Windows 10: Windows defender shows two different results from the same threat. Am I still affected?

I downloaded the "utorrent web" app. Windows defender immediately alerted me that it was a potentially unwanted app. I never double clicked that .exe file and did not install the app. I went to defender and took the action of removing it. After that, windows defender asked to restart my laptop. I agreed and the laptop restarted. After the restart the protection history exhibited two results. One result showed "status: removed" and was timed at 5:48 pm Another result showed "status: failed" and below it read "this threat or app might not be completely remediated" and was timed at 5:53 pm I ran

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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 isn't removing some of the threats

Defender notified me about 2 PUA's and I took the suggested action of removing them, but after I click on remove, it doesn't go. It shows that the threats are active. I uninstalled and removed the folder and the files/software which were affected but the
threats are still there. The threats which I am getting are PUA:Win32/Presenoker and App:Cheat_Engine_BundleInstaller. I need some suggestions on how can I remove those completely.

 

showing threats found

Scan results by windows defender show that NO threat founds. But when I open my computer ,notification comes as threats found.