Windows 10: Windows Defender threat service has stopped and won't turn back on

Discus and support Windows Defender threat service has stopped and won't turn back on in AntiVirus, Firewalls and System Security to solve the problem; I'm using Malwarebytes but wanted to get a second opinion from Windows Defender, which is when I suddenly ran into this problem. Windows Defender... Discussion in 'AntiVirus, Firewalls and System Security' started by E_278, Jun 23, 2022.

  1. E_278
    E_278 Win User

    Windows Defender threat service has stopped and won't turn back on


    I'm using Malwarebytes but wanted to get a second opinion from Windows Defender, which is when I suddenly ran into this problem. Windows Defender turned off randomly even though I turned it back on previously and then refused to turn back on when I tried to enable it in the settings. I uninstalled Malwarebytes to figure out the problem and now I'm getting an error that says "Threat service has stopped. Restart it now". Sometimes Windows Defender would load in, but everywhere it said "Not available" and I couldn't scan. Afterwards, the threat service would disable itself after a few minutes.

    :)
     
    E_278, Jun 23, 2022
    #1
  2. RHINA VIB
    Rhina Vib Win User

    Windows defender: "Threat service has stopped"

    Hi,

    For us to better assist you, we need to ask a few questions:

    • Which version of Windows are you using?
    • Were there any changes made before experiencing this issue?

    For steps to help resolve the issue, you can refer to
    cuda18    's post on this
    link    .

    Looking forward to your reply.

    Thank you.
     
    Rhina Vib, Jun 23, 2022
    #2
  3. GREGINMICH
    GreginMich Win User
    Windows defender: "Threat service has stopped"

    Some users might be experiencing a glitch with starting the Threat Service (Windows Defender Antimalware Service) that was apparently delivered on Patch Tuesday. The first thing to try would be manually restarting the PC lots of times, with a break
    between the restarts (Start button > Power > Restart), as described by Le Boule in this thread:

    Redirecting

    This issue might also be related to the known glitch where the Security Center Service needs to be restarted in order to get Windows Defender up and running – so try this:

    • Manually restart the Security Center, and then attempt to start the Windows Defender Antivirus Service:

    1. Press Win Key + R

    2. Type “services.msc” and click OK.

    3. Right-click on Security Center and click
    Restart

    3. Right-click on the Windows Defender Antivirus Service and click
    Start.

    If that doesn't work, then you should follow these general troubleshooting steps:

    • Remove any undetected malware by scanning with several third-party malware-removal apps, starting with Malwarebytes Free:

    Redirecting

    • Run the cleanup tools for any previously installed or preinstalled AV apps:

    Redirecting

    • Run the standard Windows 10 system integrity checks:

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...em-files/bc609315-da1f-4775-812c-695b60477a93

    Source thread:

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...start-it/202a2f5d-9f36-4241-b557-d22c5cfc99db

    If the above steps fail to start the Windows Defender Antivirus Service, then you can try the steps provided here:

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...-windows/808253bb-db89-4db9-a4e5-1c91a86489e9

    I hadn’t noticed that

    PrashantKumar96     actually advised setting DisableAntiSpyware = 0
    in this forum article. Before you do that, you should always try just deleting any possible entry for
    DisableAntiSpyware = 1, since that setting might have been added by another program or by malware – and that setting will always prevent Windows Defender from starting. For the sake of both ease and safety, this should be done with a REG command.

    Type “cmd” in the search box; and then right-click on
    Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.

    And then copy, paste, and enter this command:

    REG DELETE "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender" /v DisableAntiSpyware

    This is the proper way to enable Windows Defender when it's been turned off via Group Policy.

    We can see that there’s a general confusion with respect to this Group Policy setting by the way that Brink equivocates deleting the
    DisableAntiSpyware entry with setting its value to 0.

    DisableAntiSpyware DWORD

    (delete) or 0 = On

    1 = Off

    https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/5918-turn-off-windows-defender-windows-10-a.html

    But this setting actually uses a three-state logic, where the absence of the setting specifies the normal
    Automatic Disabled compatibility mode for Windows Defender.
    Setting DisableAntiSpyware = 0 sets Windows Defender's operational state to “always on” [DisableAntiSpyware = 0 (logical “no/never”)], whereas [DisableAntiSpyware = 1 (logical “yes/always”)] sets Defender’s
    operational state to “always off”; and where removing the DisableAntispyware registry entry simply returns Defender to its default operational state – where Defender will be automatically disabled by the installation of any third-party AV app, and
    automatically enabled when a third-party AV app is uninstalled.

    As the "method of last resort", you can set the Group Policy for Windows Defender to its “always on” mode:

    Type “cmd” in the search box; and then right-click on Command Prompt and select
    Run as administrator.

    And then copy, paste, and enter this command:

    REG ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender" /v DisableAntiSpyware /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

    Then click the Restart button (it might be necessary to restart the PC first).

    If this doesn’t work, then you should remove this setting with the REG DELETE command provided above.
    Note that this REG ADD command is just the safe and easy way to perform the registry edit that was described in the answer to this thread:

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...-stopped/5724ac44-80ff-4a2f-a3a5-46686a92edd9

    No internet-connected PC is safe when it's running without real-time protection. So if you’re not able to restart the Windows Defender Antivirus Service, then the best course of action would be to just temporarily install a free third-party AV solution
    until we can get a handle on things. Replacing Defender with a third-party AV app should at least provide you with a viable alternative for Defender’s real-time protection, and thus let you safely connect to the internet:

    https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388652,00.asp
     
    GreginMich, Jun 23, 2022
    #3
  4. FREEBOOTER
    FreeBooter Win User

    Windows Defender threat service has stopped and won't turn back on

    FreeBooter, Jun 23, 2022
    #4
Thema:

Windows Defender threat service has stopped and won't turn back on

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