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Shall I turn on Memory integrity?

Anonymous
2020-05-17T15:20:56+00:00

Hello,

On my PC Memory integrity is turned off by default in Core Isolation in Windows Defender, So I've read a bunch of articles on it online and I'm still unsure if I should turn it on or not, if any one can give guidance that would be great.

[Original Title: Memory integrity]

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Security and privacy

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  1. Rob Koch 25,875 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2020-05-18T15:03:37+00:00

    When it does come into conflict with 3rd party software and causes an issue will the PC tell me its because  Memory Integrity is on or will i have to play around to figure out if its the reason?? 

    Memory integrity has been out since Sept. 2018 and is now standard with new Windows 10 systems.  Only older devices with outdated hardware that doesn't receive driver updates might have difficulties working with this feature enabled.

    What Are “Core Isolation” and “Memory Integrity” in Windows 10?

    The article discusses the general reasons a problem might occur, but if it's due to a software driver for some hardware, you'll see the message “A driver can’t load on this device” after rebooting.  Either try finding an updated driver for that particular hardware or return the Memory integrity setting to off.

    With most recent computer hardware from major manufacturers this shouldn't be a problem.  In either case, the most it should do is cause some particular hardware device not to function.  If Windows itself detects a problem during boot, it will turn the feature off itself and simply refuse to leave it enabled.

    On an old Dell desktop I upgraded from Windows 7 to 10, the Core Isolation menu isn't there and "Standard hardware security not supported" is displayed instead, likely due to no virtualization capability within its processor.

    So if the menu items for Core Isolation and Memory Integrity are displayed on your device, the hardware itself is capable, it's only outdated drivers or the use of other virtualization software as the article mentions which might interfere.

    Rob

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  1. Reza-Ameri 45,806 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2020-05-17T15:32:55+00:00

    To learn more about this feature, take a look at:

    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/device-guard/memory-integrity 

    It is recommended to turn this feature on for better protection in your system.

    However, in case you turn it on, it might cause compatibility issue and some errors in some systems and if that happens turn it off.

    However, in case you turn it on and everything works fine, leave it on.

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-05-18T13:43:32+00:00

    When it does come into conflict with 3rd party software and causes an issue will the PC tell me its because  Memory Integrity is on or will i have to play around to figure out if its the reason??

    5 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Reza-Ameri 45,806 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2020-05-18T13:30:38+00:00

    No, it actually protects your system and the reason it is off by default is mainly due to software compatibility issue and in case you test and there is no such problem, you may enable and use it.

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-05-18T15:12:11+00:00

    Thank you

    3 people found this answer helpful.
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