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Use Group Policy settings to configure and manage Microsoft Defender Antivirus

4 September 2026Doc update+145 / −136 lines

In brief

The article now provides more detailed GPMC navigation and setting-editing methods, notes the legacy “Windows Defender Antivirus” path name, and adds local Group Policy Editor guidance.

What Defender admins need to know

Administrators have clearer instructions for locating and configuring Defender Antivirus policies in central or local Group Policy.

Summaries are generated from the documentation change itself.

Documentation change

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Use Group Policy settings to configure and manage Microsoft Defender Antivirus

In general, you can use the following procedure to configure or change some settings for Microsoft Defender Antivirus.

  1. OnIn Centralized Group Policy, open the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) on your Group Policy management machine, opencomputer.

  2. In the Group Policy Management Console. Right-click theGPMC console tree, expand Group Policy Object (GPO)Objects in the forest and domain containing the GPO you want to configureedit.

  3. Right-click the GPO, and then select Edit.

  4. UsingIn the Group Policy Management Editor, go to Computer configuration.

  5. Select > Administrative templates.

  6. Expand the tree to > Windows components > Microsoft Defender Antivirus.

  7. Find the section that contains the setting you want to change. These sections are listed as Location in the Group Policy settings and resources

  1. In the details pane of Microsoft Defender Antivirus, find the section that contains the setting you want to change. These sections are listed as Location in the Group Policy settings and resources table. Double-click the setting to open it, and then make your changes.

  2. DeployIn the updated GPO as you normally do. For more information, see Group Policydetails pane of the selected section, open the setting. To open and configure a setting, use any of the following methods:

    • Double-click the setting.
    • Right-click the setting, and then select Edit.
    • Select the setting, and then select Action > Edit.

  3. In the setting window that opens, configure the setting, and then select OK.

Group Policy settings and resources

The following table lists commonly used Group Policy settings that are available in Windows 10 and later, Windows Server 2016 and later, including if you are running Windows Server 2012 R2 with the unified Microsoft Defender for Endpoint client.