Windows 10: Defender offline and full scan show infection. Downloaded MSERT. It's run over 24 hours and...

I refreshed Win 10 saving data. Updated immediately and ran offline scan. Infected but unable to resolve. Ran full scan. It showed pages of infection. Tried to resolve. Failed. Downloaded MSERT and ran . It froze at about 80 percent. Still at this point after 44 hours. A failed installation of Medicat left traces in downloads which show as severe infection. Seems to replicate wit restart. I'm no wizard but I need help.

:)

 

offline scan by win defender

Hi,

To further assist you with your concern with Windows Defender, follow the steps below:

• Open the Run window by pressing Window + R button.
• Then type services.msc and hit "Enter".
  
• Look for Windows defender service in the list and right click on it and select start.
• Once Windows defender is opened try to do the offline scan on that window.

Let us know how it goes.

 

MSERT scanned 23 files infected, viruses/malware

If the Microsoft Safety Scanner shows clean (no detections found) when finished, then it's most likely that MSERT suspected a possible threat during the scan, displayed it as such (infected files) but determined the file(s) were not an actual confirmed threat(s) upon completion.

Keep in mind that Microsoft Safety Scanner (MSERT) is intended to be a supplement to an existing anti-virus program (not a replacement).

 

Defender offline scan stops at 91%

What type of scan are you using?

Windows Defender Offline offers several ways to scan for malware

• Quick Scan only checks the areas of your computer most likely to contain malware...the most prevalent and common places where malware typically hides. The length of time for performing a Quick scan will vary but it generally takes about 15-30 minutes so they can be performed daily.
  
• Full Scan is much more comprehensive since it scans the entire entire hard drive (all folders/files) which can number in the thousands to hundreds of thousands. The length of time for performing a Full scan will also vary but because it is so comprehensive, this type of scan can take several hours. Most Full Scans can be scheduled to run late at night when not using the computer so you can perform a weekly scan without having to monitor it.
  
• Custom Scan allows the user to select any files and folders on the hard drive to be scanned.
  
• Microsoft Windows Defender Offline
  

In most cases when performing routine security checks no matter what anti-virus/anti-malware scanner you are using, only a Quick Scan is needed since it checks the areas of your computer most likely to contain malware...the most prevalent and common places where malware typically hides. A Full Scan is much more comprehensive and can take a long time since it checks the entire hard drive (all folders/files) which can number in the thousands. The length of time for performing this type of scan varies because it is so comprehensive and therefore can take several hours. As such, a Full scan is generally recommended only for heavily infected systems...showing obvious indications (signs of infection and malware symptoms) that something is wrong.

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Windows Defender logs location in Windows 11/10