[qimqim]

My main PC is away under repair. I am using another one, which is very slow, especially when starting. I believe that the problem resides with the MS antivirus that does a scan as soon as I try to start.

Could you advice on how to get rid of this antivirus and get another free one that will not make me wait a long time when I start?

Is Defender and Bitdefender the same thing?

Thank you

 

[Corday]

Just turn off the scheduled scan in scheduled tasks or you can stop the scan. Your built in AV is better than any 3rd party offering.

 

[SpywareDr]

Is Defender and Bitdefender the same thing?

No:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Defender

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitdefender

 

[qimqim]

Just turn off the scheduled scan in scheduled tasks or you can stop the scan. Your built in AV is better than any 3rd party offering.

Hi
Many thanks for the reply.
I located the scheduled tasks but... can't quite understand how I can stop it.
Where is the Task Properties pages?
Can you help, ple3ase?

 

[Corday]

Try Triggers.

 

[qimqim]

Triggers is empty...

 

[spunk.funk]

In Task Scheduler
Click the arrow next to Scheduler Library to expand the session and navigate to the following path:
Microsoft \ Windows \ Windows Defender
Click on Windows Defender and a window with Defender services will appear;
Right-click Windows Defender Schedule Scan and select Disable;

 

[qimqim]

Thank you, very much

I take it that Defender will be active and simply will not scan and I will have to do it manually.

Great!

 

[spunk.funk]

That is correct. It will only scan if you tell it to.

 

[sawristwatchess]

If you believe that the MS antivirus is causing your slow start-up time, you can disable it by following these steps:

1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run command box.
2. Type in "gpedit.msc" and press Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.
3. In the left-hand pane, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Defender Antivirus.
4. In the right-hand pane, double-click on "Turn off Windows Defender Antivirus".
5. Select the "Enabled" option, and then click "Apply" and "OK".

This will disable Windows Defender Antivirus on your computer.
If you want to install another free antivirus program, you can consider using Avast, AVG, or Avira. These are all reputable free antivirus programs that you can download from their official websites.
As for your question about Defender and Bitdefender, no, they are not the same thing. Windows Defender is a built-in antivirus program that comes with Windows 10, while Bitdefender is a third-party antivirus program that you can download and install separately. Both programs serve the same purpose of protecting your computer from viruses and malware, but they have different features and capabilities.

 

[jonnyb]

I don't think people should have anything other than a SSD to run Windows 10 or 11. I work on those mechanical magnetic drives all the time and they are just too slow for these operating system. I have 6 older computers that I took out the HDD and installed SSDs in them. They all run fast. Even the one that is 12 years old. So, you got a HDD or a SDD? Check the drive for errors? Chkdsk. Trim it lately? Startup stuff disabled? Get rid of 20 or more apps that Microsoft put on your computer? Clean out those temp files? Got any spyware? I have a lady that has Norton on her Windows 10. She says that it's great and it gets all the bugs. I ran Superantispyware on it and she had 649 spyware bugs on it. Windows needs a lot of maintenance. Got to keep up with it. Got enough Ram? 8, 12, 16 GBs???

 

[Corday]

jonnyb IMO
If the user is only an Email and some Web Surfing type, a HD is fine.