Potentially harmful software detected -- how do I turn this message off

Hello,

Thank you for contacting Microsoft Community.

We understand the inconvenience you have experienced.

Does Windows Action Center tells you this?

Since when this started happening?

Is this happening after installing any application?

Does Windows Action Center tell you the name of the malware?

Suggest you to go for a complete system scan with Windows Defender or with available Antivirus software to see if any malware exists. If this is happening after installing any particular software, then try to install that particular software to see if it fix the issue.

If the problem still persist, then check for available system Restore points. If an app or update that you recently installed caused problems with your PC, you can restore Windows back to an earlier point in time, called a restore point. System Restore doesn’t change your personal files, but it might remove recently installed apps and drivers.

Note: Windows automatically creates a restore point when you install desktop apps and new Windows updates, if the last restore point is older than 7 days. You can also create a restore point manually at any time.

To restore your PC to an earlier point in time

* Press Windows Key + R to open run command

* Type rstrui and hit Enter key.

* Select Recommended Restore or any other restore point created prior to this problem and click Next

* Follow the instructions to restore your PC to earlier.

Also ensure that your PC is up to date with Windows Updates. Go to Start Button/>Settings/>Update & Security/> Windows Update and check for any available updates.

Keep us posted if you require further assistance.

Hi,

I would also suggest you to scan your computer with Microsoft Safety Scanner, which would help us to get rid of viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. The Microsoft Safety Scanner is a free security tool that provides on-demand scanning and helps remove viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. It works with your existing Antivirus software. Refer to the link to download and run the scanner:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx

Note: The Microsoft Safety Scanner expires 10 days after being downloaded. To rerun a scan with the latest anti-malware definitions, download and run the Microsoft Safety Scanner again.

Important: Any data files that are infected may only be cleaned by deleting the file entirely, which means there is a potential for data loss.

Hope this information helps. Please let us know if you need any other assistance with Windows in future. We will be happy to assist you.

I'm sorry you misunderstood my question. I just need to know how to either turn off this annoying message that appears frequently, or to remove the software that causes the message. I am not doing any sort of "restore" functions under any circumstances.

It would seem the best way would be to disable the windows service. However I am prevented from doing that. So I'd guess a registry modification is the only way.

update: Found another way using gpedit.msc, administrative templates, windows components, windows defender, set Turn off Windows Defender to "Enabled"

Restart computer, check services.msc and you will see Windows Defender set to Manual, and not running. Still can't disable it, but this should take care of the problem I hope.