Microsoft Defender Application Guard protects your system from malware while browsing. Here is how to install Microsoft Defender Application Guard in Windows 11.
Unlike the older versions, Windows 11 has several protections to make your system as safe as possible. That is one of the reasons why the system comes with a built-in antivirus and malware software called Windows Security (previously known as Windows Defender). One such protection feature in Windows 11 is the Microsoft Defender Application Guard.
The Microsoft Defender Application Guard protects your browsing activity on Edge if you don’t know. Specifically, the Application Guard lets you open the Edge browser in a sandbox environment on demand. That way, anything that happens in the browser stays in the browser. i.e., it doesn’t affect your system. On Windows 11, Microsoft calls it “Isolated Browsing.”
For example, when using the Edge browser with Application Guard, if a website you opened is compromised, it doesn’t affect your system adversely. This is because the browser is in a separate sandbox environment.
The good thing is that it is pretty easy to install Microsoft Defender Application Guard. All it takes is a few clicks, and you are good to go. Let me show you how.
Table of contents:
- Install Application Guard from Windows Security
- Turn on Application Guard from Windows Features
- How to use Application Guard in the Edge browser
Install Application Guard from Windows Security
Being a security feature, predictably, you can find it in the Windows Security app. i.e., you can install the Application Guard feature from Windows Security. As I said earlier, the feature is generally called “Isolated Browsing” in Windows 11. Here is how to do it.
- Launch the Start menu.
- Search and open “Windows Security.”
- Go to the “App & browser control” page.
- Click on the “Install Microsoft Defender Application Guard” link.
- Select the “Microsoft Defender Application Guard” checkbox.
- Press the “Ok” button.
- Press the “Restart Now” button.
- With that, you have installed the Microsoft Defender Application Guard.
First thing, we need to open the Windows Security application. You can search for “Windows Security” in the Start menu.
After opening the Windows Security app, go to the “App & browser control” page.
Here, find the “Isolated Browsing” section and click the “Install Microsoft Defender Application Guard” link under it.
This action opens the “Windows Features” application. Here, choose the “Microsoft Defender Application Guard” checkbox. Click the “Ok” button to save changes.
The above action will install the required components. Once done, click the “Restart Now” button.
After restarting, you are done installing the Microsoft Defender Application Guard feature on Windows.
Turn on Application Guard from Windows Features
The Application Guard feature in Windows is considered an optional feature. As such, you can install it directly from the Windows Features application. All you have to do is select a checkbox and restart the computer. Here is how to do it.
- Open the Start menu.
- Search and open “Turn Windows features on or off.”
- Select the “Microsoft Defender Application Guard” checkbox.
- Press the “Ok” button.
- Press the “Restart Now” button.
- With that, you have installed the Microsoft Defender Application Guard.
How to use Application Guard in the Edge browser
After installing the Microsoft Defender Application Guard, you can start using it directly from the Edge browser. Here is how.
Open the Edge browser by searching for it in the Start menu or clicking the Edge icon on the taskbar.
After opening the Edge browser, click on the Menu icon (…) on the top right corner and choose the “New Application Guard Window” option.
The above action will open a new instance of the Edge browser using Application Guard. You will see a new Edge icon with a defender badge on the taskbar.
When you are done using the protected Edge browser session, close the window normally, and you are done.
That is it. It is simple to install Microsoft Defender Application Guard in Windows 11 and 10.
I hope this simple and easy Windows how-to guide helped you.
If you are stuck or need some help, comment below, and I will try to help as much as possible.
