Many users have been reportedly facing high CPU, Disk, and/or memory usage on their computers. And when checked in the Task Manager, the culprit turns out to be a process named ‘Antimalware Service Executable’.

If you are intrigued by the nature of the process and its purpose, we’ll answer both of these questions in this guide, along with providing some quick and easy methods to tone down the CPU usage by this process.

What is ‘Antimalware Service Executable’?

Antimalware Service Executable is an essential Windows Defender service that helps you protect your machine from malware. The process typically runs in the background to constantly monitor the PC.

Usually, the process is only invoked when there is no third-party antivirus installed on your PC to ensure your computer is protected against threats.

If you do not have a third-party antivirus installed on your system, it is highly recommended that you DO NOT disable the process since it is tightly integrated with Windows Defender and provides your PC the much-needed protection from malware and viruses.

That being said, if the process is consuming precious resources even if you have a third-party antivirus installed, you might need to take some steps to reclaim your resources.

Method 1: Turn Off Real-Time Protection from Windows Defender

Real-Time protection constantly monitors your PC to protect it against threats. As the process is tightly integrated with the Defender, turning the Real-Time protection off might do the trick for you.

First, head to the Start Menu and type Security to perform a search for it. After that, from the search results, click on the ‘Windows Security’ tile to proceed.

Then, click on the ‘Virus & threat protection’ tab from the left sidebar.

Next, from the right section, click on the ‘Manage settings’ option to proceed.

After that, turn off the toggle present under the ‘Real-time protection’ section.

Method 2: Change Task Schedule

If turning the Windows Defender off is not an option, you can change its schedule to run at a time when you are not actively using your PC. This way, you won’t lose the protection it offers but reduce its impact on the performance.

First, head to the Start Menu and type Task Scheduler to perform a search for it. After that, click on the ‘Task Scheduler’ tile to proceed.

Now, click on the ‘Task Scheduler Library’ option from the left section of the window.

After that, double-click on the ‘Microsoft’ folder to expand it. Next, click on the ‘Windows’ directory to continue.

Now, scroll down to locate the ‘Windows Defender’ folder from the list and click on it to select.

After that, from the right section, right-click on the ‘Windows Defender Schedule Scans’ item and select the ‘Properties’ option to proceed. This will open a separate window on your screen.

Then, click on the ‘Triggers’ tab and then click on the ‘New’ button to continue. This will open a separate window on your screen.

Now, from the ‘New Trigger’ window, click on the dropdown menu following the ‘Begin the task’ field and select the ‘On a schedule’ option from the list.

After that, click on the radio button preceding the ‘Weekly’ option to select the weekly frequency. Then, from the right section of the window, set a time for the scan to run. After that, select the day you are less likely to use your computer for work. Finally, click on the ‘OK’ button to proceed.

Finally, select the schedule that was not created by you and click on the ‘Delete’ button.

You have successfully scheduled the Windows Defender scans to run out of your active time.

Method 3: Disable Windows Defender Using Registry Editor

In case you have a third-party antivirus installed on your device but still, the process is hogging your resources, you can also permanently disable the Windows Defender from the Registry Editor.

First, head to the Start Menu and type Editor to perform a search. Then, click on the ‘Registry Editor’ tile to proceed.

After that, copy+paste the below-mentioned address in the address bar and press Enter to navigate.

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Defender

Now, from the left section, right-click on the ‘Windows Defender’ option and hover over the ‘New’ option from the menu. Then, click on the ‘DWORD (32-bit) Value’ option from the sub-menu. Now, rename the file to DisableAntiSpyware. Next, double-click on the file to proceed.

After that, type 1 in the ‘Value data’ field and click on the ‘OK’ button to proceed.

After that, restart your PC from the Start Menu. Once restarted, Windows Defender should be disabled.

Method 4: Turn Off the Windows Defender Service

In case the Registry Editor method does not work for you for some reason, you can stop the Defender service.

Head to the Start Menu and type Services to perform a search. Then, click on the ‘Services’ tile to proceed.

Then, scroll down to locate the ‘Windows Defender Antivirus Service’ from the list and right-click on it. Next, click on the ‘Stop’ option to stop the service.

That’s all about it, people. If you ever find the ‘Antimalware service executable’ process hogging your resources, use these quick and easy methods to claim back those resources.