High hard drive and CPU activity when idle

When your computer is idle for more than 20 minutes and you notice high usage of hard disk and maybe even CPU (noticing acceleration of the internal fans of the case), it may be a sign of a virus, but, what if your computer is new and has not installed no program?

This is simple to answer, it may be the Windows Defender service that is active.

That's right, there is a version that comes with all Windows systems since Windows Vista and is doing the conventional job of defragmenting your disk and finding malicious software and moving it to quarantine.

Risks when disabling Windows Defender

- It is not good to disable Windows Defender, but if you already have other anti-virus software or have a policy on using your computer that restricts the installation of programs and unauthorized execution of software, you can disable without major problems.

- In the case of servers, it may be necessary to disable it to increase the performance of the server, since no one uses it on the console and Windows Defender would always be running. (Except when using Windows Server).

Identifying what your disk actually uses

Try to leave your resource monitor (accessible through the task manager or in the start menu by the name "Resource Monitor") already open and in the "Disk" tab, and wait for your computer to be idle. When you notice the intense activity of the hard drive, check what uses the hard disk's data traffic the most.

If it is Windows Defender, the "svchost.exe (secsvcs)" service will appear. The "svchost.exe (defrag)" service may also appear, which is called by Windows Defender in case you physically move quarantined files to another location on the disk.

Disable the service

1. In the start menu type "services.msc" and search the list of services for "Windows Defender". You will see that the executable path is "C:\Windows\System32\svchost.exe -k secsvcs", with C being your disk with the operating system.

2. Double click on the item and select "Startup type" as disabled.

3. You can immediately stop the service by clicking "Stop".

4. Click OK and you can close the list of services.

Okay, now your computer will not have high usage of hard disk when idle.

A good computer is not a computer full of programs and processes running, a good computer is a computer that responds to your commands.

If disk activity is still high during the idle period, then there are indications that it is malicious programs on your computer. As soon as possible, back up your computer and arrange for factory reinstallation (formatting).