# Disabling Windows Defender. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 22, 2008, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disabling-windows-defender/469014 "2008-10-22T03:33:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disabling-windows-defender/469014/1 "2008-10-22T03:33:02Z")
First off, I’m using Vista. A few weeks ago I installed Ad-Aware, and so decided to disable Windows Defender. I went to control panel and turned it off. When I rebooted I noticed that it was still running. So I go to the System Configuration utility, msconfig, and I uncheck it in both the services and startup tabs. That hasn’t worked either. Normally this wouldn’t bother me too much, but every time I boot up I get an annoying pop-up message saying that Windows Defender has blocked the follwing programs: InstallShield Update Service Scheduler InstallShield Update Service Update Manager System Configuration Utility So, how do I truly disable Windows Defender? I don’t think I need to worry about InstallShield running, but what’s up with Defender blocking System Configuration Utility? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disabling-windows-defender/469014/2 "2008-10-22T04:10:17Z")
[Try here](http://www.google.com/search?q=disable+windows+defender). ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disabling-windows-defender/469014/3 "2008-10-22T05:14:13Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > [Try here](http://www.google.com/search?q=disable+windows+defender). Unfortunately that didn’t help. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disabling-windows-defender/469014/4 "2008-10-22T12:58:52Z")
A related query. Is it really a good idea to disable Defender once you’ve got Ad-Aware? I was under the impression that multiple malware detectors was supposed to be the way to go, since some will know about malware others do not. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disabling-windows-defender/469014/5 "2008-10-22T13:11:32Z")
My PC had an infection last week that Windows Defender helped with. Ad-Aware + SpyBotS&D + AVG Anti-Virus all detected it, but it took all of them + Windows Defender to find every piece of it. I recommend keeping it running. ---
**Author:** ![Apex\_Rogers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@Apex\_Rogers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apex_Rogers)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disabling-windows-defender/469014/6 "2008-10-22T18:20:47Z")
There’s no reason to disable Windows Defender; it’s not like anti-virus where you can only have a single product running/installed at a given time. I’d say leave it running. ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disabling-windows-defender/469014/7 "2008-10-22T18:40:55Z")
Ok it seems like I got this one solved. Turns out it wasn’t Windows Defender after all that was causing the message pop-ups. It was the UAC. After reading the above posts I’ve decided to re-enable Defender. Thanks guys.