Whitemane's launcher stops changing Windows Defender settings

Whitemane's launcher, which installs and starts Gilneas and the project's other realms, changed in three releases on 22 and 23 September 2026:

• 2.1.39 (22 September): brought back the start-up behaviour of version 2.1.34, from "before the mandatory administrator setup changes"
• 2.1.40 (22 September): removed the Connection Optimizer and its background service, and the installer stopped shipping its network components. If you turned the optimizer on before, its service stays on your computer until you remove it
• 2.1.45 (23 September): the launcher "no longer changes Windows Defender's settings, no longer hides game files and no longer runs system tools to read your hardware". If your antivirus still blocks the game, Settings > General lists the folders to add to its exclusions, and files left behind by the Connection Optimizer are deleted automatically

Linux

On Linux, Proton needs a system feature called unprivileged user namespaces, which Ubuntu 24.04 and newer, Linux Mint 22, Pop!_OS 24 and some older Debian systems block by default. A Whitemane staff member explained on Reddit on 27 September that the launcher switches it back on only when it is blocked, asks for your password first and saves the setting. They added that those defaults exist as extra security hardening and that turning the feature back on "applies to the whole system".

Whitemane says the launcher is unsigned and that it does not plan to open-source it, for security reasons and because the app's creators prefer it that way.

Source: the launcher changelog on whitemane.gg (22 and 23 September 2026) and Whitemane's comments on r/wowservers (27 September 2026).