Group policies still work so effectively that I've set up a local domain using a controller in my homelab that does nothing but change the defender policies automatically for all users.
I thought so too, but if you switch everything off (including Tamper Protection) in the UI, then turn it off via (local!) Group Policy, it sticks. I’ve set up a few Windows 10 22H2 & 11 24H2 test VMs this way and they still have Defender disabled.
(I think you need to disable Tamper Protection first, otherwise you later get a threat detected of “WinDefendDisable”, but if you allow/unquarantine it doesn’t auto-enable again)
With Linux, there's often a good clean way to do a thing, and then there are weird hacks.
On Windows, it often starts with weird hacks, as Microsoft is further enclosing its ecosystem.
(I use Windows mostly for gaming and VR, and still have to constantly fiddle with the system to keep it working on a basic level, sad face emoji. Who would've thunk that merely playing a 8K European documentary in VR would require configuring DirectShow filters found on GitHub.)
via Virtual Desktop I suppose. So mpv would do all of the video stuff and then would blit a SbS video onto VD, and VD would warp the two halves on a spherical surface?
The 'weird hack' is actually just a normal option left hanging in Defender options that clearly states it will prevent "other" stuff from changing Defender settings
To prepare Win11 Enterprise edition image for distribution, I run ~200 lines long powershell script, nuking every bloatware MS puts into Win.
It's ridiculous.
Linux distro devs, working for free, pushing excellent product can't compare with these clowns in high-paying jobs at Microsoft, pretending they're working.
I found that this script broke Win+R Run dialog history by setting Start_TrackProgs. This was undocumented, and I had to disable it manually. (Worse yet, it doesn't show up on GitHub search because the .reg files are UTF-16.)
its been disabled. defender group policy auto re-enabling is readily reproducible. i have a screenshot showing defender detecting the group policy change as a malware detection.
any control you think you have over windows is imaginary.
