scanned. – LPChip – 2018-02-15T15:45:17.453
no, only system wide. – magicandre1981 – 2018-02-15T15:49:50.810
I've never heard of antivirus that can be disabled per-user. Supposing one existed, the outcome would be the same as disabling it system wide: An unprotected user with admin rights contracts a virus that infects the entire computer. The protection for the other accounts would be meaningless! – I say Reinstate Monica – 2018-02-15T16:16:25.357
If you don't mind me asking, why would you want to do this? – Run5k – 2018-02-15T17:17:36.390