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The history of Microsoft advocacy is very broad and complex, so we will try to keep it short. It’s very interesting, however, if you want to see it for yourself.
Microsoft Defender, officially the Defender of Windows, was technically first released in 2005 as a repackaged version of GIANT Antispyware after Microsoft acquired the GIANT company software in 2004. This was the beginning of the Windows Defender journey.
Windows Defender at the time only protected users against spyware and not any other type of virus, it was until the Windows Defender Antivirus was born. The first time we ever see Windows Defender as standard antivirus software (and not a necessary part of Windows security, as in Vista and Windows 7) is Windows 10.
But then in the Windows 10 update, the 2004 Windows Defender was renamed Microsoft Defender. It’s amazing how many people still think it’s called Windows Defender, but it’s basically the same thing so don’t beat yourself up.
Microsoft Defender Bug
With the fact that Microsoft Fans has moved from OS to OS, and the fact that it has changed so many times to suit the modern world, it’s not surprising that someone found a bug. This one is developer Kevin Glenn, nicknamed “Uncle Webb”.
Kevin Glenn discovered a bizarre bug in Microsoft Defender, which causes all Intel CPUs of 2008 and beyond to affect small performance in Windows 10 and 11.
According to a report from Tech PowerUp, the bug caused Microsoft Defender (Windows Defender) to “accidentally start using all seven hardware performance counters provided by Intel Core processors.” This is not a big issue, except that the fan randomly changes the counters’ privilege level and adjusts them to “Mode 2”. Which causes conflicts with other software trying to use the counter in its normal state, which is “Mode 3”.
The tech power-up report says so again
“There is no problem with most applications using the same counter. On the other hand Windows Defender will adjust these counters to” Mode 2 “, in what appears to be a random interval, for a random period. This can happen when the computer first boots or it can happen anytime after that.While Windows Defender is running in the background, it can start and stop or constantly try to make these counters anytime 2 Change the situation.
The activity came to a halt
Uncle Webb saw his i9-10850K gain 6% performance on Sean Bench, and he claims that it could affect all Intel CPUs produced since 2008. In other instances Microsoft Fan takes a small fraction of about 4% of CPU performance. What is interesting, however, is that Kevin does not perform at all on AMD processors.
What does all this mean?
Simply put, this means that Microsoft fans randomly change the software counter conditions to a high-priority state. This means that Microsoft Advantage basically causes the CPU to work harder than needed in applications with low performance requirements. This can happen when the computer boots up or accidentally after any time. Neither Kevin nor I really know why this happens, but Microsoft is usually very quick to patch up issues like this – so we doubt it will be a concern for a long time.
Corrects
We do not offer this solution but it is possible to disable Microsoft Defender and the issue will be reduced, but then it is not a good idea to leave your computer vulnerable. It is guaranteed that Microsoft will finally fix this issue now that it has been brought to their attention, but if you really can’t wait then Tech Power Up may be the solution for you.
Uncle Webb, in conjunction with TPU, created software called “ThrottleStop”. Once booted, click the Windows Defender Boost option, which stops Windows Defender from using your CPU performance counters whenever you want. Another option you have is “counter control”, which works more or less the same. This software will not interfere with the daily operation of Windows Defender, just prevent it from interfering with you.
