Windows Defender is deleting files and messing up my system

[morrow58]

I have a ryzen pc with windows 10.
Windows Defender is messing up my system and automatically "cleans" allegedly infected files making a whole bunch of good apps unusable & unable to launch after that.
There's nothing in Windows Defender to bypass the cleansing of allegedly infected files.

Files that were flagged as containing viruses include utilities software for my msi motherboard that were installed from
the original msi installation disk or downloaded from msi website:
Smart Tool
Command Center
CPU Z
Gaming App
msi ramdisk

Strangely X Boost & LIVE UPDATE 6 were left untouched (for the time being).

Also other apps like cc cleaner & vlc media player were also flagged as containing viruses & "cleansed" & became unusable after that.
I scanned all the alleged infected files using my laptop security software f-secure & they passed.

I turned off Windows Defender & reinstalled all the affected apps thinking problem solved but every time I turn on the pc, windows 10 turns on Windows Defender automatically & it begins deleting the same apps again.
The prompt also says Windows Defender can only be turned off temporarily, if it's off after a certain period of time,
the system will automatically turn it on again.

What can I do? I really need those utility apps to fine tune my msi motherboard/system. Can I ever turn off Windows Defender
in windows 10 permanently like in previous windows? How do I configure it to not mess with my files?
There's no uninstall but can I delete the windows defender subfolder in the program folder?

 

[sosofm]

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-permanently-disable-windows-defender-windows-10

 

[rgd1101]

You can install a 3rd party anti virus/malware, that would disable windows defender.
Where did you get the window 10 installation from?

 

[mjslakeridge]

That is odd that Windows Defender is disabling legit apps. Sounds like you may have some malware. I use Windows Defender on Windows 8.1 Pro, and apps such as CPU-Z, MSI Afterburner, GPU-Z all work fine.

 

[dark_lord69]

OR defender didn't do it and the virus infection is what caused the issues...
Viruses will infect files. Malicious viruses could intentionally infect files for known programs to intentionally cause them to stop working. When a file is infected it's deleted regardless of what program uses it. Even windows files can get deleted causing a user to be forced to re-install windows.

As for your programs have you tried re-installing them? Do they get detected again?

"I scanned all the alleged infected files using my laptop security software f-secure & they passed."
Did you scan after those files AFTER defender already deleted the infections? Did you expect to find more? Is this still happening?
Is it possible that you are seeing fake windows defender prompts from a malware product that caused the actual damage?

I recommend Malwarebytes Free (not trial).