Rule version WNDF-AV-000077 · STIG v2 · 2026-09-02
Always-on protection consists of real-time protection, behavior monitoring, and heuristics to identify malware based on known suspicious and malicious activities.
Verify the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Windows Components >> Microsoft Defender Antivirus >> Scan >> Turn on heuristics is set to "Enabled"; otherwise, this is a finding.
Procedure: Use the Windows Registry Editor to navigate to the following key: HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scan
Criteria: If the value "DisableHeuristics" is REG_DWORD = 0, this is not a finding.
If the value is 1, this is a finding.
Set the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Windows Components >> Microsoft Defender Antivirus >> Scan >> Turn on heuristics to "Enabled".