Yes, you can customize your Windows Defender scanning settings to suit your needs. You can adjust scan frequency, detections, and other settings, or simply set it to run automatically.
To access the Windows Defender settings, open the Windows Defender Security Center window by searching for it in the Start menu or the taskbar search bar. You should see an image of a shield with the words “Windows Defender Security Center” below it.
Once the window is open, click the “Virus & threat protection” icon. This is where you can access the Defender settings.
The first tab on the left sidebar is “Virus & Threat Protection Settings”. This is where you can customize your scanning settings.
You’ll find several options here, including “Scan Now”, which allows you to start a scan immediately. In this tab, you can also choose whether scans should run automatically and how often.
To set up automatic scans, first check the “Turn on scheduled scans” box, then select the frequency from the drop-down menu. You can choose from daily, weekly, or monthly scans. Once you’ve chosen a frequency, you can also specify the exact day, time, and type of scan to run.
Next, if you want Windows Defender to automatically apply default actions for detected threats, such as quarantining or deleting the threat, check the “Apply recommended actions” box.
The “Excluded files and locations” tab allows you to specify files, folders, or drives that Windows Defender will ignore. This can help reduce false positives, since Windows Defender won’t flag files that aren’t malicious.
If you’re running a high-security environment, you may want to enable “Controlled folder access”. This feature prevents any applications that have not been whitelisted by you from accessing protected folders.
The “Cloud-delivered protection” tab allows you to turn on cloud-based protection. Cloud-based protection can help Windows Defender identify potential threats more quickly since it uses Microsoft’s vast network of data centers to monitor and analyze malicious files in real-time.
Lastly, the “Advanced” tab allows you to customize the way Windows Defender reacts to certain threats. Here, you can choose whether you want Windows Defender to block, alert, or ignore certain types of threats. You can also specify how long the application should wait before taking action on suspicious files.
As you can see, there are many options available to customize your Windows Defender scanning settings. With these settings, you can ensure that Windows Defender is providing you with the protection you need while still allowing you to take full control of your security setup.