Microsoft Defender tuning: “zero tolerance” level and more

Microsoft Defender is a powerful antivirus and antimalware software that comes pre-installed on Windows 10 devices. It offers real-time protection, cloud-based scanning, and automatic updates to keep your system safe from various threats. However, some users may want to customize Microsoft Defender settings to suit their preferences and needs. In this blog post, we'll show you how to tune Microsoft Defender to achieve a “zero tolerance” security level, as well as some other useful tips and tricks.

What is the “zero tolerance” safety level?

The “zero tolerance” security level is a term that refers to the highest possible level of protection that Microsoft Defender can provide. It means that Microsoft Defender will block or quarantine any file or program that it detects as potentially unwanted or malicious, even if it has a low or medium severity rating. This can help prevent any infection or compromise of your system, but it also has some drawbacks. For example, you may encounter more false positives, which means that some legitimate files or programs may be blocked or quarantined by mistake. You may also experience some performance issues as Microsoft Defender will scan more files and use more resources.

How to enable the “zero tolerance” security level?

To enable the “zero tolerance” security level, you must modify the Microsoft Defender registry settings. This is an advanced procedure that requires administrative privileges and caution, as any error can cause serious problems for your system. Therefore, we recommend that you backup your registry and create a system restore point before continuing. These are the steps to follow:

1. Open the Start menu and type “regedit” (without quotes) in the search box. Right-click on the Registry Editor application and select "Run as administrator."

2. In the Registry Editor window, navigate to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender

3. Right click on the Windows Defender key and select “New” > “Key”. Name the new key “MpEngine” (without quotes).

4. Right click on the MpEngine key and select “New” > “DWORD (32-bit) Value”. Name the new value “MpEnablePus” (without quotes).

5. Double-click the MpEnablePus value and change its data from 0 to 1. Click “OK” to save the changes.

6. Close Registry Editor and restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

You have now enabled the “zero tolerance” security level for Microsoft Defender. To disable it, simply change the MpEnablePus value data to 0 and restart your computer.

What are some other tips and tricks for Microsoft Defender?

In addition to tuning Microsoft Defender to achieve a “zero tolerance” security level, there are other tips and tricks you can use to improve its performance and functionality. Here are some of them:

– You can access Microsoft Defender settings by opening the Start menu and typing “Windows Security” (without quotes) in the search box. Click the Windows Security app and select “Virus and threat protection” in the left pane.

– You can run a quick, full or custom scan of your system by clicking the “Scan Options” link in the “Current Threats” section. You can also schedule a scan by clicking the “Manage scan settings” link in the same section.

– You can view and restore any files or programs that Microsoft Defender has blocked or quarantined by clicking the “Protection history” link in the “Current threats” section. You can also delete any files or programs that you don't want to keep by clicking the "Delete" button next to them.

– You can add any file, folder, or process that you trust to the Microsoft Defender exclusions list by clicking the “Manage settings” link in the “Virus and threat protection settings” section. This will prevent Microsoft Defender from scanning or blocking them in the future.

– You can enable or disable various Microsoft Defender features such as real-time protection, cloud-delivered protection, tamper protection, ransomware protection, etc., by activating their switches in the “Virus and threat protection settings” section.

– You can check for updates for Microsoft Defender by clicking the “Check for updates” link in the “Virus and threat protection updates” section. You can also view its current version and definition number by clicking the same link.

Microsoft Defender is a reliable and robust software that can protect your system from various threats. By tuning it to achieve a “zero tolerance” security level and following a few other tips and tricks, you can further improve its performance and functionality.