Choosing a good antivirus from a plethora of options on the market is easier said than done.
Thankfully, Windows comes with an antivirus that is baked into the system called Microsoft Defender.
And it’s pretty good.
Whats more, you could make Microsoft Defender even better with DefenderUI.
What Is DefenderUI?
DefenderUI, as the name suggests, is a UI overlay over Microsoft Defender.
It provides a handy GUI to configure different Defender options.
DefenderUI also unlocks many hidden and hard-to-find features, allowing you to tweak many aspects of Microsoft Defender.
How to Use DefenderUI to Configure Microsoft Defender
To begin,download DefenderUIand install it.
Once the app is up and running, launch the program.
The Home Tab
The Home tab in the DefenderUI presents many default Microsoft Defender options.
There are Realtime, Scan, Utility, and DefenderUI tweaks.
you’re able to also update and reset program signatures.
Similarly, you’re free to also manageProtection Historysettings includingclearing and repairing the Defender Protection History.
The Basic Features
TheBasictab is where more advanced DefenderUI features reside.
you could fine-tune Window Defender protection mechanisms and customize privacy features from the General section.
Additionally, you’re free to also tweak how Defender notifications work.
Block at first sight is a feature that blocks malware within seconds using cloud protection mechanisms.
Leave this option enabled if privacy isnt critical to your work.
Both these options are available in the Privacy section of the Basic tab.
Last but not the least, DefenderUI also allows you to change the notification behavior of Microsoft Defender.
In theNotificationssection, you could enable/disable notifications regarding threat warnings, scan results, and blocked files/activities.
First, you could tweak the Microsoft Defenders scanning behavior by choosing which files/folders are scanned and which arent.
For instance, unchecking theScan emailoption under theScan Optionssection will keep Defender from sifting through your emails.
Similarly, you might also stop Defender from scanning data pipe files, scripts, removable drives, etc.
Hash computation is a taxing process, so it may tank system performance significantly.
Disabling the setting can have a positive impact on the overall system responsiveness.
Low CPU priorityhas a similar effect on the system performance.
it’s possible for you to also setAverage CPU utilization while scanningandSignature update intervalto further optimize the resource usage.
There are options to define the action taken by the Defender based on the threat level.
For instance, if Defender detects a Low threat, it blocks the file/script to stop it from running.
This is Defenders default behavior.
you might change it by selecting one from theLow threatdropdown menu.
In some cases, the app can enable itself after you disable it.
Fortunately, almost all such problems are relatively easy to fix.
