[Remove Features Request] Windows Update + Defender Removal

[Obegg]

winutil has been very helpful for me, but it's only one of the tools I use on Windows, the other tool I use is Sophia Script.

Sophia Script is a good tool that takes pride in the fact that it doesn't break Windows, and it has a list of harmful tweakers in which those tools listed there are recognized (by the developer) as breaking Windows.

Latest commit on Sophia Script added winutil to the list of harmful tweakers: https://github.com/farag2/Sophia-Script-for-Windows/commit/e0f2b1f02592e35fc5083b81c7037de78c322bce There are two reasons behind this: 1) winutil has a feature that gives the user the option to delete Defender (on MicroWin). 2) winutil has a feature that gives the user the option to disable Windows Updates.

According to the Sophia Script developer those options breaks Windows and such options should not be offered to the user. For winutil to be removed from the list of harmful tweakers of Sophia Script those two features are to be removed.

Related issue: https://github.com/farag2/Sophia-Script-for-Windows/issues/550

[KonTy]

@Obegg interesting, who's to say that removing Defender is harmful? This is completely arbitrary lots of people might not want Defender for many valid reason for example offline gaming pc where every cpu cycle is important, or if they have some other antivirus. We are giving power back to the user and it is a good thing.

[Obegg]

Good question, that's why I linked the related issue so you can read the developer replies and ask him questions for yourself. But I can agree with the claim that deleting defender breaks windows, one argument is that you leave the user exposed to viruses, this kind of power should not be given to the user especially if the user doesn't know what he's doing, another argument is that this could lead to actual breakage where windows needs defender for various actions which I don't know yet what those are, and as hypothetical example could lead to Windows BSOD (I guess you can google the downsides of not having defender installed and get better answer that way).

[Jmkrnet]

Since Winutil already shows both options with sufficient info/warnings, I think the only harmful thing here is labeling Winutil as harmful.

For these people it is not enough saying that knives are harmful, they have to continue and insist that also the oxygen is harmful, because it enables fire:).

[Destroyarr]

Until they make a proper supercomputer to do proper code optimization's, Defender is bloat, because the system is bloated with everything. Many things need to be removed so that only the apps the users need remain.

This job is for Intel, AMD, Nvidia and Microsoft.

They must make a supercomputer like alpha-go alpha-dev, and let it be a compiler.

That's the correct solution if they want to run their bloatware on my laptop.

Or on the laptops of the poor souls whos' machines I am maintaining, who are waay too stubborn to buy anything new and even if they did buy, it would be slower than the old machine.

[github-actions[bot]]

Closed due to inactivity

[ttimasdf]

Defender is bloat

Maybe it is bloat for you, may be for somebody else, it just depends. I come from the linked issue and the maintainer thinks that it's not.

It's a very personal question depends on how people use their PC. But I strongly advice this feature only exposed to advanced users, with in-depth knowledge of how computer virus and antivirus works. Just like not every medicine is Over-the-counter. Killing antivirus will NOT make computer runs fast. The most effective method I've ever seen is to 1. buy a faster SSD, or 2. buy a new computer.