How To Add Windows Defender Exclusions? 2023

How to Add Windows Defender Exclusions? Windows Defender is an anti-malware component of Microsoft Windows. It was released as a free downloadable anti-spyware program for windows. It has fully evolved into a complete anti-virus program.

The Windows Defender is the Built-in anti-virus software that provides complete protection against viruses and threats. Windows Defender protects your device from pop-ups, low management, and disruptions to security caused by spyware and viruses.

This type of malware can infect your computer: it could install itself from an email message, when connecting to the Internet, or when installing certain applications using a USB drive, CD, DVD, or other removable drives.

It prevents infecting your computer in two ways; when the Windows Defender notifies you when malware tries to install itself or run on your computer. It also informs you when applications attempt to change important settings.

Secondly, you can use Windows Defender to scan for malware that might be installed on your computer and automatically remove anything detected during a scan.

The app you install lets you keep a complete record and allows you to track your protection state. It can be used to configure different security options. It shows an icon in the system tray.

You can easily find the Windows Defender Security Center from the Start menu. Click on the search box and type the letter ‘W.’ In the suggested apps, as soon as you navigate your desired application, click on it to open it.

The application combines beneficial security tools you may want to control and trace. The Windows Defender Security Center app’s user interface comes with a left-hand shortcut and the key area that occupies the rest of the window.

As soon as you open the application, it opens up to a special start page which comes with the following portions:

Each of the above-mentioned portions has its own icon to represent it. In this article, we will be discussing Virus & threat protection.

How to add exclusion to Windows defender:

1. Open the Windows Defender Security Center following the procedure mentioned above.
2. Select the icon ‘Virus % Threat protection
3. Click on the link Virus & threat protection settings

Move down to the option ‘Exclusions’ and click on the link ‘Add or remove exclusions’ written below it.

This will open up you the following page:

Now, click the option ‘Add an extension’ and it will open you up to four further options; file, folder, file type, and process.

Something important you need to have knowledge about is the following before choosing any option:

1. File: this option removes a specific file from being scanned or viewed by the Windows Defender.
2. Folder: this option removed a specific folder from being viewed or scanned by the Windows Defender. All the contents will be excluded recursively.
3. File type: you can add a file extension e.g. *.txt as an exclusion.
4. Process: this option can be used to add a process as exclusion, so any file used in this process will not be scanned by the Windows Defender.

Now you can select which type you wanted, for example, a folder

If you trust a file or a folder detected by windows security as malicious, then you can stop it from getting blocked by adding it to the exclusion list. To do that, you should carry out several steps, including the following.

Go to the start window, the logo on the screen’s bottom-left.
You need to go to the setting by clicking on the “settings” title.
From there, proceed towards the “update and security” and then move to the “windows security.” Finally, click on “virus and threat protection.”
Under the “virus and threat protection,” you will select “manage settings,” and then under the heading of “Exclusions,” you can either add or remove exclusions.

From here, you now select “Add an exclusion” and then select from the files or the folders, and this can even be applied to the subfolders. So, this was a very easy way to add or remove exclusions.

The Windows Defender is very easy to use and is helpful. It is free of cost, stays on your laptop or computer, and tackles malware and spyware.

It uses much fewer resources than some other antivirus software’s as it puts much less of a strain on your computer’s resources resulting in a much smaller performance impact. The Defender has a simple setup and a user-friendly interface.

It is much of a ‘set and forgets’ type of software, which requires very minimum user input to function, and it is ready to go as soon as you activate it. Another plus point is that other free antivirus software may bother you with repeated advertisements trying their best to up-sell their paid product to you.

Conclusion