Privacy and Security Enable or Disable Periodic Scanning in Microsoft Defender Antivirus in Windows 11


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This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable Periodic Scanning in Microsoft Defender Antivirus when you have a 3rd party antivirus program installed in Windows 11.

Microsoft Defender Antivirus is an antivirus software that is included in Windows 11 and can help protect your device from viruses, malware, and other threats.

Limited periodic scanning is a special type of threat detection and remediation that can be enabled when you have installed another antivirus product on a Windows 10 or Windows 11 device.

This feature only uses a limited subset of the Microsoft Defender Antivirus capabilities to detect malware, and will not be able to detect most malware and potentially unwanted software. Also, management and reporting capabilities will be limited. Microsoft recommends enterprises choose their primary antivirus solution and use it exclusively.

By default, Microsoft Defender Antivirus will enable itself on a Windows 10 or a Windows 11 device if there is no other antivirus product installed, or if the other product is out-of-date, expired, or not working correctly.

If Microsoft Defender Antivirus is enabled, the usual options will appear to configure it on that device.

If another antivirus product is installed, registered, and working correctly, Microsoft Defender Antivirus will disable itself. The Windows Security app will change the Virus & threat protection section to show status about the AV product, and provide a link to the product's configuration options.

Underneath any third party AV products, a new link will appear as Microsoft Defender Antivirus options. Clicking this link will expand to show the toggle that enables limited periodic scanning. Note that the limited periodic option is a toggle to enable or disable periodic scanning.

Sliding the switch to On will show the standard Microsoft Defender AV options underneath the third party AV product. The limited periodic scanning option will appear at the bottom of the page.


You must be signed in as an administrator to enable or disable Limited Periodic Scanning.


EXAMPLE: Windows Security notification when periodic scanning turned on

Windows_Security_notification_periodic_scanning.png



Here's How:

1 Open Windows Security.

2 Click/tap on Virus & threat protection. (see screenshot below)

Windows_Security_Periodic_scanning-1.png

3 Click/tap on Microsoft Defender Antivirus options to expand it open. (see screenshots below step 4)

4 Turn On (default) or Off Periodic scanning for what you want. (see screenshots below)

Windows_Security_Periodic_scanning-2.png
Windows_Security_Periodic_scanning-3.png
Windows_Security_Periodic_scanning-4.png

5 If prompted by UAC, click/tap on Yes to approve.

7 You can now close Windows Security if you like.


That's it,
Shawn Brink


 

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This option is not in Win11
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DIY
    CPU
    i3-12100F
    Motherboard
    MSI B660 PRO
    Memory
    16GB DDR4-3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    RTX 3070 TI
    Sound Card
    Xonar Essence STX
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer G-Sync 28" 4K
    Screen Resolution
    3820x2160
    Hard Drives
    2xSSD, 1xHDD
    PSU
    CM650W
    Case
    CM
    Cooling
    EKWB Liquid 120mm
    Keyboard
    Ducky Shine 4
    Mouse
    Roccat Nyth
    Internet Speed
    300mbit
    Browser
    Chrome, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
Can't find it either.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 and Insider Dev.+ Linux Mint
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home brewed
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 7900x
    Motherboard
    ASROCK b650 PRO RS
    Memory
    2x8GB Kingston 6000MHz, Cl 32 @ 6200MHz Cl30
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte Rx 6600XT Gaming OC 8G Pro
    Sound Card
    MB, Realtek Ac1220p
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 x 27"
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    Kingston KC3000. 1TBSamsung 970 evo Plus 500GB, Crucial P1 NVMe 1TB, Lexar NVMe 2 TB, Silicon Power M.2 SATA 500GB
    PSU
    Seasonic 750W
    Case
    Custom Raidmax
    Cooling
    Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360mm
    Internet Speed
    20/19 mbps

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
Drats, I was hoping to stop it as it always kills one .dll from a game and I have to restore it every time I want to play it, Btw, file checks out to be harmless and is labeled by Defender as "Potentially Unwanted Application" and can be restored, It can be exempted but gets rejected anyway, Real pain in you know where,
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 and Insider Dev.+ Linux Mint
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Home brewed
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 7900x
    Motherboard
    ASROCK b650 PRO RS
    Memory
    2x8GB Kingston 6000MHz, Cl 32 @ 6200MHz Cl30
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte Rx 6600XT Gaming OC 8G Pro
    Sound Card
    MB, Realtek Ac1220p
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 x 27"
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    Kingston KC3000. 1TBSamsung 970 evo Plus 500GB, Crucial P1 NVMe 1TB, Lexar NVMe 2 TB, Silicon Power M.2 SATA 500GB
    PSU
    Seasonic 750W
    Case
    Custom Raidmax
    Cooling
    Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360mm
    Internet Speed
    20/19 mbps
I never used to use this, but now that Windows 11 automatically downloads definitions for it regardless of whether you use a 3rd-party AV or not, I've concluded I might as well have it on.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop

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