# Configure Microsoft Defender

> Configure Microsoft Defender Antivirus on your Windows Devices from a Policy: real-time protection, cloud protection, scans, exclusions and ASR rules.

Source: https://docs.applivery.com/en/device-management/windows/policies/microsoft-defender/  •  Last updated: 2026-11-06

**Key topics:** Microsoft Defender Antivirus, Windows Policies, Exclusions, Applivery, Windows, Defender CSP

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**TL;DR:** Open a Windows Policy and go to the Antivirus configuration to manage Microsoft Defender Antivirus through the Defender CSP.

The **Antivirus** configuration of a Windows Policy lets you manage **Microsoft Defender Antivirus** on your Windows Devices. It uses the [Defender CSP](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/client-management/mdm/defender-csp), the interface Windows offers to device management tools for Defender.

## Open the Antivirus configuration

Once in the [**Applivery Dashboard**](https://dashboard.applivery.io), go to any of your **Policies** 1 or [create a new one](https://docs.applivery.com/en/device-management/general-settings/create-policies/). From the left-hand menu, select **\+ Add configuration** 2, then locate the **Antivirus** 3 configuration. The entry shows the number of settings it contains.

![antivirus](https://docs.applivery.com/int/_r2/media/09ac0a4e-3ad8-478f-9f15-3474973eec71/14c86ce3-a54f-44c3-af36-65c5bdd7dd26.png)

## What you can configure

-   **Real-time protection**: how Defender protects the Device continuously.
    
-   **Exploit Guard and ASR**: Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) rules block behaviors that malware often abuses to get into a Device.
    
-   **Cloud protection (MAPS)**: the Microsoft cloud service that Defender uses for cloud-delivered protection.
    
-   **Scans and exclusions**: how Defender scans the Device and what it skips.
    

:::warning
An exclusion tells Defender to skip files, folders, or processes, which lowers the protection of the Device. Add exclusions only when a vendor or your security team requires them, and record the reason.
:::