Remove 2nd Windows Defender Taskbar Icon

With the release of the new Microsoft Defender, available to Microsoft 365 Subscribers, yet another icon was added to the Notifications Area at the bottom right of the Windows Taskbar.

The old Windows Security (white shield icon in Windows 10, blue shield icon in Windows 11) is no longer needed as the new Microsoft Defender (blue shield icon) will be taking over, eventually.

To remove the (to be replaced) Windows Security (white shield) icon from the Notifications Area simply open Windows Task Manager by right mouse clicking in a blank area on the Taskbar.

Select the “Startup” tab from the top or left side of the Task Manager window. Right click on “Windows Security notification icon” and select “Disable” from the drop down list.

Note that you can also “Disable” the new Microsoft Defender but I don’t recommend it as I am not sure if you will receive notifications should it discover a security threat.

If you wanted to uninstall and remove Microsoft Defender completely, then simply go to your Start menu. Locate the new Microsoft Defender app and right mouse click it to reveal a menu with the option to “Uninstall“.

Conclusion

I hope this article has helped you reduce the number of icons within your Windows Taskbar Notifications Area. I welcome your thoughts, questions or suggestions regarding this article.

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Editors Note:

• This article was first published on May 20th, 2023 and was revised on October 2nd, 2024 to update the terms used based upon Avner’s suggestions.