Turn off Win 10 malware scan

[Bookmem]

I have a Win 10 laptop that I use only for Karaoke that doesn't get turned on but every couple of weeks.  It seem every time I turn it on, Win starts a malware scan that slows the laptop to a crawl.  It has over 100 thousand Karaoke files on the HDD.  The Task View shows 100% disk usage and the only thing accessing it is the anti-malware service.  I've tried disabling the defender service but it won't let me.  How can I stop it?

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Does this laptop need to access the Internet to do your Karaoke? Or anything else? If not, disable Networking. With no Internet access, Windows won't be trying to phone home nor will any of the apps you have on it. Without Internet access, you'll no longer need anti-virus/anti-malware. You can delete/disable those apps.

 

This is how my Win 10 is set up. The only time it ever accesses the Internet was on the initial install. I only use it for gaming, so I have no need for Internet access with Windows; also, no worries about viruses and/or malware.

[Corrine]

You could also try excluding the Karaoke files from scanning.  See the instructions at Bleeping computer:  How to exclude files and folders from Windows Defender scans.

[goretsky]

Hello,

Microsoft introduced the requirement that security software be mandatory with the release of Windows 8. Either their own, or one of the various ones from third parties.

It's not meant to be disabled. There are various hacks which can be made to do this, but they are (1) of a dubious nature; (2) decrease the overall security of the system; and (3) end up breaking Windows in some fashion causing failed updates, crashes and weird seemingly unrelated problems that are difficult to troubleshoot.

As Corrine noted, though, you should be able to set up exclusions to prevent the karaoke directories from being scanned. You can also look around to see if there are any other security programs which might perform better than Windows Defender does on the laptop running Windows 10.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

[Bookmem]

On 8/25/2022 at 8:45 PM, Corrine said:

You could also try excluding the Karaoke files from scanning.  See the instructions at Bleeping computer:  How to exclude files and folders from Windows Defender scans.

As it turns out, it wasn't so much the anti-malware as it was Office.  Something call "Office click-to-run".  I uninstall Office, which really isn't needed, and disk usage dropped within a few minutes after a restart.  But thanks for the help.