Add Exclusions to Windows Defender Antivirus in Windows 10

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Add Exclusions to Windows Defender in Windows 10

Remove Exclusions in Windows Defender on Windows 10

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Windows Defender Antivirus (originally Windows Defender), which comes pre-installed with Windows 10 as the default virus protection software, has improved significantly over the years. In fact, some argue that it's comparable to any of the popular stand-alone virus protection solutions on the market.

That said, no antivirus software is dead-on perfect. If you find that the same files or folder get picked up when Window Defender Antivirus does a system scan, add an exclusion to skip said files or folders.

In the following VisiHow guide, we're going to who how to add and remove exclusions (file, folders, extensions, processes) for Windows Defender AntiVirus. For this article, we used a Clevo laptop running Windows 10 Professional.

1. 1
   On your keyboard, press the Windows key + X.

   

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2. 2
   From the Quick Link menu, select "Settings".

   

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3. 3
   On the Settings window, select "Update & Security".

   

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4. 4
   From Update & Security, select "Windows Security".

   

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5. 5
   On Windows Security, select "Open Windows Defender Security Center".

   

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6. 6
   From the Windows Defender Security Center, select "Virus & threat protection".

   

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7. 7
   On the Virus & threat protection window, select "Virus & threat protection settings".

   

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8. 8
   From the settings window, select "Add or remove exclusions".

   

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9. 9
   On the Exclusions window, select the "+" sign next to "Add an exclusion"

   .

   The options available with the menu expanded are; File, Folder, File type, Process.

   

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10. 10
    If you choose File or Folder, navigate to the file or folder you wish to be excluded from future virus scans.

    

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11. 11
    If you see the following UAC message, select "Yes" to add the exclusion.

    

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12. 12
    If you select File type or Process, enter the file type or process name in the box, then select "Add".

    

    If you see a User Account Control message, select "Yes".

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1. 1
   Using your keyboard, press the Windows key + X at the same time.

   

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2. 2
   When the Quick Link menu appears, select "Settings".

   

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3. 3
   From Windows' Settings, select "Update & Security".

   

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4. 4
   On Update & Security, select "Windows Security" from the left side menu.

   

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5. 5
   From the Windows Security window, select "Open Windows Defender Security Center".

   

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6. 6
   Once inside Windows Defender Security Center, click or tap "Virus & threat protection".

   

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7. 7
   From Virus & threat protection, tap or click "Virus & threat protection settings".

   

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8. 8
   On the settings window, select "Add or remove exclusions".

   

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9. 9
   Once on the Exclusions window, click or tap the drop-down arrow next to the exclusion you want to delete.

   

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10. 10
    With the exclusion options expanded, select "Remove".

    

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11. 11
    If a UAC alert message appears, click or tap "Yes" to confirm the exclusion removal.

    

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If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.

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