How to scan a file manually with Microsoft Defender Antivirus on Windows 10

Windows malware is still a big deal. That's why Microsoft offers an antivirus called Microsoft Defender with Windows 10. It scans for malware in the background, but you can also do a full system scan with Defender.

A. Using Windows Security 1.Open the Start menu and type Windows Security. Click the Windows Security application icon that pops up.

2.In the sidebar, click Virus and threat protection. A quick scan can be performed from here by clicking the Quick Scan button. If you haven't scanned recently, you may want to consider doing a deeper scan. In the area below the Current Threats heading, click Scanning Options.

In the Scan options menu, you'll see a list of four different types of scans you can do on your computer using Microsoft Defender.

• Quick scan: Scans folders in your system where threats are often found, such as the Downloads and Windows folders. This usually only takes a few minutes to complete.
• Full scan: This feature scans every file on your computer and all running programs. The scan may take more than an hour to complete.
• Custom scan: If you choose this option, Windows Security will ask you for the specific file or folder location you want to scan.
• Microsoft Defender Offline Scan: This option restarts your machine and scans the system files and programs while they are not running, which is useful if a malware is currently running and is likely to interfere. scanning process.
  

If you haven't tried Defender before, or if your computer is doing funny things and you're worried about an obvious threat, it's best to start with a Full Scan. Select the radio button next to Full Scan and click the Scan Now button.

A full system scan will start and Windows Security will display a progress indicator bar.

When the scan is complete, you will see the results. If everything is fine, you will see a message that says No Current Threats.

However, if the scan finds some malware, you'll see a message that says Threat found and a list of infected files just below. To remove the threats, click the Start Action button.

After clicking “Start Action”, Microsoft Defender will automatically remove the threats. If you want to see details of what threats were removed, take a look below the scan results and click on Protection history. Also, if Defender finds a threat during a Quick or Full scan, it might be wise to select Microsoft Defender Offline Scan on the Scan Options screen and run it immediately after that. guard. Hopefully everything will be normal. Good luck and safety!