How To Hide Windows Defender Icon From Notification Tray?

Windows Security Essential started as a built-in antivirus software for Windows. It wasn’t the best antivirus out there, but soon grew to be very efficient in snuffing out persistent virus and malware. In Windows 10, Windows Security may be enough for a casual user to fend of threats to their devices.

However, if you have invested in a third-party antivirus software, there is no use in keeping the Windows Defender Security icon on your notification tray. Here I shall discuss how you can hide Windows defender icon from the notification tray easily.

Check out this article if you wish to turn off Windows defender completely.

Prevent Windows Defender Notification Icon Startup!

One of the most annoying things about the Windows Defender Security is the fact that it launches by default during startup. This means that you will start seeing the Windows Defender icon on your taskbar right from the startup. While there is no proof of any significant impact, but the antivirus software may also hamper the booting speed if you are on a low end PC.

Luckily, you can easily prevent Windows defender notification startup. This needs to be done from the task manager, and the steps are quite similar to how you would prevent any other app from launching at startup:

1. Open the Task Manager using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
2. Go to the Startup tab.
   Here you will see a list of applications that want to start during boot.
3. Locate the Windows Defender notification from the list, and right click on this entry.
4. Select Disable from the context menu.

The Windows defender notification icon will be removed from startup.

Hide Windows Defender Icon From Notification Tray; Persistent Notification Icon

Check out this post if you are suffering from persistent Windows Defender notifications.

You can also hide the Windows defender icon from your taskbar tray. This can become very useful for the users who have invested in a premium antivirus service and want to get rid of Windows defender icon. Here, I shall discuss two methods that can be used for the same.

Method 1: Move Icon From Taskbar To Extended Notifications

If you do not wish to completely remove the notification icon but just hide it, there is an easy but permanent method to do so. All that you need to do is move the notification icon from the Settings app.

Here are the steps that you need to follow:

1. Right click on any empty space on your desktop and select Personalization from the context menu that appears.
2. From the left pane, click on Taskbar.
   Note: This can also be opened by selecting Taskbar settings from the context menu that appears when you right click on the taskbar.
3. In the right pane, locate the Notification area.
4. Click on Select which icons appear on the taskbar.
5. Here, turn the toggle towards ‘Off’ next to the option that says Windows security notification icon.

This will put the notification icon permanently in the extended notification box that opens when you click on the small arrow.

Method 2: Using The Registry Editor

The Registry is where Windows stores the configuration files for the apps and settings. You can make any tweak in Windows if you know the appropriate Registry Key. You can follow this article if you wish to learn to use registry from the Command Prompt.

To remove the Windows Defender notification icon from the taskbar, follow these steps:

1. Open a Run dialog by pressing Win + R.
2. Type regedit and press Enter, click on Yes in the User Account Control prompt to launch the Registry Editor.
3. Navigate to the following location, by pasting the path in the address bar of the registry Editor:
   Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
4. In the right pane, create a new String value from the right click context menu.
5. Name this string value as Windows Defender.
6. Double click on this value to modify its value, and set the Value data to following:
   “%ProgramFiles%\Windows Defender\MSASCuiL.exe”-runkey
7. Reboot your computer.

If you are on Windows v1803 or older, you might have to perform an additional step here. Follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the following location in the Registry Editor:
   Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender Security Center\Systray
2. In the right pane for this key, locate the DWORD value titles HideSystray.
   Tip: If you do not see this value, create a new DWORD 32 bit value from the right click context menu.
3. Change the Value data for this entry to 1 if you see it set to 0.
4. Restart your computer.

Wrapping Up

So there you have it. Now you know how to hide Windows defender icon from the notification tray using one or a combination of the methods provided above. Comment below if you found this useful and to discuss further the same.