Turn off real-time protection
Verified with Windows 11 25H2 — updated on July 30, 2026
Supported on: At least Windows Vista
Path in the GPO console
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Microsoft Defender Antivirus\Real-time Protection Description
This policy turns off real-time protection in Microsoft Defender Antivirus. Real-time protection consists of always-on scanning with file and process behavior monitoring and heuristics. When real-time protection is on, Microsoft Defender Antivirus detects malware and potentially unwanted software that attempts to install itself or run on your device, and prompts you to take action on malware detections. If you enable this policy setting, real-time protection is turned off. If you either disable or do not configure this policy setting, real-time protection is turned on.
Registry
Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Real-Time Protection Value name: DisableRealtimeMonitoring
Enabled: DisableRealtimeMonitoring = 1
Disabled: DisableRealtimeMonitoring = 0
MDM / Intune (CSP)
./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_MicrosoftDefenderAntivirus/DisableRealtimeMonitoring Multiple CSP matches are possible; the first one was selected.
Microsoft Learn documentation Mapping data: Microsoft Learn (CC BY 4.0)
Export Builder
BETAConfigure the state, scope and options, then generate .reg, PowerShell, Intune and SCCM outputs — or add the setting to a multi-setting collection.
These exports write the registry — this is not a managed GPO. ⓘ
.reg file
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
; Exported from gporais.com
; Policy: Turn off real-time protection
; State: Enabled
; Supported on: At least Windows Vista
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Real-Time Protection]
"DisableRealtimeMonitoring"=dword:00000001More formats (PowerShell, Intune, SCCM)
PowerShell
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn off real-time protection
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Vista
$path = 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Real-Time Protection'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'DisableRealtimeMonitoring' -Value 1 -Type DWordIntune XML
OMA-URI: ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_MicrosoftDefenderAntivirus/DisableRealtimeMonitoring
Data type: String
Value:
<enabled/>Intune Remediation
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn off real-time protection
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Vista
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Real-Time Protection' -Name 'DisableRealtimeMonitoring' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn off real-time protection
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Vista
$path = 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Real-Time Protection'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'DisableRealtimeMonitoring' -Value 1 -Type DWordSCCM scripts
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn off real-time protection
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Vista
# SCCM Configuration Item guidance:
# Create a Configuration Item of type "Setting: Script".
# Discovery script: use the Detection script below.
# Remediation script: use the Remediation script below.
# Compliance rule: the Discovery script output equals 'Compliant'.
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn off real-time protection
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Vista
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Real-Time Protection' -Name 'DisableRealtimeMonitoring' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn off real-time protection
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Vista
$path = 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Real-Time Protection'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'DisableRealtimeMonitoring' -Value 1 -Type DWordBuilding a multi-setting collection? Add this setting and generate combined .reg / PowerShell / GPO scripts.