Windows 10: Microsoft defender detected the D:\ drive as a threat and will not allow me to perform...

Microsoft defender detected the D:\ drive as a threat and will not allow me to perform another scan without taking action on this threat.I don't know if there is a threat in the D:\ disk, the partition after C:\, but it seemed ridiculous that it detected an entire disk partition as a threat without specifying a file path.

:)

 

Threats detected by Windows Defender

Hello @AdvancedSetup, When I click on View detailed results of the scan:

I get this list of infections found:





Finally, I attach the reports:

 

Windows defender false positive - forced to allow threat

Windows defender has started to identify C:\Windows\System32\mshta.exe as a threat [normally reported as a Trojan Powessere.G]. I use mshta.exe to run an hta custom MsgBox - I have been hoping to keep using my current CustomMsgBox tool [batch file calling a vbs-hta file] until later this year when I hope to have had enough time to replace it with a PowerShell alternative.

Windows defender's notification lets me "allow the threat" but that seems to me to be a bigger security hole than is necessary - it will now ignore a potentially real intrusion when all I want to run is a genuine Windows component. My immediate problem is fixed but I would prefer to fix the false positive using the exclusions list.

I cleared the 'Allowed threats history' so I could use the exclusions list instead. I added C:\Windows\System32\mshta.exe to the file exclusions list and I checked that it had taken properly by checking the exclusions list both in the UI & in the Registry. But the exclusion made no difference, it continued to detect and block the exe.

I have repeated the attempt several times [by clearing the allowed threats list & exclusions list beforehand] and the results are the same every time
- allowing the threat works,
- using the exclusions list has no effect.

I studied the relevant tutorial but have not spotted an error in what I have been doing - Add or Remove Windows Defender Exclusions

Does anybody with experience of using the exclusions list to counter false positives have any suggestions for me?

Denis

 

Windows Defender/Security - no option to "Allow" potential threats?

If you want to control what does defender do to threats you can do it trough GPO in the following location: Computer configuration\Administrative templates\Windows components\Microsoft defender antivirus\Threats Here configure option: Specify threats upon which default action should not be taken when detected Threats are categorized by level, you assign default action per threat level.

EDIT: Btw. to open GPO (Local Group Policy) follow these steps: 1. click on start button 2. type: gpedit.msc 3. right click on gpedit.msc and run as Administrator