Why is Defender Firewall still in Control Panel in Windows 11?

florismk · Apr 14, 2024

Thought I had it figured out: Windows Security replaces Defender in Windows 11. In fact, Defender was lurking in my system tray and causing problems, and now that I've removed it, Security works better.

But why, then, is there still a Windows Defender Firewall in my Control Panel? And how do I get rid of it? (Assuming the Firewall in Security is something different.)

Bree · Apr 14, 2024

florismk said:
....why, then, is there still a Windows Defender Firewall in my Control Panel? And how do I get rid of it? (Assuming the Firewall in Security is something different.)

Welcome to Eleven Forum.

It's exacly the same Windows Firewall whether you get to its settings in Windows Security or through the Control Panel. For example, try clicking 'Allow an app through Firewall...' in either, you'll end up at the same place - a Control Panel page.

Microsoft are slowly migrating functions from Control Panel into the Settings app. But they will only remove it from Control Panel once all settings are available in the Settings app. For the Firewall that's not true (yet).

So no, you don't want to remove Firewall from Control Panel, there are still a few things that can only be set from the Control Panel.

Berton · Apr 14, 2024

Also, many things in Windows 11 settings may still show as Windows 10 so as mentioned the full migration has not been completed.

antspants · Apr 14, 2024

florismk said:
and now that I've removed it

florismk said:
But why, then, is there still a Windows Defender Firewall in my Control Panel?

How did you remove Windows Defender, what method did you use?

edit; Does it start if you try opening it via Control Panel?

florismk · Apr 15, 2024

Bree said:
It's exacly the same Windows Firewall whether you get to its settings in Windows Security or through the Control Panel.

Thanks, that's very helpful!

Berton said:
many things in Windows 11 settings may still show as Windows 10

Yeah, I noticed that, it's a weird hybrid.

antspants said:
How did you remove Windows Defender, what method did you use?

antspants said:
Does it start if you try opening it via Control Panel?

I searched for Defender in the Start Menu and found both the Windows Defender Firewall control panel, which I didn't touch, and a Defender app, which I right-clicked and removed, and no longer shows up. The Windows Defender Firewall item in Control Panel still starts.

antspants · Apr 15, 2024

florismk said:
which I right-clicked and removed

I actually don’t know what that removes.

You don’t need to remove it, just disable it. I personally would advise against removing it. It can be done apparently with a little research, but I would’t research it for you because I believe it could be detrimental to your PC..

DISABLE

Enable or Disable Microsoft Defender Antivirus in Windows 11 Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable Microsoft Defender Antivirus in Windows 11. Microsoft Defender Antivirus is an antivirus software that is included in Windows 11 and can help protect your device from viruses, malware, and other threats. You must be signed in as an...

www.elevenforum.com

Try3 · Apr 15, 2024

florismk said:
Windows Security replaces Defender in Windows 11

Not quite.
Defender is a part of Windows security.

Denis

florismk · Apr 15, 2024

antspants said:
I actually don’t know what that removes.

You don’t need to remove it, just disable it.

It looked like the old Defender app. Removal was easy and painless. After removal, Security remained fully functional. Only change to my system is that there no longer is a separate Defender app, and it no longer has a separate icon in the systray. Also, I have some hopes that the issue I was experiencing with Security/Defender is gone: quite often, neither were responding when I tried to open them from the systray, and now, Security always opens, it seems.