Windows 10: If you turn off Real-Time Protection how long before "it turns back on

I give you a simple answer to your simple question. I don't use antiviruses (since 2010) or run scans. Why? because I found a more reliable way for protecting myself that doesn't depend on virus signatures. Protection that dont require updates. It protects you against new viruses, zero day threats. Antivirus by nature are always behind. The malware gets released, and the signatures comes later. If you depend on antiviruses, you ll get infected. Its just a matter of when. I know it seems strange and unreasonable to you but if you get into it, you discover technologies that are completely different than antiviruses, and as you test them over a long period of time, you become confident as time passes by and you see that it works. You dont get infected anymore. I havent had an infection since late 2008.

When I depended on antiviruses for protection, I used to spend hours and hours scanning with this program and that program all the time and even so, I always got 1 or 2 infections a year, every year. That cycle came to an end the day I moved on from antiviruses and found something better. You have to discover it yourself, I cant tell you what to do, it wouldnt work that way. Now, I cant get infected even if I tried. That is despite visiting same sites as I used to visit when I used to get infected, doing same searches, basically same browsing behavior. Not getting infected becomes second nature.

Bo

 

Please UpVote this feedback item, if you believe Microsoft should clarify this a bit:
https://aka.ms/Dabwz0

Thanks for your reply.

I understand what you're saying - It's meant to be left on and forgotten, so leave it on. I also understand you are trying to help, and I appreciate that, thank you.

But I'm not really interested in bat files or workarounds to permanently disable it.
I still require an answer to the question.

For several, Real-time protection is currently causing an issue, where the only way to play Hearthstone, is to disable Real-time protection, in Insider Build 17063. That is why the question matters to me so much - will it turn back on while I'm gaming? I'm sure the original poster had some other legitimate reason too, to temporarily disable it, and would prefer to use the standard in-UI knob to do it. We just want more info on that "short amount of time" vagueness.

Thank you! Did you find any documentation to support that, or is it just based on personal testing/evidence?

Jacob

 

You cannot debate it because you have no sound or rational basis to support what is bad practice - your only argument being is you have never been infected.

That is like saying you have crossed road 100 times without looking either way, so it is always safe for anybody.

Just because you have been lucky is no excuse for dishing out BAD advice.

 

@jakob Klein
I can understand your desire to know this but we have to face reality. Only Microsoft can answer your question and they will not, and for some good and sound reasons they should not. The reasons have been well covered in this thread and I will not repeat them.

 

I have asked Microsoft, in the Feedback Hub item, regardless of your claim of reasons. Thank you.

 

I try to remember that everybody isn't as knowledgeable as those that don't use well established basic security programs.
Microsoft doesn't create operating systems just for the few, nor does anybody else.
Microsoft has 'Billions' using their operating system. So having proper, what I call basic security programs running should be a normal thing to do.
Having said that, no programs are 100%. The owner/operator have to keep their brain updated for proper security to have a chance.
Hell people are still opening bad emails that for 15 years or longer have been warned not to.

I'm no gamer but if I was and a game was being blocked by Defender I would contact the owner or site I got the game from and report the problem. I would also report the game problem to whom ever created the game.
It could be a false positive. The creator of the game should be able to work with Microsoft to get things corrected.

It's hard for me to believe that hundreds of millions of game players are shutting off their security to play games.
This does not compute in my 3 brain cells.

Of course, if it's your computer one can do as one cares to do.

Jack

 

I'll repeat myself: For several, Real-time protection is currently causing an issue, where the only way to play Hearthstone, is to disable Real-time protection, in Insider Build 17063.

The issue surfaced 2 days ago. It's unclear whether there is an issue with Windows Defender in that Insider build, or if Hearthstone is doing something they shouldn't when performing the networking handshakes on load. I have notified both parties.

What is clear, is that Microsoft could be clearer with their vagueness. Clear? *Smile

 

You are welcome, Jacob. What I wrote is based on personal experience. I dont use antiviruses so when I got my W10 in July, I disabled WD via Settings but noticed that it always turned itself back to on after reboots. Eventually I discovered the tutorial I linked earlier to turn WD off completely.

