Removing Windows Defender when installing Datto AV

Having both the Datto AV and Windows Defender antivirus products installed on the same endpoint can cause performance issues. Therefore, when installing Datto AV on an endpoint, it is required that Windows Defender is disabled on the endpoint.

Fortunately, when installing Datto AV on a workstation, Windows Defender is disabled automatically. When installing Datto AV on Windows Server, Windows Defender should be uninstalled automatically. If the Datto AV agent is not able to uninstall Windows Defender, you will need to do so manually, as explained in this article.

The table below describes the Microsoft Defender Antivirus state for each Windows version when a non-Microsoft antivirus solution, like Datto AV, is installed.

Windows version Microsoft Defender Antivirus state
Windows 10
Windows 11		 Disabled automatically.
Windows Server 2025
Windows Server 2022
Windows Server 2019
Windows Server, version 1803, or newer
Windows Server 2016		 Should uninstall automatically. If not, uninstall manually per the options explained below.

NOTE  If Datto AV is unable to install due to an active Windows Defender on the endpoint, a notification is displayed with the 10600005 or 10615609 error codes.

NOTE  If Datto AV expires, is uninstalled, or otherwise stops providing real-time protection, Windows Defender will be re-enabled automatically.

Disabling Windows Defender on Windows Server manually

This section includes the steps for disabling Windows Defender via the server's UI or by using a PowerShell command.

Disabling Windows Defender via the server's UI

  1. In the Windows Server application, search for Server Manager.
  2. On the right side of the top navigation bar, select Manage > Remove Roles and Features.
  3. Click the Next button until Features is selected in the left navigation pane.
  4. In the Features list, clear the check box for Microsoft Defender Antivirus.

NOTE  On some Server versions, like Server 2016, the feature is listed as Windows Defender Features.

  1. Click the Next button.
  2. On the Confirmation page, click the Remove button.

Disabling Windows Defender via a Powershell command

You can run the following Powershell command to disable Windows Defender.

Import-Module servermanager; Uninstall-WindowsFeature -Name Windows-Defender | Select-Object Success,RestartNeeded,ExitCode | Format-List

IMPORTANT   If performing the steps above does not disable Windows Defender on the Windows server, you will need to contact Microsoft Support as Kaseya support will not be able to assist.

NOTE  For more information about Windows Defender compatibility, see the article Microsoft Defender Antivirus compatibility with other security products.