MicrosoftSecurityApp.exe (located under “c:\program files\windowsapps\”) is a legit program found on both Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems. MicrosoftSecurityApp.exe is part of the Microsoft Defender store app below.
Microsoft Defender – Microsoft Store Apps
App description: The Microsoft Defender app helps protect your family from online threats across your devices and helps keep your identity* safer online. The Microsoft Defender app is available exclusively with a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription. On your PC, Microsoft Defender works with built-in Windows Security to provide additional device protection on your Android, iOS, and Mac devices.
The app may exist on your system even though you didn’t install it manually. To get more details about the Defender app package, run the following command in admin PowerShell:
get-appxpackage Microsoft.6365217CE6EB4 -allusers
You’ll see an output like below:
Name : Microsoft.6365217CE6EB4
Publisher : CN=Microsoft Corporation, O=Microsoft Corporation, L=Redmond, S=Washington, C=US
Architecture : X64
ResourceId :
Version : 102.2303.28002.0
PackageFullName : Microsoft.6365217CE6EB4_102.2303.28002.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe
InstallLocation : C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\Microsoft.6365217CE6EB4_102.2303.28002.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe
IsFramework : False
PackageFamilyName : Microsoft.6365217CE6EB4_8wekyb3d8bbwe
PublisherId : 8wekyb3d8bbwe
PackageUserInformation : {S-1-5-21-nnnnnn-nnnnnn-nnnnnn-1001 [Ramesh]: Installed}
IsResourcePackage : False
IsBundle : False
IsDevelopmentMode : False
NonRemovable : False
IsPartiallyStaged : False
SignatureKind : Store
Status : Ok
Here are additional details about the file.
File: c:\program files\windowsapps\microsoft.6365217ce6eb4_102.2303.28002.0_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe\microsoftsecurityapp\MicrosoftSecurityApp.exe Verified: Signed Signing date: 1:43 AM 3/29/2023 Publisher: Microsoft Corporation Company: Microsoft Corporation Description: MicrosoftSecurityApp.exe Product: Microsoft Defender Prod version: 1.2.230328002-gibraltar File version: 1.2.2303.28002 Bitness: 64-bit Binary Version: 1.2.2303.28002 Original Name: MicrosoftSecurityApp.exe Internal Name: MicrosoftSecurityApp Copyright: © Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
If you don’t need this app, you can uninstall it using the following command from PowerShell (admin).
get-appxpackage -allusers Microsoft.6365217CE6EB4 | remove-appxpackage
Note: This app has nothing to do with the built-in Windows Security app.