diff --git a/extension/CHANGELOG.md b/extension/CHANGELOG.md
index e7c2527f46..6f4f3db44b 100644
--- a/extension/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/extension/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,10 @@
+## v0.41.1 - 22 Feb, 2024
+
+This release is a point release to skip `vscgo` installation on Windows
+([Issue 3182](https://github.com/golang/vscode-go/issues/3182)).
+For a detailed list of changes, refer to the complete
+[commit history](https://github.com/golang/vscode-go/compare/v0.41.0...v0.41.1).
+
 ## v0.41.0 - 14 Feb, 2024
 
 This release introduces significant updates to the extension's UI.
diff --git a/extension/src/goInstallTools.ts b/extension/src/goInstallTools.ts
index 8d570c7949..490e77573c 100644
--- a/extension/src/goInstallTools.ts
+++ b/extension/src/goInstallTools.ts
@@ -893,7 +893,7 @@ export async function maybeInstallVSCGO(
 			: `@v${extensionVersion}`;
 	// build from source acquired from the module proxy if this is a non-preview version.
 	try {
-		const args = ['install', `${importPath}${version}`];
+		const args = ['install', '-trimpath', `${importPath}${version}`];
 		console.log(`installing vscgo: ${args.join(' ')}`);
 		await execFile(getBinPath('go'), args, { cwd, env });
 		return progPath;
diff --git a/extension/src/goMain.ts b/extension/src/goMain.ts
index b1221e4bbb..73265bdd85 100644
--- a/extension/src/goMain.ts
+++ b/extension/src/goMain.ts
@@ -102,15 +102,18 @@ export async function activate(ctx: vscode.ExtensionContext): Promise<ExtensionA
 	await updateGoVarsFromConfig(goCtx);
 
 	// for testing or development mode, always rebuild vscgo.
-	maybeInstallVSCGO(
-		ctx.extensionMode,
-		ctx.extension.id,
-		extensionInfo.version || '',
-		ctx.extensionPath,
-		extensionInfo.isPreview
-	)
-		.then((path) => telemetryReporter.setTool(path))
-		.catch((reason) => console.error(reason));
+	if (process.platform !== 'win32') {
+		// skip windows until Windows Defender issue reported in golang/vscode-go#3182 can be addressed
+		maybeInstallVSCGO(
+			ctx.extensionMode,
+			ctx.extension.id,
+			extensionInfo.version || '',
+			ctx.extensionPath,
+			extensionInfo.isPreview
+		)
+			.then((path) => telemetryReporter.setTool(path))
+			.catch((reason) => console.error(reason));
+	}
 
 	const registerCommand = commands.createRegisterCommand(ctx, goCtx);
 	registerCommand('go.languageserver.restart', commands.startLanguageServer);
diff --git a/extension/test/gopls/telemetry.test.ts b/extension/test/gopls/telemetry.test.ts
index 6f409d1938..32dc1fcbc7 100644
--- a/extension/test/gopls/telemetry.test.ts
+++ b/extension/test/gopls/telemetry.test.ts
@@ -173,9 +173,7 @@ function testTelemetryPrompt(tc: testCase, wantPrompt: boolean) {
 }
 
 describe('# telemetry reporter using vscgo', async function () {
-	if (os.platform() === 'win32') {
-		this.timeout(10000); // go install is slow on windows builder.
-	}
+	this.timeout(10000); // go install can be slow.
 	// installVSCGO expects
 	//   {extensionPath}/vscgo: vscgo source code for testing.
 	//   {extensionPath}/bin: where compiled vscgo will be stored.