Warning: Windows Defender May Break (Workaround)

John Lister's picture

Windows 10's built-in security tool Windows Defender has stopped working properly for some users. There's a workaround for those who want added peace of mind.

Exactly what's causing the problem isn't yet clear, but some users are finding both manual and automatic scans produce messages such as: "Items skipped during scan: The Windows Defender Antivirus scan skipped an item due to exclusion or network scanning settings." In other cases, the error message reports that the entire scan was skipped.

The message isn't proving particularly helpful as it's not clear what items are actually being skipped. It's also possible the error message is a mistake and the scans are working fine.

Windows Update Gets The Blame

There's a widespread assumption that the problem is the latest example of a Windows 10 update introducing problems. While that's not been proven yet, Windows Defender appears to still be working fine in Windows 7 and 8.

Some users have tried reinstalling Windows from scratch and applying all the updates. The results suggest, but don't confirm, that an update earlier this month caused the glitch. (Source: techradar.com)

Windows Defender Offline Scan Still Works

It's hard to be certain what risk the problem creates but it's certainly possible that skipping items during the scan means some security threats aren't being picked up.

One way to reduce that risk is to use Windows Defender Offline. That's a way of scanning the computer before Windows itself starts up, and it doesn't appear this method is affected by the problem.

To do so:

  1. Login to Windows with administrator rights. Most users will have administrator access already - you will know if this is not the case if you attempt to carry out the following instructions and are asked for an administrator password to continue.
  2. Next, use the Start menu to select Settings, then Update & Security, then Windows Security and finally Virus & threat protection.
  3. From here, look for the "Current threats" section and select "Scan options". Another way to do it is to look for the "Threat history" section and select "Run a new advanced scan."
  4. Choose "Windows Defender Offline scan" and then click the "Scan now" button. This will restart the PC, carry out the scan which will take around 15 minutes, then the PC will restart Windows. (Source: microsoft.com)

What's Your Opinion?

Have you spotted this problem? Should Microsoft contact people directly to warn about a possible security gap? Do you rely on Windows Defender or use third-party security tools as well?

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Average: 5 (11 votes)


mazaprin's picture

I don't know what is all worry about windows defender if it was never good for nothing.
most people have a private antivirus software instead of Windows Defender and I have never used it neither when I had windows 7 nor now because I have been using Kaspersky all the time which is considered the best or among the 3 best antiviruses full suite softwares.

You can not compare Windows Defender with Kaspersky or AVAST and other specialized private antivirus suites. why are you giving too much importance whether windows defender this or that when almost nobody uses it except low-income families that can't afford a very good one ???!!

mike's picture

It is not a matter of giving too much importance to Windows Defender. It is very important to let people know about the possible problem. For some people it is not a matter of money but why spend money on something that already is on my computer.
Personally, I use Avast on my primary computers (for many years) but I have used Windows Defender on my laptops since moving to Windows 10. I have not had any problems and since most of the 3rd party ratings have it as very good I see no point in changing this. Yes, I still run Malwarebytes on all of my computers periodically - but having or not having Windows Defender does not change this.
The way you worded your comment sounds like you think "only those who can't afford better" would have Windows Defender.

d0x360's picture

What drugs are you on? Windows defender is rated as one of the best AV scanners out there and imo it's literally the best because it uses zero resources and doesn't cause your PC to slow down like every other piece of AV software out there.

Don't take my word for it, just search. Defender is usually trading places between #1 and #3 and unlike the others it doesn't cost a dime. Even "free" versions of paid scanners these days are coming with essentially spyware(look up Avast) so defender is probably the best option. Oh and Kaspersky is Russian... Sorry but I don't trust Russian software. I wouldn't trust Russian notepad.

It has the least false positives, it's definitions are updated more often than anything else, it's the fastest scanning, and pretty much nothing gets by it undetected.

On top of that it has attack mitigation tech that other av software doesn't have or can't have.

So if I were you I'd definitely care and if definitely be using defender.