Disable Defender Antivirus Watson event reporting
- Windows onlyThis script improves your privacy on Windows
- Single actionThis page belongs to a script, containing basic changes to achieve a task.
- Impact: Medium
System Functionality / Data Loss Risk: Moderate
This action improves privacy with minimal impact when you run the recommended script.
This action improves privacy with some impact when you run the recommended script. - Batch (batchfile)These changes use Windows system commands to update your settings.
- Administrator rights requiredThis script requires privilege access to do the system changes
- Fully reversible
You can fully restore this action (revert back to the original behavior) using this website.
The restore/revert methods provided here can help you fix issues.
Overview
This script prevents Defender from sending Watson events to Microsoft.
Watson events are automatically sent reports to Microsoft when a program or service crashes or fails 1. By default, these reports are sent automatically 1 2 3. This script specifically targets reporting behavior of Defender Antivirus 3 without affecting other applications or services that may use Watson events.
Disabling Watson events enhances privacy by preventing the automatic submission of potentially sensitive information about system crashes and failures 1. This practice is recommended by the Center for Internet Security (CIS) for additional privacy and security 1.
After running this script, Microsoft will no longer receive automatic Watson event reports 1 2 3. This change improves privacy but may limit Microsoft's ability to diagnose and fix system issues.
This script modifies the following registry keys:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Reporting!DisableGenericRePorts
1 2 3HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft Antimalware\Reporting!DisableGenericRePorts
4
- Security Trade-off
This action prioritizes privacy over certain security features. It's not recommended and should only be used by advanced users after understanding its implications.
Increased Privacy
Enhanced privacy through reduced data collection and trackingDecreased Security
Some security features will be disabled or limitedThis script can be reversed, this action allows you to can restore the system security.
- Use with Caution
This script is only recommended if you understand its implications.
Some non-critical or features may no longer function correctly after running this script.
This script can be fully reversed to restore changes if something goes wrong.
Sources
- 18.9.45.10.1. CIS Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise (Release 21H1 or older) Benchmark. paper.bobylive.com. (2024).
Original: https://paper.bobylive.com/Security/CIS/CIS_Microsoft_Windows_10_Enterprise_Release_21H1_Benchmark_v1_11_0.pdf
Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20240722105035/https://paper.bobylive.com/Security/CIS/CIS_Microsoft_Windows_10_Enterprise_Release_21H1_Benchmark_v1_11_0.pdf - Configure Watson events. admx.help. (2024).
Original: https://admx.help
Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20240728211352/https://admx.help/?Category=SystemCenterEndpointProtection&Policy=Microsoft.Policies.Antimalware::reporting_disablegenericreports - ADMX_MicrosoftDefenderAntivirus Policy CSP - Windows Client Management. Microsoft Learn. learn.microsoft.com. (2024).
Original: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/client-management/mdm/policy-csp-admx-microsoftdefenderantivirus
Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20240314124159/https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/client-management/mdm/policy-csp-admx-microsoftdefenderantivirus#reporting_disablegenericreports - February 2015 anti-malware platform update for Endpoint Protection clients - Microsoft Support. support.microsoft.com. (2024).
Original: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/february-2015-anti-malware-platform-update-for-endpoint-protection-clients-937df5f6-cf2c-9fe0-507b-40137cbecf88
Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20240610133846/https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/february-2015-anti-malware-platform-update-for-endpoint-protection-clients-937df5f6-cf2c-9fe0-507b-40137cbecf88
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Choose one of three ways to apply:
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- Offline usage
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- Free
- Open-source
Help
How to apply or restore "Disable Defender Antivirus Watson event reporting" using script
- ≈ 2 min to complete
- Tools: Web Browser
- Difficulty: Simple
- ≈ 5 instructions
- 1
Download
Download the script file by clicking on thebutton above.
Use button above to restore changes. - 2
Keep the file
If warned by your browser, keep the file. - 3
Open
Open the downloaded file. - 4
Exit
Once it's done, press any key to exit the window. - 5
Restart
Restart your computer for all changes to take effect.
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