If you really hate antivirus, Windows Defender is the least intrusive program you can use-so you should probably leave it on. Many people will tell you that you can go without antivirus if you’re careful, and that just isn’t true. While it’s handy being able to enable and disable Windows Defender, please do make sure that you’re still running a good antivirus app. RELATED: Do I Really Need Antivirus If I Browse Carefully and Use Common Sense? Make Sure You’re Still Using Antivirus (and Anti-Malware) Plus, Defender takes up very little disk space and there are better ways to free up disk space on Windows. Here's how to do it.Second, if you stop the service-or go through the process of uninstalling it-any Windows update is likely to restore Windows Defender and undo all that work anyway.

While we recommend you have the SmartScreen filter turned on all the time, you can disable it easily from the Windows Security settings. However, some experienced users may find the feature annoying as it can even block safe apps requiring additional steps to run the setup. SmartScreen is enabled by default on all the Windows OS running systems. When enabled, it helps protect your computer against malicious and phishing sites and block downloads.

SmartScreen is also part of Microsoft Edge's security settings. It can also protect you from Microsoft Store and third-party sourced apps that are low on reputation and known to cause unexpected behavior. You can configure it to block apps and files by checking unrecognized apps and files from the web. When a match is found, it blocks the download or site access and warns the user about the action taken.

When enabled, SmartScreen screens your downloads against known suspicious sites and developers. SmartScreen relies on reputation-based protection to protect your device from malicious or potentially unwanted apps and websites. How Does Windows SmartScreen Filter Work?

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