The tool called “Defendnot” can secretly turn off Windows Defender — and your PC might not even notice.

Defendnot tricks your Windows-system into thinking another antivirus is installed, causing Windows Defender to shut itself off. The Defendnot tool, created by researcher es3n1n, abuses this API by registering a fake antivirus product that meets all of Windows’ validation checks. The tool is based on a previous project called no-defender, which used code from a third-party antivirus product to spoof registration with WSC. That earlier tool was pulled from GitHub after the vendor filed a DMCA takedown.

Hackers can turn off Windows Defender with this sneaky new tool