How to uninstall Windows Security from Windows Server

This is a step-by-step process to remove Windows Security from Windows Server. You can partly remove Microsoft Defender Antivirus from Windows Server using PowerShell and the Server Manager.

Please note that Windows Security cannot be completely uninstalled from Windows Server. However, you can uninstall Microsoft Defender Antivirus from your server. Once you have uninstalled Microsoft Defender, you will be able to use any other third-party security shield on your server.

Uninstalling Windows Security: Windows Server

Following are the steps to uninstall Windows Security from a Windows Server:

Run Server Manager on your computer.

Click on Manage > Remove Roles and Features.

After choosing the server in the Server Selection pane, click Next.

Now on the Features tab, de-select Microsoft Defender Antivirus.

Now check the option saying Restart the destination server automatically if required and click on the Remove button.

Below is an explanation of all these steps in some detail.

Launch your Server Manager on your computer and click on the Manage menu. Click on Remove Roles and Features. On the Server Selection tab, choose the server that you will be using as your destination, then click Next.

Now, proceed to the Server Roles tab and click the Next button. Doing this will load the Features tab. This is where you will find Microsoft Defender Antivirus. You will now need to deselect the respective box and click the Next button.

Note: This procedure will require you to restart it. Now, there are two ways you can do this: Firstly, it is a manual restart by just clicking the Remove button. If you want it to automatically restart, then just click the Remove button with a check on the Restart the destination server automatically if required box.

That seals it; you don't have to close or kill the process.

After that, Windows Security will no longer have a section for Microsoft Defender Antivirus.

Microsoft Defender Antivirus can be installed again with the Server Manager.

Uninstalling Windows Defender from Windows Server via PowerShell Script

Using PowerShell, you can uninstall Microsoft Defender from Windows Server:

In the Taskbar search box, enter "powershell" to search for what you want.

For each result, select it.

Type the following command: Choose the Windows Defender option and then click Uninstall-WindowsFeature.

Continue reading to learn how these actions are described in detail.

Open the PowerShell console on your server. Start by opening the Taskbar search box and typing the word "powershell" into the space provided and click each of the entries that come up in the list. After you have completed the latter, click the following action:

Click on Windows Defender and click Uninstall-WindowsFeature.

Now you will no longer see Microsoft Defender Antivirus on your server. However, the following command will bring it back if you would like:

Running the setup of Windows Defender

We hope these steps have helped you with your questions and that you can remove the Windows Security from Windows Server in a pretty easy way.