Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Endpoint protectionPrevent End User Interaction Microsoft Defender Antivirus
In brief
The article now explicitly names Enable headless UI mode and identifies Allow users to pause scan as unsupported on Windows 10. Related policy-setting references and article metadata were also updated.
What Defender admins need to know
Administrators can more easily identify the relevant settings and apply the Windows 10 support guidance correctly.
Summaries are generated from the documentation change itself.
Documentation change
View on Microsoft LearnThe comparison below shows only the changed extract. Use the full-page view for complete context.
ms.localizationpriority: medium
author: paulinbar
ms.author: painbar
ms.custom: nextgen, msecd-doc-authoring-10141016
ms.date: 06/17/07/02/2026
ms.reviewer: pahuijbr
ms.subservice: ngp
ms.topic: how-to
In earlier versions of Windows 10, theEnable headless UI mode setting hides the Windows Defender client interface. If the user attempts to open the Windows Defender client interface, they'll receive a warning that says, "Your system administrator has restricted access to this app."
:::image type="content" source="/defender/media/wdav-headless-mode-1607.png" alt-text="The warning message when headless mode is enabled in Windows 10, versions earlier than 1703" lightbox="/defender/media/wdav-headless-mode-1607.png":::
- Double-click the Enable headless UI mode setting and set the option to Enabled. Select OK.
See Prevent users from locally modifying policy settings for additionalother Microsoft Defender Antivirus policy settings that prevent users from modifying protection on their PCs.
Prevent users from pausing a scan
You can prevent users from pausing scans, which can be helpful to ensure scheduled or on-demand scans aren't interrupted by users.
Use Group Policy to prevent users from pausing a scan
The UILockdown parameter indicates whether to disable UI Lockdown mode. If you specify a value of $True, Microsoft Defender Antivirus disables UI Lockdown mode. If you specify a value of $False or don't specify a value, UI Lockdown mode is enabled.
PS C:\>Set-MpPreference -UILockdown $true
Related articles
For more information, see the following articles:
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ ms.service: defender-endpoint ms.localizationpriority: medium author: paulinbar ms.author: painbar-ms.custom: nextgen, msecd-doc-authoring-1014-ms.date: 06/17/2026+ms.custom: nextgen, msecd-doc-authoring-1016+ms.date: 07/02/2026 ms.reviewer: pahuijbr ms.subservice: ngp ms.topic: how-to@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ With the setting set to **Disabled** or not configured: > [!NOTE] > Hiding the interface will also prevent Microsoft Defender Antivirus notifications from appearing on the endpoint. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint notifications will still appear. You can also individually [configure the notifications that appear on endpoints](configure-notifications-microsoft-defender-antivirus.md) -In earlier versions of Windows 10, the setting hides the Windows Defender client interface. If the user attempts to open the Windows Defender client interface, they'll receive a warning that says, "Your system administrator has restricted access to this app."+In earlier versions of Windows 10, the **Enable headless UI mode** setting hides the Windows Defender client interface. If the user attempts to open the Windows Defender client interface, they'll receive a warning that says, "Your system administrator has restricted access to this app." :::image type="content" source="/defender/media/wdav-headless-mode-1607.png" alt-text="The warning message when headless mode is enabled in Windows 10, versions earlier than 1703" lightbox="/defender/media/wdav-headless-mode-1607.png"::: @@ -68,14 +68,14 @@ To hide the Microsoft Defender Antivirus interface by using Group Policy, perfor 1. Double-click the **Enable headless UI mode** setting and set the option to **Enabled**. Select **OK**. -See [Prevent users from locally modifying policy settings](configure-local-policy-overrides-microsoft-defender-antivirus.md) for additional policy settings that prevent users from modifying protection on their PCs.+See [Prevent users from locally modifying policy settings](configure-local-policy-overrides-microsoft-defender-antivirus.md) for other Microsoft Defender Antivirus policy settings that prevent users from modifying protection on their PCs. ## Prevent users from pausing a scan You can prevent users from pausing scans, which can be helpful to ensure scheduled or on-demand scans aren't interrupted by users. > [!NOTE]-> This setting is not supported on Windows 10.+> The **Allow users to pause scan** setting is not supported on Windows 10. ### Use Group Policy to prevent users from pausing a scan @@ -96,12 +96,14 @@ To prevent users from pausing a scan by using Group Policy, perform the followin The `UILockdown` parameter indicates whether to disable UI Lockdown mode. If you specify a value of `$True`, Microsoft Defender Antivirus disables UI Lockdown mode. If you specify a value of `$False` or don't specify a value, UI Lockdown mode is enabled. -```+```powershell PS C:\>Set-MpPreference -UILockdown $true ``` ## Related articles +For more information, see the following articles:+ - [Configure the notifications that appear on endpoints](configure-notifications-microsoft-defender-antivirus.md) - [Configure end-user interaction with Microsoft Defender Antivirus](configure-local-policy-overrides-microsoft-defender-antivirus.md) - [Microsoft Defender Antivirus in Windows 10](microsoft-defender-antivirus-windows.md)