how to cancel windows defender automatic scans?

Is there a way to have real-time protection of WD, but without the automatic scans?

Not sure, but here's a couple tutorials that may help. At the bottom of the tutorial you will find more links to defender tutorials.

Limited Periodic Scanning - Turn On or Off in Windows 10 - Windows 10 blog

Windows Defender - Turn On or Off in Windows 10 - Windows 10 blog

If you really want to, you can disable the scheduled scan task for Windows Defender. Personally I have never found it to be a problem. You will find the task in the Microsoft > Windows tasks in Task Scheduler. Right click it to select disable.

If you really want to, you can disable the scheduled scan task for Windows Defender. Personally I have never found it to be a problem. You will find the task in the Microsoft > Windows tasks in Task Scheduler. Right click it to select disable.

thanks. Maybe it only bothers me when I re-enable WD.
Does WD normally only scan during idle?
If so, it shouldn't bother me under normal circumstances, because I leave my desktop running long enough to go through an idle cycle.

The scheduled scans only run when the computer is idle, you can check this by looking at the conditions and make further changes to the conditions if you wish; for example you could only allow it to start after an idle period of say 1 hour. You would right click and select properties if you want to do this.

The scheduled scans only run when the computer is idle, you can check this by looking at the conditions and make further changes to the conditions if you wish; for example you could only allow it to start after an idle period of say 1 hour. You would right click and select properties if you want to do this.

thanks
I took the tick out of run task as soon as possible if missed

Is there a way to have real-time protection of WD, but without the automatic scans?

Real Time Protection means it starts working the moment the user turns on the computer.
"Start working" includes scanning the system quietly in the background.

How do you expect WD to do real-time protection if you disallow it to do automatic scanning ?

Shmu, I've never had a problem with this. Occasionally, I run a Defender quick scan and it only takes a few minutes.

Shmu, I've never had a problem with this. Occasionally, I run a Defender quick scan and it only takes a few minutes.

Agreed.

Real Time Protection means it starts working the moment the user turns on the computer.
"Start working" includes scanning the system quietly in the background.

How do you expect WD to do real-time protection if you disallow it to do automatic scanning ?

My understanding is that Windows Defender uses real-time protection to scan everything that you download or run on your PC. This happens in real-time whenever you run a file or request a download. The scanning that the OP is worried about is separate and looks at all the files on your PC irrespective of whether you are using them or not. It is possible to have real time protection always on but only perform a full scan by manual triggering it from the WD control panel. The default is to have automatic scanning set to run in the background when the PC is idle because most people would forget to do manual scans.