Serious Discussion Can WHHLight be used with other AVs, or it is related to Microsoft Defender?

[lokamoka820]

I watched @Andy Ful videos about WHHLight today, and I have some questions about it:

1. He was using Avast Free Antivirus in the videos, so can I use it without Microsoft Defender?

2. Is WHHLight related to Hard_Configurator or replacement to it?

3. Should I use ConfigureDefender with WHHLight if I use Microsoft Defender as a complement or not?

 

[Bot]

Sorry I couldn't contact the ChatGPT think tank

 

[Azazel]

I watched @Andy Ful videos about WHHLight today, and I have some questions about it:

1. He was using Avast Free Antivirus in the videos, so can I use it without Microsoft Defender?

2. Is WHHLight related to Hard_Configurator or replacement to it?

3. Should I use ConfigureDefender with WHHLight if I use Microsoft Defender as a complement or not?

1. WHHLight can be used with any antivirus. (Highly Recommended to use it)
2. WHHLight = Hard Configurator (Basic security setup) + WDAC (Anti-Exe). WHHFull will be a replacement to Hard Configurator.
3. Yes, it is recommendable to use ConfigureDefender with WHHLight. (I highly suggest you use DefenderUI instead of ConfigureDefender)

 

[Andy Ful]

3. Should I use ConfigureDefender with WHHLight if I use Microsoft Defender as a complement or not?

This can depend on:

• required level of security,
• safe habits related to working with a computer,
• installed applications for editing/viewing documents,
• WHHLight settings.

Microsoft Defender's advanced settings are recommended, especially when you use Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft Office, Outlook (application), or OneNote.
You can try the HIGH Protection Level.

 

[lokamoka820]

1. WHHLight can be used with any antivirus. (Highly Recommended to use it)
2. WHHLight = Hard Configurator (Basic security setup) + WDAC (Anti-Exe). WHHFull will be a replacement to Hard Configurator.
3. Yes, it is recommendable to use ConfigureDefender with WHHLight. (I highly suggest you use DefenderUI instead of ConfigureDefender)

What is the recommended settings for WHHLight? Do you recommend DefenderUI Free or Pro and what is the different between them?

 

[lokamoka820]

This can depend on:

• required level of security,
• safe habits related to working with a computer,
• installed applications for editing/viewing documents,
• WHHLight settings.

Microsoft Defender's advanced settings are recommended, especially when you use Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft Office, Outlook (application), or OneNote.
You can try the HIGH Protection Level.

Thank you so much, for your answer and for the great tools you do.

 

[Azazel]

What is the recommended settings for WHHLight? Do you recommend DefenderUI Free or Pro and what is the different between them?

Recommended settings for WHHLight. Just turn these ON and keep defaults.

• SRP = ON
• SMARTSCREEN BLOCK = OFF
• WDAC = ON

Use DefenderUI Free the Recommended Setup. (DefenderUI Pro is paid)

 

[Digmor Crusher]

Recommended settings for WHHLight. Just turn these ON and keep defaults.

• SRP = ON
• SMARTSCREEN BLOCK = OFF
• WDAC = ON

Use DefenderUI Free the Recommended Setup. (DefenderUI Pro is paid)

Why Smartscreen off?

 

[Azazel]

Why Smartscreen off?

If it is a false positive, then the user can bypass it. (In case the installer is not known)

 

[Andy Ful]

Windows SmartScreen has three settings OFF, WARN, and BLOCK. In WHHLight the <SmartScreen Block> can be switched between WARN (OFF) and BLOCK (ON):
<SmartScreen Block> = OFF ------> SmartScreen in WARN setting. (users can manually bypass the SmartScreen alert).
<SmartScreen Block> = ON ------> SmartScreen in BLOCK setting (users cannot manually bypass the SmartScreen alert).
The BLOCK setting is not available from the Security Center option "Check apps and files".

In the new version, it will be possible to use an additional WDAC setting combined with disabled SmartScreen, so we will have:
The <SmartScreen Block> switch disabled (locked) = SmartScreen OFF
The OFF and ON settings of <SmartScreen Block> will not change (still will mean WARN and BLOCK).

Post edited.

 

[Andy Ful]

@lokamoka820,​

You can use the setup proposed by @Azazel, but if you are not accustomed to WHHLight you can try first the setup with <WDAC> = OFF combined with Microsoft Defender's HIGH Protection Level (or a similar setup of Defender UI) and FirewallHardening (H_C Recommended settings). This is a strong setup.