Antimalware Service Executable, also known as MsMpEng.exe, is a legitimate Windows process associated with Windows Defender. Windows security (Windows Defender) is Microsoft’s built-in antivirus and antimalware solution that aims to protect your system from various threats, including viruses, spyware, malware, and other malicious software. And the Purpose of Antimalware Service Executable is real-time scanning, threat detection, and system health maintenance to ensure your computer’s security. Overall Antimalware service executable plays a crucial role in safeguarding your system from malware and malicious software. But sometimes you may notice Antimalware Service Executable High memory or High CPU usage.
Users report Antimalware Service Executable consumes an unusually high amount of memory, leading to performance slowdowns.
Memory usages by Antimalware Service Executable (Microsoft Defender Antivirus Service) is High, it slow down system performance.
This article explores what is antimalware service executable why it’s causing high Memory or CPU usage and how to how to disable Antimalware service executable on Windows 11.
Post Contents :-
What is Antimalware Service Executable?
The Antimalware Service Executable or MsMpEng.exe is a legit process that runs in the background. Its part of Windows security (Defender) helps protect Windows systems against spyware, or malware threats. The Antimalware Service Executable is responsible for real-time scanning, threat detection, and overall security maintenance on your computer.
The service continuously monitors files, programs, and data to protect your system from viruses, malware, and other malicious software. However, sometimes it can consume a significant amount of system memory or high CPU usage, causing performance issues.
Here are some common reasons for Antimalware Service Executable High Memory Usage:
- Real-Time Scanning: The primary function of Antimalware Service Executable is the real-time scanning of files, programs, and data on your computer. When it encounters a file, it needs to analyze its contents to determine whether it’s safe or potentially harmful. This scanning process requires substantial CPU and memory resources, which can lead to high memory usage.
- Background Scans: Windows Defender performs scheduled background scans to ensure comprehensive protection. These scans involve thorough examinations of files and directories, resulting in increased memory consumption.
- Large File Sizes: Scanning large files or archives can cause the Antimalware Service Executable to consume more memory, especially if these files are heavily compressed or encrypted.
- Windows Updates: During Windows updates, Windows Defender might perform additional scans to ensure the integrity of the updated files, contributing to temporary spikes in memory usage.
How to Disable Antimalware Service Executable
Disable or stop Antimalware Service Executable (MsMpEng.exe) is possible, but it’s not generally recommended. The service plays a crucial role in protecting your computer from malware and viruses. Disabling it could leave your system vulnerable to security threats.
However, if you still want to proceed, here’s how you can disable it:
Turn off Real-Time Protection
Disabling real-time protection temporarily can help reduce memory usage as it stops the continuous scanning of files in the background. Remember to enable real-time protection again after performing this troubleshooting step to maintain system security.
- Open the Start menu and search for “Windows Security,” then click on the corresponding result.
- In the Windows Security window, click on “Virus & threat protection” on the left sidebar.
- Under “Virus & threat protection settings,” click on “Manage settings.”
- Toggle off the “Real-time protection” switch. A warning prompt will appear; click “Yes” to confirm turning off real-time protection.
Tweak Windows registry editor
Also, you can tweak the Windows registry editor to Disable Antimalware service executable on Windows 11.
- Press the Windows key + R, type regedit and click ok to open the Windows registry editor,
- Navigate HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender
- Now right-click on the blank space and select new and then click on “create the DWORD key”.
and name this to “DisableAntiSpyware”. - After that, just double-click on your new key and set the value to 1 and that will disable your Windows Defender permanently.
Close the registry editor and restart your computer, now check if the High memory or CPU usage problem is gone.
Schedule Defender Scans manually
By scheduling scans during periods of low activity, you can minimize the impact of scanning on system resources. This ensures that scans are performed regularly without causing high memory usage on Windows 11 during your active hours.
- Press the Windows key + R, type taskschd.msc and click ok to open Task scheduler,
- In the left window-pane of Task Scheduler Library, expand Microsoft then Windows and select the Windows Defender option.
- Right-click on Windows Defender Scheduled Scan and select properties, a new pop-up opens. Here first uncheck Run with the highest privileges option under the General tab.
- Next switch to Conditions tab and uncheck all options there.
- Now switch to the Trigger tab To set a new schedule. Click on New, then in the pop-up that follows, select Weekly or daily and check Enabled. Here you can manually select day, and time as well.
Click ok to save changes, now open task manager using Ctrl+Shift+Esc and check if the memory usage comes to normal.
Exclude Antimalware Service Executable scanning its own
Excluding trusted files, folders, or file types from scanning can reduce the workload of Antimalware Service Executable, thus decreasing memory usage. Also users report, adding the MsMpEng.exe file to the exclusion list in Windows Defender helps reduce memory or CPU usage on Windows 11.
- Open the Windows Security window, select “Virus & threat protection,” and click on “Manage settings.
- Scroll down to the “Exclusions” section and click on “Add or remove exclusions.”
- Click “Add an exclusion,” then choose whether you want to exclude a file, folder, file type, or process. Here select the Process option (Antimalware Service Executable listed under process on Task Manager)
- Now type the executable file, for Antimalware Service Executable file name is MsMpEng.exe
- Click on Add and then OK to save changes and restart Windows 11.
Use an Alternative Antivirus
Switching to an alternative antivirus solution can be an effective way to reduce memory usage if the issue persists with Windows Defender. Research and select a reputable third-party antivirus software that is known for efficient resource management and low memory usage.
When you install a reputable third-party Antivirus program on the computer, Windows Defender automatically disables itself. And you may no longer find Antimalware Service running and consuming resources on your computer.
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