Windows Defender is a malware and virus scanner built into Windows 10. It does a reasonably good job at those tasks, but you can beef it up a bit by having it scan for Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs), too–like browser toolbars, adware, and other crapware. Windows Defender is intended to provide baseline, built-in virus protection for Windows users. Microsoft access app for mac. Its primary advantage (other than being built-in) is that it’s and won’t nag you with notifications. Still, it isn’t necessarily your best option. There are plenty of that will do a better job, some of which are free and some of which also scan for PUPs. But if you’re dead set on using Windows Defender, here’s how to add a bit of useful functionality. Enable PUP Scanning in Windows Defender by Editing the Registry All you need to do is perform a simple Registry hack. Why should you have to bother with a hack? The functionality is really intended only for enterprise users at the moment. This means that it could roll out to other users in future updates, or it could be removed entirely at some point. But for now, since the Windows Defender program is the same no matter where Windows is installed, you can enable and take advantage of it. Standard warning: Registry Editor is a powerful tool and misusing it can render your system unstable or even inoperable. This is a pretty simple hack and as long as you stick to the instructions, you shouldn’t have any problems. That said, if you’ve never worked with it before, consider reading about before you get started. And definitely (and!) before making changes. To get started, open the Registry Editor by hitting Start and typing “regedit.” Press Enter to open Registry Editor and give it permission to make changes to your PC. ![]() ![]() In the Registry Editor, use the left sidebar to navigate to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Policies Microsoft Windows Defender Next, you’re going to create a new subkey under the Windows Defender key. Right-click the Windows Defender icon and select New > Key. Name the new key MpEngine. Sep 17, 2008 - So far in our series about free anti-virus utilities we've covered AVG, Avast, AntiVir and ClamWin, and today we're going to show you PC Tools. If you hate Windows Defender for some reason and want to use another antivirus, you can use Avira.It has a free version that works fairly well, a pro version with a few extra features, and it provides great protection scores and only has the occasional popup ad (but it does have popup ads, which are annoying). Now, you’re going to create a new value inside the MpEngine key. Right-click the MpEngine icon and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the new value MpEnablePus. Next, you’re going to modify that value. Double-click the new MpEnablePus value and set the value to 1 in the “Value data” box. Click OK, exit Registry Editor, and then restart your computer. From now on, when Windows Defender detects a PUP, it will alert you with the standard pop-up warning.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |