Windows 10: Is it safe to let Windows Defender automatically remove quarantined threats?

Hi, this is my first time encountering a threat on my Windows laptop. Windows Defender detected a threat, quarantined it, and said it "will be removed automatically." I also ran a full scan afterward, and it found no new threats.My question iso I need to manually remove the quarantined threat, or is it completely safe to let Windows Defender handle it automatically?Just want to be sure my system is fully clean. Thanks in advance!

:)

 

Does Windows Defender automatically quarantine threats?

I am using Windows Version 22H2 (OS Build 19045.3930). I recently ran Windows Defender and it found threats due to a Kali Linux .iso I had on my computer. On the Virus & threat protection page in Windows Security, there are action options for each threat:

I did some googling about Windows Defender, and some posts say that it automatically quarantines threats (for example: Blocked), while other posts say it does not (example: New to Windows Defender: How to have it take action automatically?). Based on the results of my Windows Defender Scan, I think that my Windows Defender is not automatically quarantining the threats. Additionally, my Kali Linux .iso is still in its original location (Windows Defender did not remove it). Protection history is also empty. Why isn't Windows Defender automatically quarantining the Kali Linux .iso? Is it because Windows Defender does not automatically quarantine at all? If so, why are there posts online which talk about Defender automatically quarantining? Thanks for taking the time to read my question!

 

quarantined threats

In the Windows Defender Security Center, the Quarantined Threats list on the Scan History page corresponds to the Quarantined Items page in the classic UI, and that list will display any items that have actually been quarantined,
as well as provide the options to remove or restore any of those items – as we can see in this screenshot:





You can either click on the Remove all button or click on a down arrow in order to display the option buttons for an individual threat. But remember that the recommended action can sometimes be wrong when a harmless file is quarantined
by mistake (a false positive), and that's the reason why threats are quarantined rather than removed automatically. The items in the Quarantine could be safely left there indefinitely; but they'll be automatically removed after 90 days, by default.

The number of days that the item is kept in the Quarantine can be reconfigured with this preference setting:

-QuarantinePurgeItemsAfterDelay

Specifies the number of days to keep items in the Quarantine folder. If you specify a value of zero for this parameter, items stay in the Quarantine folder indefinitely.

Set-MpPreference (Defender)

For example, to have quarantined items automatically removed after just a week, run this command at the Administrator PowerShell prompt:

Set-MpPreference -QuarantinePurgeItemsAfterDelay 7

 

How do I remove quarantined threats

It does say under 'Quarantined threats' that "Quarantined threats have been isolated and prevented from running on your device. They will be periodically removed". It could just be that by now they have been automatically removed. It's a possibility as your detections were a few days ago on the 5th. My test was less than 24 hours ago so the quarantined file has not (yet) been automatically removed.

Just reassurance that it's working as designed.