How to Run a Scan with Microsoft Defender

Microsoft Defender is the built-in antivirus that comes with Windows 10. Microsoft Defender works very well in antivirus tests. In November and December of 2020, Microsoft Defender was able to detect over 99% of all new viruses, and it detected every virus that was more than 4 weeks old.[1] If you want to run a scan with Microsoft Defender, this wikiHow will tell you how to do so.

Method 1
Method 1 of 4:
Run a Quick Scan

A quick scan only scans the most commonly infected folders and files. It typically takes less than an hour to run.

  1. Image titled Open Microsoft Defender1.png
    1
    Open Microsoft Defender. Click on the shield icon in the bottom right corner of the screen.
    • You can also click on the search bar and search for "Windows Security".
  2. Image titled Open system and security.png
    2
    Click on "Virus & threat protection".
  3. Image titled Microsoft Defender Quick Scan1.png
    3
    Choose Quick scan. This will scan your user directory and startup items for any potential malware.[2]
    • A quick scan will also scan USB drives that are connected to the computer.
  4. Image titled Microsoft Defender Quick Scan Running.png
    4
    Wait for the scan to finish. Hopefully, no threats will be detected, but if they are, then Microsoft Defender will automatically remove them.

Method 2
Method 2 of 4:
Run a Full Scan

A full scan scans every file on the system. A full scan can take many hours to run, especially if you have a lot of files, but it will find any virus on your PC.

  1. Image titled Open Microsoft Defender1.png
    1
    Open Microsoft Defender. Click on the shield icon in the bottom right corner of the screen.
    • You can also click on the search bar and search for "Windows Security".
  2. Image titled Open system and security.png
    2
    Click on "Virus & threat protection".
  3. Image titled Microsoft Defender Scan Options.png
    3
    Select "Scan Options".
  4. Image titled Microsoft Defender Full Scan.png
    4
    Select "Full scan" in the list.
  5. Image titled Microsoft Defender Full Scan Start.png
    5
    Click Scan now. This will begin the scan.
    • You can use your computer during the scan, but your computer may be slower.

Method 3
Method 3 of 4:
Run a Custom Scan

A custom scan allows you to manually select which folders you want to be scanned.

  1. Image titled Open Microsoft Defender1.png
    1
    Open Microsoft Defender. Click on the shield icon in the bottom right corner of the screen.
    • You can also click on the search bar and search for "Windows Security".
  2. Image titled Open system and security.png
    2
    Click on "Virus & threat protection".
  3. Image titled Microsoft Defender Scan Options.png
    3
    Select "Scan Options".
  4. Image titled Microsoft Defender Custom Scan.png
    4
    Click on the "Custom scan" option.
  5. Image titled Microsoft Defender Custom Scan Start.png
    5
    Select Scan now.
  6. Image titled Microsoft Defender Custom Scan Select Folder.png
    6
    Specify which folder you want scanned. Click on the folder, and then click on Select Folder.

Method 4
Method 4 of 4:
Run an Offline Scan

An offline scan runs outside of Windows inside of a separate environment. It can be useful when dealing with rootkits.

  1. Image titled Open Microsoft Defender1.png
    1
    Open Microsoft Defender. Click on the shield icon in the bottom right corner of the screen.
    • You can also click on the search bar and search for "Windows Security".
  2. Image titled Open system and security.png
    2
    Click on "Virus & threat protection".
  3. Image titled Microsoft Defender Scan Options.png
    3
    Select "Scan Options".
  4. Image titled Microsoft Defender Offline Scan.png
    4
    Select "Microsoft Defender Offline scan".
  5. Image titled Microsoft Defender Offline Scan Start.png
    5
    Click Scan now.
  6. Image titled Run Windows Defender Offline Step 5
    6
    Wait for the scan to finish and review the results. When you start the scan, your computer will restart, and a scan window will open when it comes back on. When the scan finishes, the results will display, and you'll have the option to remove the threats, and then restart.

Warnings

  • Microsoft Defender needs to be updated to be effective. Make sure that you do not disable Windows Update to make sure that it is always up to date.
    Thanks!

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References

  1. ↑ https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/windows-10/december-2020/microsoft-defender-4.18-204917/
  2. ↑ https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/microsoft-defender-antivirus/run-scan-microsoft-defender-antivirus

About This Article

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wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 1,228 times.
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Co-authors: 5
Updated: March 4, 2021
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Categories: Windows