The internet, as wonderful as it is, can sometimes be unsafe. And you might find yourself in a situation where you need to use a website you don’t fully trust, even though you're afraid it might infect your computer with malware. The good news is that you can visit that suspicious site safely using Microsoft Defender Application Guard.

But what is Microsoft Defender Application Guard, and how do you enable and use it in Windows 10 and 11? Let's find out.

What Is the Microsoft Defender Application Guard?

Microsoft Defender Application Guard is a mini-virtual machine powered by Hyper-V, and its main job is to run Microsoft Edge in an isolated container.

Windows Home editions do not have Microsoft Defender Application Guard installed. If you want to enable and use it, you’ll at least have to upgrade to Windows Pro.

In the isolated container, any malware-infected sites you visit won’t be able to touch your primary system. Furthermore, the Edge browser will launch with a blank slate (it won’t have any of your user information in it). That means if anyone even managed to hack it, they won’t find anything useful to use against you.

You’ll essentially be browsing anonymously with your primary system out of reach.

How to Enable the Microsoft Defender Application Guard

Considering Microsoft Defender Application Guard is an optional feature, Windows will have it disabled by default. There are two ways to enable it: Control Panel and Windows PowerShell.

We’ll show you how to do it both ways.

1. How to Enable the Microsoft Defender Application Guard in the Control Panel

To enable the feature with this method, you’ll need to open Control Panel first. Press Win + S to bring up Windows Search. Type control panel in the search box and click on the Control Panel app in the search results.

control panel in the windows search results

In Control Panel, click on Programs and then on Turn Windows features on or off.

the programs window in control panel on windows

In the Windows Features dialog box, scroll down and tick the checkbox for Microsoft Defender Application Guard.

the windows features dialog box

Click OK to close the dialog box.

Windows will take some time to enable the feature, and afterward, you’ll see another dialog box asking you to restart your Windows PC. Click Restart now.

prompt from the windows features dialog box asking the user whether they want to restart their pc or not after its done making changes

When the PC restarts, you'll have enabled the feature. And if you want to disable it, just bring out the Windows Features dialog box again and uncheck Microsoft Defender Application Guard.

2. How to Enable the Microsoft Defender Application Guard Using PowerShell

To launch PowerShell, press Win + S to open Windows Search. Type power shell in the search box, and when the app appears in the search results, right-click it and select Run as administrator. Click Yes on the UAC prompt.

In PowerShell, type the following command and hit Enter:

        Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -online -FeatureName Windows-Defender-ApplicationGuard
    

PowerShell will then ask if you want to restart your computer. Type y in PowerShell, hit the Enter key, and your computer will restart.

powershell prompting the user to enter y for yes or n for no to restart the computer after enabling microsoft defender application guard

If you want to disable the feature, enter the following command in PowerShell and hit Enter:

        Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -online -FeatureName Windows-Defender-ApplicationGuard
    

How to Use Microsoft Defender's Application Guard With the Edge Browser

With Microsoft Defender Application Guard enabled, you can use it to launch Microsoft Edge in an isolated container.

To do that, open the Edge browser and click the three horizontal dots in the top right corner. In the menu that appears, select New Application Guard window.

the microsoft edge menu in the top right corner with the option to enable microsoft application guard window selected

You will then see a new Microsoft Edge window appear, and its icon in the Taskbar will have a shield in the top right corner. Now you can browse those risky sites without worrying they’ll infect your computer with malware.

Microsoft Defender Application Guard Makes Browsing Unsafe Sites Safer

Staying away from high-risk sites is good practice when you’re online. But if you must visit them, you can do so without putting your Windows 10 or 11 computer at risk. Just enable Microsoft Defender Application Guard and use it with Microsoft Edge to access them safely.