I read the reply's you wrote after I posted.. To know for sure if disabling WD temporarily allows you to play the game (I am no gamer), you ll have to test. Sometimes antiviruses can cause conflicts even when they are disabled, more so being semi off which is really the way it would be by disabling WD via Settings. And since you are using WD for protection, just for playing a game, turning WD completely off wouldn't be convenient for you.

Bo

 

Your reply was not for me but I like to comment. *Smile

Cereberus, learning security gives you the knowledge for not getting infected. When you learn, not getting infected becomes second nature. You know what you can do and what you cant and you do it by heart. You dont even have to think about nothing. If 9 years ago, I had not taken the steps to move away from the basic security that I knew at that point, I would still be getting infected a couple of times a year. I just wish I had decided sooner to find something better to protect myself than antiviruses. When I decided to quit getting infected, I wasn't thinking about replacing using real time AV but eventually thats what ended up happening. And later, I also stopped using on demand scanners. By nature, it happened. Nothing forced. When you learn is beautiful. You don't waste your time running scans. Before, I used to spend many hours a week doing scans that are now better spend doing what I really like to do when using the internet or the computer. Is a different experience.

Learning security is like quitting smoking. You cant quit unless you really want to. One day, one infection, my last infection, was the day I said this one is it. I am going to learn, there's got to be something better than traditional antiviruses. And I found it. The best of all is that is really easy to learn. You just have to want to learn. I wont even mention what I do, unless you ask, as that doesnt really matter. To get to the point were you cant get infected anymore, you have to get there on your own. You have to discover it yourself as what I do works for me but might not work for you.

Bo

 

I suspect the true answer is that there's no set time. Probably, like other maintenance tasks, it only kicks in a set time after it detects the PC is idle.

That would make sense, as the only sensible reason to turn it off is that it interferes with a particular task (like playing your Hearthstone). That way it wouldn't turn on until you're finished.

 

I run BOINC too, 24/7, on all CPU cores+threads, to do science and serve humanity. My PC is NEVER idle. How does that factor in?

My point is that:
So far, we've got: suspicions, guesses, and personal evidence... but no documentation.

I understand we may never get documentation, but it certainly doesn't hurt to ask... the community, and the source Microsoft.

 

Here we have a post from purportedly an expert in security who thinks he knows more about securing W10 than the designers of the operating system.

M$ should have consulted him before investing billions employing thousands of the brainiest technicians.
Whose primary aim is security to the best of their ability, for all users while browsing the internet.

No security package guarantees 100% success ......but some security is better than none.
I just hope some naïve reader is not thinking of taking up his idea.

His advice borders on lunacy....the only safe way using his idea is to never connect to the internet.

 

You can believe what you want, even insult me as you just done but making the decision to use better techniques than antiviruses and take an outside the box approach to security to protect my computers has been proven over a long period of time to have been the right decision. You are naive, short sighted, but hopefully, what I wrote it ll click on someone that it is possible to be malware free for life.

dencal. So you hate even more what I said. I am no computer guy, in fact, I am a dummy user. No expert. But the one thing I know about computers is exactly what we are talking about. Personal security. How to protect your own personal computer. I hate to tell you, is easy to do it, you just don't know it. In my quest to achieve security, I ended up stopping using antivirus but that wasn't the purpose of my quest. It just happen to work out that way. Personally, I recommend WD over all other antiviruses. I do it all the time. But in my personal case, I am safer by not using an AV.

You said, "but some security is better than none"...Who told you I am not using any security? I didnt. Read what I said. Just because I am not using an AV doesnt mean I am not using any security. My security is a lot better than yours, it just doesnt include scanners.

Note: you wrote under your icon, "Outside the Box ". I reckon those words sound nice to you but that's all. You forgot what it means to think outside the box. *Smile

Bo

 

I bet I have been using pcs a lot longer than you and frankly I find your reply rather patronising.

Obviously good practice and common sense are important but turning off automatic protection is still dumb. Always has been and always will be!

 

Come on guys. Let's get back on-topic please.