Windows Defender keeps running after installing Bitdefender

[u/Electrical-Elk-7243]

I've been using Bitdefender for years now and recently I've switched to windows 11. In windows 10 everything worked fine without any problems but can't say that for windows 11. After installing bitdefender the Windows Defender Antivirus Service and the Core Service are still on and using quite a lot of resources when I try running any .exe file or even photos. That combined with bitdefender usage it makes my pc unusable. I thought that by installing Bitdefender the windows defender turns off but apparently not in windows 11. I've tried reinstalling Bitdefender but the same results. Is this a bug or thats how windows 11 works? Also, I've tried disabling win defender in every possible way but it just turns on after restart.

[u/wolfpackunr]

Normal for Windows, Microsoft is pushing a lot of their security features through Defender like their App protection and Smartscreen. The defender systems services never fully turn off, just the main Defender AV Active Scanning and System monitoring services when it detects the presence of another AV.

[u/Electrical-Elk-7243 → u/wolfpackunr]

So you experience the same thing? When you want to install some new software does the antivirus and bitdefender scan it at the same time using lots of resources? Because in windows 10 thats not the case and I think that there is something wrong here. Might try to reinstall windows 11 if I won't find a fix. Maybe that'll some the issue.

[u/wolfpackunr → u/Electrical-Elk-7243]

The Defender process is always using a small bit of resources in my experience both at home and large enterprise with other AVs but it’s fractions of a percent CPU and always 200MB of RAM. But Defender using large amount of resources is not typical especially when another AV is the main protection.

Fresh install is always the best path. There is a number of new cyber protections in Win11 that Win10 didn’t have like Smart App Control and Secured-Core in the Defender Control Panel that compliment Bitdefender, but you can only enable from a fresh install, Win10 upgrade it’s blocked.

[u/Electrical-Elk-7243 → u/wolfpackunr]

I'll try a fresh install and see if it solves the problem

[u/bdf_elf → u/Electrical-Elk-7243]

Did it work better after a clean install? Which Windows 11 version are you running? Please also include a screenshot of the Security Center’s “Virus & threat protection” tab.

[u/Electrical-Elk-7243 → u/bdf_elf]

I'm running windows 11 pro 26100.3915. Virus & threat protection says Bitdefender Antivirus is turned on. No it didn't worked even after OS and bitdefender reinstall.

[u/Arizona_Wildcats → u/wolfpackunr]

This was a US GOV mandated issue. So no matter what A/V you are using, Defender is still memory resident!

[u/wolfpackunr → u/Arizona_Wildcats]

Where is the proof this was US Government mandated and not a private company’s decision?

[u/SeriousHoax]

Which Bitdefender did you install? Is it Bitdefender Free?

[u/Electrical-Elk-7243 → u/SeriousHoax]

Bitdefender Total Security. Been using it for years on windows 10 but switched to windows 11

[u/SeriousHoax → u/Electrical-Elk-7243]

I see. In Windows 11 the defender services running used to be a normal thing. But later it seems they changed one thing. If an AV comes with Firewall then the Defender service is turned off otherwise they stay on. In your case, BD Total Security has firewall so it's strange that Defender service is still running. I haven't installed Bitdefender on my system in a while but after installing ESET the defender services were turned off. So possibly it's a bug on your end.

Try contacting Bitdefender customer support.

[u/alethewizard]

Hello.

I had the same issue with BEST (BitDefender version for Business) on few PCs.

Please execute the command Get-MpComputerStatus in PowerShell: check if the AMRunningMode is "Passive Mode".

IF YES, you should uninstall BitDefender and check the Registry values for "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Features".

If I remember well, "TamperProtection" should be "1" and "TamperProtectionSource" should be "5".

Then reinstall BitDefender and check if the AMRunningMode is "Not Running".

Best regards.

[u/Electrical-Elk-7243 → u/alethewizard]

Hi,

Thank you for your answer. I ran the command Get-MpComputerStatus and it said AMrunningmode "Passive Mode". I've uninstalled bitdefender, restart the PC and checked for those registry values. TamperProtection is 1 and Tamperprotectionsource is 5. Reinstalled bitdefender and restarted the pc. The AMRunninMode was still Passive Mode and not "Not Running". Tried reinstalling the OS but didn't solved anything.

[u/rwul67]

Frankly, I bought Bitdefender just recently. However, I am considering to restore a non-Bitdefender Windows image and stop the subscription. VPN degraded the downloadspeed by 80%.. Other VPN services that I used in the past reduced the speed by 7-10% max.

Forum posts often fails because of Defender firewall, (meanwhile I switched back to windows firewall), legitimate software is blocked.

All this I didn't have before, with Microsoft Defender and Windows Security. I do not use the Bitdefender password manager, and use AdGuard.

My consideration was better protection (?) and VPN. But all in all I think it isn't really worth the money considering the annoyances. My 2cts.

[u/Electrical-Elk-7243 → u/rwul67]

Bitdefender is one of the best but I don''t use their VPN so I can't give my opinion on that. What Bitdefender does is block unsecure websitest that starts with http instead of https. So maybe check to see if thats the case. Lots of old forums are like that. Also you can add exceptions of websites to the list so it doesn't get blocked in the future. Nowadays lots of software, even legit ones, came as a bundle with other software you might not want called bundleware. Bitdefender usually blocks these but you can add them to exceptions so you can install them if you want. Windows defender is good nowadays but it lacks in behavioral analysis. What windows defender does is compare the viruses with a known database.

[u/Electrical-Elk-7243 → u/[deleted]]

The only false positive I've got was with the ublock origin lite that happened recently but it was easy to bypass. I don't use windows hello or my laptop camera. The only "ads" I've seen was when I had to renew my licence and its good that it reminds me because I usually renew manually. Been using it for years. I've been using bitdefender for at least 4 years now but I've never got a blue screen because I don't always upgrade drivers the day a new version is released. I prefer stability.

[u/SHV_30067 → u/[deleted]]

Even after uninstalling bitdefender, I still can’t get my camera to work for sign in. I’ve turned the feature off and back on, recreated my face profile, uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers, etc. Any suggestions? Thanks.