How to Enable Possibly Unwanted Applications Protection With Windows Defender
By Timothy Tibbettson 07/12/2023 |
Bundleware or PUP's (Potentially Unwanted Programs) is something we all try and avoid. Some software companies have gotten very sneaky making it easy to get tricked. While you probably have some security software installed, Windows Defender can try and watch for any of these programs for you. Here's how to enable, or disable the Potentially Unwanted Applications Protection.
Before we begin, this article is of no use to you if you're not using Windows Defender as your primary antivirus. Also, let's clarify the many names that can be used to describe Bundleware or PUP's. These include Crapware, or even Possibly Unwanted Software (PUS). We mention this because Windows Defender is going with Unwanted Applications (PUA) so we are using that term for this article.
1: Verify if Possibly Unwanted Applications (PUA) Protection Is On
Open PowerShell or the Command Prompt as Admin. You can find PowerShell (Admin) by pressing the Windows Key + X.
Copy and paste the following two lines one at a time, followed by the Enter key.
$Preferences = Get-MpPreference
$Preferences.PUAProtection
0 means that Possibly Unwanted Applications is disabled and 1 means that it is enabled.
2: Enable or Disable Possibly Unwanted Applications (PUA) Protection With PowerShell
With PowerShell still open, we can easily turn PUA Protection on and off by copying and pasting the lines below. If you're not sure, repeat Step 1 to see if you have enabled or disabled PUA.
Enable:
Set-MpPreference -PUAProtection 1
Set-MpPreference -PUAProtection Enabled
Disable:
Set-MpPreference -PUAProtection 0
Set-MpPreference -PUAProtection Disabled
Audit (Detect, but not block):
Set-MpPreference -PUAProtection 2
Set-MpPreference -PUAProtection AuditMode
There's no notification that anything happened, but if you want to be sure, repeat step 1 to verify.
3: Enable or Disable Possibly Unwanted Applications (PUA) Protection With Registry Files
If you don't want to use Powershell, you can use ready made registry files. Download Enable or Disable Possibly Unwanted Applications Protection. In the ZIP are two .reg files; Disable_Windows_Defender_PUA_protection.reg and Enable_Windows_Defender_PUA_protection.reg. Double-click on the one you need, or right-click and select Merge.
Microsoft also mentions ways to accomplish this with Group Policy Editor, but it appears to no longer work on most operating systems.
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Before we begin, this article is of no use to you if you're not using Windows Defender as your primary antivirus. Also, let's clarify the many names that can be used to describe Bundleware or PUP's. These include Crapware, or even Possibly Unwanted Software (PUS). We mention this because Windows Defender is going with Unwanted Applications (PUA) so we are using that term for this article.
1: Verify if Possibly Unwanted Applications (PUA) Protection Is On
Open PowerShell or the Command Prompt as Admin. You can find PowerShell (Admin) by pressing the Windows Key + X.
Copy and paste the following two lines one at a time, followed by the Enter key.
$Preferences = Get-MpPreference
$Preferences.PUAProtection
0 means that Possibly Unwanted Applications is disabled and 1 means that it is enabled.
2: Enable or Disable Possibly Unwanted Applications (PUA) Protection With PowerShell
With PowerShell still open, we can easily turn PUA Protection on and off by copying and pasting the lines below. If you're not sure, repeat Step 1 to see if you have enabled or disabled PUA.
Enable:
Set-MpPreference -PUAProtection 1
Set-MpPreference -PUAProtection Enabled
Disable:
Set-MpPreference -PUAProtection 0
Set-MpPreference -PUAProtection Disabled
Audit (Detect, but not block):
Set-MpPreference -PUAProtection 2
Set-MpPreference -PUAProtection AuditMode
There's no notification that anything happened, but if you want to be sure, repeat step 1 to verify.
3: Enable or Disable Possibly Unwanted Applications (PUA) Protection With Registry Files
If you don't want to use Powershell, you can use ready made registry files. Download Enable or Disable Possibly Unwanted Applications Protection. In the ZIP are two .reg files; Disable_Windows_Defender_PUA_protection.reg and Enable_Windows_Defender_PUA_protection.reg. Double-click on the one you need, or right-click and select Merge.
Microsoft also mentions ways to accomplish this with Group Policy Editor, but it appears to no longer work on most operating systems.
Similar:
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