BOOST MICROSOFT DEFENDER’S PROTECTION
Schedule malware scans with Microsoft Defender
Microsoft Defender Antivirus performs a quick scan of your system once a day, usually while you’re not actively using your PC so it doesn’t interfere with your work. Unlike other antivirus software, it doesn’t let you schedule scans through its settings, but you can set them to run at a time and frequency of your choice using Task Scheduler in Windows 10 or 11.
Type task scheduler into the search box and select that option, then when Task Scheduler opens click the arrow next to Task Scheduler Library on the left-hand side. Click the arrow next to the Microsoft folder, then the arrow next to Windows and select Windows Defender in the list of folders. Double-click ‘Windows Defender Scheduled Scan’ in the central pane then click the Triggers tab and click New. Specify how often you want scans to run – such as Daily (see screenshot below), Weekly or Monthly – and when you’d like them to start, then click OK to confirm.
Alternatively, you can set Defender to scan your PC every time Windows starts by choosing ‘At startup’ in the ‘Begin a task’ dropdown menu.
Perform offline scans to remove hidden malware
Microsoft Defender’s default Quick scan checks only the folders on your system in which threats are most commonly found. To scan for malware more thoroughly, click the ‘Scan options’ link on the ‘Virus & threat protection’ screen and select ‘Full scan’. This will check every file and program on your PC for threats, and can take over an hour – so is best run when you’re not using your computer. Alternatively, select Custom scan, which lets you check specific files and folders for malware, such as newly downloaded or copied items.
If you suspect your system is infected, but the other scans don’t find anything, select ‘Microsoft Defender Offline scan’ (see screenshot above). This targets malware that’s difficult to detect, such as rootkits. It works by rebooting your PC into a safe environment, outside of Windows, where hidden threats are unable to run. Save your work before you choose this option, then click ‘Scan now’ and Scan to restart.
The scan takes up to 15 minutes, but don’t panic if your screen goes black for a few seconds – this is normal. If Defender finds any malware, you’ll be prompted to remove it, but otherwise, your PC will boot back into Windows once the scan is finished.
Protect specific folders from ransomware
Defender can prevent malicious programs from meddling with folders commonly targeted by ransomware. Open ‘Virus & threat protection’ in Windows Security, click the ‘Manage ransomware protection’ link below ‘Ransomware protection’ and switch on ‘Controlled folder access’ (see screenshot below right).
By default, Windows protects the contents of your Pictures, Documents, Videos, Music and Desktop folders, but you can add to these by clicking ‘Protected folders’ and, on the following screen, clicking ‘Add a protected folder’. You can remove protection for folders you’ve added yourself, but not those included by default.
Defender warns you when a program tries to access a protected folder. Click the warning to see what triggered it and, if you want to authorise the action, choose ‘Allow access’. You can authorise programs without waiting for an alert by clicking ‘Allow an app through controlled folder access’. Click ‘Add an allowed app’ followed by ‘Browse all apps’, find the program you want to authorise and click Open. Click ‘Block history’ to view details of attempts to access your protected folders.
Configure Defender’s settings more easily
One disadvantage of using Microsoft Defender as your antivirus is that it doesn’t have a standard program interface you can quickly open when you need to
tweak its settings. Instead you need to open the Windows Security app and hunt for the options you want to change. A free tool called Configuredefender (www. snipca.com/41421) makes things much easier by letting you access and adjust all Defender’s main settings in one place, without opening Windows Security.
To use it, go to www.snipca.com/41422, select the ‘Configuredefender.exe’ link and click the Download button. When you open Configuredefender – you don’t need to install it, which means it can be run from a USB stick – you’ll see a list of Basic Defender Settings including Behavior Monitoring, Cloud-delivered Protection and ‘Scan all downloaded files and attachments’.
Unless you’ve already tweaked Defender, these will be set at the default protection levels specified by Windows, and if you scroll down you’ll see more advanced options such as ‘Block Office applications from creating executable content’.
You can either change settings individually, mainly by turning features on or off, or click the High button (see screenshot above) to have Configuredefender apply the best tweaks to optimise your PC’S security and prevent false positives. However, don’t click the Max button because this applies ‘aggressive’ settings that may stop some safe programs running. If you experience any problems, just click the Default button to undo any changes you’ve made to Defender.
Disable Microsoft Defender Antivirus
As we explained on page 51, Microsoft Defender will be turned off automatically when you install third-party antivirus software, but you can also disable it manually (temporarily) if you need to
– for example, if it’s blocking or conflicting with another program on your PC.
Click the ‘Manage settings’ link under ‘Virus & threat protection settings’ and switch off ‘Tamper protection’ and ‘Real-time protection’. If this fails to disable Defender, download the free tool Defender Control (www.snipca.com/41429), which lets you turn protection off and back on again at the click of a button (see screenshot above).