Windows 10: What do all the mitigations in exploit protection program settings mean?

For an .exe program

:)

 

Exploit Protection Settings

The Exploit Protection settings are preconfigured; and home users should generally just leave them alone:



The Use default configuration for each of the mitigation settings indicates our recommendation for a base level of protection for everyday usage for home users. Enterprise deployments should consider the protection required for
their individual needs and may need to modify configuration away from the defaults.



https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/wi...er-exploit-guard/customize-exploit-protection



Apply mitigations to help prevent attacks through vulnerabilities | Microsoft Learn



The preconfigured applications have been optimized by Microsoft – and adding customizations for other apps requires both a rationale and an understanding of the potential consequences, since haphazardly changing the default settings for an app can
easily render it dysfunctional.



It’s ironic that these application mitigations are exposed in the Windows Defender Security Center interface, while the safe and simple Windows Defender configuration options are only available via the PowerShell Set-MpPreference command line:



Set-MpPreference (Defender) | Microsoft Learn



The Set-MpPreference cmdlet now also includes the parameters for Attack Surface Reduction and Block at First Sight:



Redirecting

 

Exploit Protection's "Program Settings"

Let us say that I went into WINDOWS DEFENDER SECURITY CENTER > APP & BROWSER CONTROL > EXPLOIT PROTECTION SETTINGS > PROGRAM SETTINGS.

Then, let us say that I edited via "system override" the settings for one of the programs.

My question: How would I later restore the default settings (i. e., the ones that were set before editing) for one or more edited programs?

Exploit Protection does not seem to provide any option for restoring back to a program's default state before any change was made.

Thanks for any help!

 

Windows 11 Security App's Exploit Protection

Hi SnookerPhil,



Thanks for raising your concern in Microsoft Community.



It sounds like you have a doubt on Windows 11 Security App's Exploit Protection. Exploit Protection, which protects your operating system and applications from many types of exploits by automatically appllying many exploit mitigation techniques, is enabled by default. This is why you will see files listed under program settings. Don't worry, it means it has been activated and started to work.

And you can read this article to learn more about how Exploit Protection works.

I hope it helps, and do get back to us for any issues pertaining in the future. We will be happy to help.







Best Regards,

Lynn Sun | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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