Microsoft Defender is the default security solutions on all modern versions of Windows. Users have to become active to replace it with another security solution. It is probably a safe bet that Defender is the tool on most Windows 10 and 11 systems.
It is different from tools like SuperMSConfig, which provide broader tweaking options.
The operating system offers several options to configure Microsoft Defender. The most common for home users is to use Windows Security. It divides settings on multiple pages and subpages, and may leave out some settings depending on certain factors.
ConfigureDefender is a long-standing open source tool to improve this. Just launch the small app after you have downloaded it from its GitHub repository to get started.
The app displays all settings on a single page.
You have two main options now:
- Change individual settings directly.
- Use a preset to change the status of multiple settings at once.
Presets offer a quick way to change settings, but it is rather difficult to understand what each setting does. Max, for example, looks like it would set everything to the highest values, but you still do not know what that actually means.
ConfigureDefender supports four presets: default, high, interactive and max. Default is handy, as it resets all settings to their default values.
A click on the info-button opens a readme with the information. There you find information about each preset. It will take some time to go through the listing though.
The second option gives you full control over the settings. Some users may have difficulties understanding what some of the settings do. While experienced users may understand that PUA Protection refers to “potentially unwanted applications”, inexperienced users may not.
It may be necessary to search for specific terms on the Internet to find out what they do.
The program supports a large number of settings. These are divided into basic, admin and exploit guard settings. Each preference is modified through a simple menu. Click on the menu and ConfigureDefender displays the available options. Pick one and hit the refresh button. The program reminds you that a restart of the Windows PC is required to apply the change.
Closing Words
ConfigureDefender speeds up the configuration of Microsoft Defender on non-managed systems. It is easy to use, especially for users who know what each of the settings do. New users may need to spend time in the beginning researching some of the preferences to understand what they do.
All in all, it is a useful helper app for Windows users.
Which security solution(s) do you use? Is Microsoft Defender one of them? Feel free to write a comment about this.