Windows 10: Scan with Windows Defender Context Menu - Add in Windows 10

How to: Add or Remove Scan with Windows Defender Context Menu in Windows 10

How to Add or Remove "Scan with Windows Defender" Context Menu in Windows 10


Windows Defender helps protect your PC against malware (malicious software) like viruses, spyware, and other potentially unwanted software. Malware can infect your PC without your knowledge: it might install itself from an email message, when you connect to the Internet, or when you install certain apps using a USB flash drive, CD, DVD, or other removable media. Some malware can also be programmed to run at unexpected times, not only when it's installed.

Windows Defender is included with Windows and helps keep malware from infecting your PC in two ways:

• Providing real-time protection. Windows Defender notifies you when malware tries to install itself or run on your PC. It also notifies you when apps try to change important settings.
• Providing anytime scanning options. Windows Defender automatically scans your PC for installed malware on a regular basis, but you can also start a scan whenever you want. Windows Defender automatically removes (or temporarily quarantines) anything that's detected during a scan.

This tutorial will show you how to add a Scan with Windows Defender context menu for all users to be able to scan one or more files, folders, or drives on demand in Windows 10.

While you must be signed in as and administrator to be able to add or remove the "Scan with Windows Defender" context menu, all users will be able to use the context menu.

*note If you have a 3rd party AV program installed, the Scan with Windows Defender context menu will be disabled by default until the 3rd party AV program is uninstalled.


EXAMPLE: "Scan with Windows Defender" context menu






Here's How:

1. Do step 2 (add) or step 3 (remove) below for what you would like to do.


2. To Add "Scan with Windows Defender" to Context Menu
*note This is the default setting.
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Add_Scan_with_Windows_Defender-UI.reg

Download

3. To Remove "Scan with Windows Defender" from Context Menu
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Remove_Scan_with_Windows_Defender-UI.reg

Download
4. Save the .reg file to your desktop.

5. Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

6. When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

7. You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.


That's it,
Shawn


Related Tutorials

• How to Create a Windows Defender Antivirus Shortcut in Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Windows Defender context menu in Windows 10
• How to Turn On or Off Windows Defender in Windows 10
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• How to Add or Remove Exclusions for Windows Defender in Windows 10
• How to Create a Windows Defender Settings shortcut in Windows 10
• How to Hide or Show Windows Defender Notification Area Icon in Windows 10
• How to Enable or Disable Scan Archive Files by Windows Defender in Windows 10
• Enable or Disable Scan Mapped Network Drives with Windows Defender in Windows 10
• Enable or Disable Scan Removable Drives during Windows Defender Full Scan in Windows 10
• How to Manually Scan Files, Folders, and Drives with Windows Defender in Windows 10
• How to Schedule a Scan in Windows Defender Antivirus in Windows 10
• How to Specify Scheduled Scan Type for Windows Defender Antivirus in Windows 10
• How to Add Windows Defender Antivirus to Control Panel in Windows 10
• How to Change Windows Defender Antivirus Maximum CPU Usage for a Scan in Windows 10

:)

 

Windows defender in Windows 10 64 bit

It was actually "taken away" in Windows 8/8.1; but “Scan with Windows Defender” was added to the Windows 10 context menu in November:

http://winsupersite.com/windows-10/windows-10-november-update-right-click-scan-windows-defender



In Windows 8/8.1 you can add a Windows Defender command line scan to the context menu with either a downloaded reg file, or a DIY batch file:

"scan with Windows Defender" missing in context menu

 

Windows defender in Windows 10 64 bit

How to add "scan with windows defender" in the context menu of windows 10 64 bit ?

And also I am not able to scan individual files with windows defender, It is scanning only folder through custom scan mode...... How to scan files (for example ".exe" files) through custom scan mode ?

 

Hello, *Smile

Please go ahead and post screenshots showing what it has in the command prompt for this to see if anything stands out.

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/1...en-forums.html

 

Here are two snips.

Darn it, the snips did not attach ... working on it. lol

The first one is against the folder and the second is against the file, in the folder.

 

Interesting. I must admit that I'm not sure why it skipped scanning the file when you scanned the folder.

As long as it's clear when you scan the file, it's fine though.

 

Look again at the second snip. That was against the .exe file...which it skipped. So, if it reports that it skipped scanning the .exe, then doesn't that mean that it did NOT scan the .exe?

 

Correct. Skipped means that it didn't scan the file for whatever reason when you scanned the folder.

The first screenshot where you did scan the file showed no threats though.

 

I have tried scanning all sorts of files and get the 'skipped' message each time. By your comment, you think that because scanning the folder a file is in results in no threat found, that it has scanned the file inside. To be 100% sure, one would need to put a known 'nasty' .exe in a folder and 1) scan the folder and 2) scan the exe. If the folder scan was fine and the exe is skipped, then there is a problem. I don't have a 'nasty' exe to test it against. Perhaps you, or someone else, are able to the test?

I have not run my .exe as I did not download it from where I normally do. It is better to be safe than sorry *Smile

 

I tested the scanner using a .txt file I created using this below for a safe AV test file. It's meant to trigger a threat, but is safe since it's only a false positive. WD instantly detected it, and I had to be fast to run the context menu scanner on the folder before WD deleted the file. The context menu scanner found the file as a threat.

Intended use ° EICAR - European Expert Group for IT-Security

If you like, upload your .exe file in a .zip file, and I'll test to see if it does the same for me.

 

I created a new folder with the same name, and move the file to the same location as in your screenshot. Afterwards, I scanned the folder without the file getting skipped.

As a test, move the folder to your desktop to see if you have the same issue there.

 

Works as it should on the Desktop. Think I know the reason why the 'skipping' was happening. As my Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures & Videos folders come to 269GB in size and because, mistakenly perhaps, I thought that 'nasties' would not be in those folders, I had excluded them from being scanned by Windows Defender. I will now move items I do not want to be scanned into a folder of their own and only exclude that. Scanning 269GB takes some time!

 

Do others on this forum scan their Music, Pictures and Video folders?

 

Ah, I see now. Yeah, if you excluded it, then that would be why it was skipped.

WD has real-time protection, but it never hurts to scan them every so often to be safe.

 

It seems this function has been added in the Windows 10 November Update (build 10586). A clean install has the ''Scan with Windows Defender'' option in the context menu, which launches the program itself (not a command prompt).