Two Microsoft security icons in Taskbar


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jacobacci

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Windows 11 23H2
I am referring to my ThinkPad P16s AMD G1 running Windows 11 23H2 Build 22631.4317
Recently (probably in the course of a Windows Update) a second Microsoft security icon was added to the Taskbar.
Screenshot 2024-10-20 165916.png
the left on is called Microsoft Defender and the right one Windows Security. What is the new one on the right for?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    i7-12700F
    Motherboard
    MSI PRO B660-A DDR4
    Memory
    CORSAIR Vengeance LPX - DDR4 - kit - 32 GB: 2 x 16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS PA32UCX
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    ADATA SP900
    AVAGO MR9361-8i SCSI with 3x Exos X20
    PSU
    Corsair RM650X
    Case
    Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition
    Cooling
    Noctua CPU and Case Fans
    Keyboard
    Unicomp Model M
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master
    Internet Speed
    1Gb/s
    Browser
    MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
jacobacci said:
I am referring to my ThinkPad P16s AMD G1 running Windows 11 23H2 Build 22631.4317
Recently (probably in the course of a Windows Update) a second Microsoft security icon was added to the Taskbar.
View attachment 113311
the left on is called Microsoft Defender and the right one Windows Security. What is the new one on the right for?
Click to expand...


You can probably just unpin them from the taskbar or toggle them to "off" in Settings, if they bother you.
There's no real need to have them there.
It won't bother MS Defender if you remove the icons.
You can always get to MS Defender's settings in Settings > Privacy & Security > Windows Security

I can't really answer your question though.
I use Bitdefender, and that pushes Microsoft Defender, and it's icons... to the background.

Also, I gave you ten points, just for filling out your computer specs. :-)
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26100.2454 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
jacobacci said:
the left on is called Microsoft Defender and the right one Windows Security. What is the new one on the right for?
Click to expand...
Both are legitimate icons. The one to the left is Windows Security pinned to the taskbar, and can be unpinned if you'd prefer (right-click on it).

1729437228673.png

The one to the right is in the System Tray. This is the Windows Security notification icon and can be turned off in Settings > Personalisation > Taskbar > Other system tray icons. Doing so moves it to the System Tray's hidden icons menu.

1729437428585.png
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, and 24H2 on 3rd October through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, Canary, and Release Preview builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package. In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media. Also running Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, Canary, and Release Preview builds as a native boot .vhdx.
Thanks for your inputs guys. I still struggle a bit with what I am seeing
Screenshot 2024-10-20 165916.png

Both icons are in the notification area. The one on the right is the regular Windows security icon which opens the security settings. So no worries about that one.

Screenshot 2024-10-22 093058.png
The one on the left side opens a window asking me to install Defender on all my devices. This one has me puzzled and I had not seen it before.

Screenshot 2024-10-22 093210.png

As I don't want to install Defender on all of my phones, tablets, laptops (at least not at the direction of Microsoft), I would like to get rid of this intrusion.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    i7-12700F
    Motherboard
    MSI PRO B660-A DDR4
    Memory
    CORSAIR Vengeance LPX - DDR4 - kit - 32 GB: 2 x 16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS PA32UCX
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    ADATA SP900
    AVAGO MR9361-8i SCSI with 3x Exos X20
    PSU
    Corsair RM650X
    Case
    Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition
    Cooling
    Noctua CPU and Case Fans
    Keyboard
    Unicomp Model M
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master
    Internet Speed
    1Gb/s
    Browser
    MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
jacobacci said:
Both icons are in the taskbar.
Click to expand...

To avoid confusion: - The area to the right-hand side is called the 'Notification Area'. It used to be called the 'Sys Tray'. The 'Taskbar' is the area to the left of that and, by default it is centralised but it can be left-justified using tweaking tools.

I would say the three left-hand icons are on the taskbar but the 12 icons on the right are in the notification area.

Oops @Bree - I didn't notice that you already said this in #3.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP EliteDesk 705 G5
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 Pro 3400GE
    Memory
    8GB DDR4 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated AMD Radeon Vega 11
    Hard Drives
    256 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DELL Inspiron 15-3576
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8250U
    Memory
    8 GB DDR4 - 2400 SODIMM
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 620
    Hard Drives
    256GB SK Hynix SC311 SATA SSD
Thanks. Sorry I didn't have my terminology straight. I have corrected the wording in my post above.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    i7-12700F
    Motherboard
    MSI PRO B660-A DDR4
    Memory
    CORSAIR Vengeance LPX - DDR4 - kit - 32 GB: 2 x 16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS PA32UCX
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    ADATA SP900
    AVAGO MR9361-8i SCSI with 3x Exos X20
    PSU
    Corsair RM650X
    Case
    Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition
    Cooling
    Noctua CPU and Case Fans
    Keyboard
    Unicomp Model M
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master
    Internet Speed
    1Gb/s
    Browser
    MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
Thanks @Edwin
I uninstalled Defender and all is now as it was before.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    i7-12700F
    Motherboard
    MSI PRO B660-A DDR4
    Memory
    CORSAIR Vengeance LPX - DDR4 - kit - 32 GB: 2 x 16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS PA32UCX
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    ADATA SP900
    AVAGO MR9361-8i SCSI with 3x Exos X20
    PSU
    Corsair RM650X
    Case
    Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition
    Cooling
    Noctua CPU and Case Fans
    Keyboard
    Unicomp Model M
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master
    Internet Speed
    1Gb/s
    Browser
    MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
jacobacci said:
The one on the left side opens a window asking me to install Defender on all my devices. This one has me puzzled and I had not seen it before.
Click to expand...
That identifies it is as the Microsoft Defender for Individuals app, which would have had its own notification icon in the system tray. Whether you installed it on purpose or by accident I'll leave up to you to determine.

Windows-ROW-Dashboard-Allgood

Microsoft Defender​

An easy-to-use security app for individuals and families that helps protect personal data and devices from online threats.
Available exclusively with a Microsoft 365 subscription
Click to expand...

www.elevenforum.com

Keep your online activity safer on public Wi-Fi with Microsoft Defender for individuals

Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Blog: Figure 1 - Privacy protection UI on the Defender mobile app Public Wi-Fi is usually free, easy and convenient, but not necessarily always safe. As they say, there is no ‘free lunch’ . Microsoft Defender for individuals1 aims to provide a safer...
www.elevenforum.com www.elevenforum.com
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, and 24H2 on 3rd October through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, Canary, and Release Preview builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package. In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media. Also running Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, Canary, and Release Preview builds as a native boot .vhdx.
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