Enable Windows Defender PUA Protection

This guide is for Windows 10 only.
You can enable the Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA) feature in Managed Windows Defender to identify and block unwanted software during download and install time.

Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA) refers to applications that are not considered viruses, malware, or other types of threats, but might perform actions on your computer that adversely affect your computing experience. It also refers to applications considered to have a poor reputation.

Typical examples of PUA behavior include:

• Various types of software bundling
• Ad-injection into your browsers
• Driver and registry optimizers that detect issues, request payment to fix them, and persist

These applications can increase the risk of your network being infected with malware, cause malware infections to be harder to identify among the noise, and can waste helpdesk, IT, and user time in cleaning up the applications.

To Enable:
1. Click on the Start menu
2. Locate and right-click Windows PowerShell, click Run as administrator
3. Enter the command: Set-MpPreference -PUAProtection 1
4. Restart the computer

To Disable:
1. Click on the Start menu
2. Locate and right-click Windows PowerShell, click Run as administrator
3. Enter the command: Set-MpPreference -PUAProtection 0
4. Restart the computer

Enjoy, and stay safe.