Microsoft Defender is formerly known as “Windows Defender” is the built-in application to scan files and folders for viruses on Windows 10 PC. If you don’t have a third-party antivirus app installed on your computer, you can use Microsoft defender for the specified purpose.
Typically, Microsoft Defender always scans files and folders before you open them. You can also perform a quick scan of any type of file or folder before opening them.
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In this guide, we will show you how to quickly scan a file or folder with Microsoft Defender on Windows 10.
Scanning a File or Folder with Microsoft Defender
Here’s how you can do it:
- In your Windows 10 PC, navigate to the file or folder that you want to scan with Microsoft Defender. Hover your mouse cursor and right-click on it.
- From the menu that appears, select the “Scan with Microsoft Defender” option.
Note: If you are the Windows 10 prior version, the option will say “Scan with Windows Defender”.
- A “Windows Security” window will pop up on the screen. The results of the scan will be displayed under the “Scan options” heading on the right pane of the window. If there are no threats found in that file or folder, “No current threats” will be shown in results.
- Whereas, if there is any malware found you will see a message with details about the files that are infected and recommended actions to wipe away the virus. Click on the “Start actions” button to remove the threats.
All the pointed threats will automatically be removed once you click on “Start actions”. You can see the details about the wiped threats by clicking on the “Protection history” option just below the scan results.
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