Windows malware is always a big deal. That is why Microsoft offers an antivirus named Microsoft Defender with Windows 10. It scans for malware in the background, but you can also perform a full system scan with Defender.
First, open the start menu and type in “Windows Security”. Click on the “Windows Security” application icon that appears.
In the sidebar, click on “Virus and threat protection”.
A quick scan can be performed from here by clicking the “Quick scan” button. If you haven’t scanned recently, you might want to consider performing a more in-depth scan. In the area under the “Current threats” heading, click “Scan options”.
Under the “Scan Options” menu, you will see a list of four different types of scans that you can perform on your computer using Microsoft Defender.
- Quick scan: Scans your system folders where threats are commonly found, such as Downloads and Windows folders. It usually only takes a few minutes.
- Full scan: This scans all files on your computer and all running programs. The scan may take over an hour.
- Personalized analysis: If you choose this option, Windows Security will prompt you for a specific file or folder location that you want to scan.
- Microsoft Defender Offline Scan: This option restarts your computer and scans for system files and programs when they are not running, which is useful if malware is running and potentially interferes with the scan.
If you’ve never tried Defender before, or if your computer is behaving in a funny way and you’re worried about an obvious threat, it’s best to start with a full scan. Select the radio button next to “Full scan” and click the “Scan now” button.
A full system scan will begin and Windows Security will display a progress indicator bar.
When the scan is complete, you will see the results. If all is well, you will see a message saying “No current threat”.
However, if the scan detected malware, you will see a message stating “Threats Detected” and a list of infected files just below.
To remove the threats, click on the “Start actions” button.
After clicking on “Start actions”, Microsoft Defender will automatically remove the threats. If you would like to see details of the threats removed, look under the scan results and click on “Protection history”.
Additionally, if Defender has detected a threat during a Quick or Full scan, it may be a good idea to choose “Microsoft Defender Offline Scan” on the scan options screen and run it immediately afterwards just in case. . Hopefully everything will become normal. Good luck and stay safe!
