Solved Remove outdated threat notifications from Defender

I'm getting really frustrated with Win 11. I appreciate the need for great security but it seems that the only thing Win 11 is doing is preventing me from doing what I need. This is just one of many issues.(rant finished)

Defender picked up a couple of threats that were false positives. I removed the offending files manually but Defender continues to report the threats.

In Defender, I clicked on each of the threats and clicked the "Remove" radio button, then start actions. The notifications are still there.

I've searched for a solution and a post in the MS site recommends deleting the files from C:/program data/Microsoft/Windows Defender/Scans. I tried this but Win won't allow me access to this folder.

Another post recommends booting into safe mode and deleting the files. I did this and there are 6 folders and several files in those folders. I found what might have been the correct files but Win tells me that the files are in use in another program and can't delete them.

Another post recommended running another scan and rebooting. I did this but the threat notifications re still there.


HELP! How do I get rid of this nuisance?

If you do a scan and that scan find something you want to ignore, exclude it. Add an exclusion to Windows Security - Microsoft Support

You might try this:

(Perhaps print this out, because you won't have access to this set of instructions when you're not in Windows.)

In the shutdown menu, hold down the shift key and click Restart.

Select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt.

In CMD, type

cd C:\ (Enter)

cd\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Defender (Enter)

rd /s /q Scans (Enter)

exit (Enter)

Wisewiz,

That did the trick.

Thank you so much. You are a star. You've helped me again.

Just to continue my rant for a second - You'd think that there should be an easier way. (end rant)

@dsscottage

I'm delighted that you got it.

I think I may have reminded you about this in another thread, but I'm not sure, so here goes (If you're the one, just ignore this):

When volunteers here take the time to try to help, and especially when their efforts pay off, it's really appreciated when you show appreciation by clicking one of the three left-hand choices that come up when you click Like. The volunteer gets a point if you just click Like, three points if you click Helpful, and five points if you click Great Support. Those points help members to advance through the ranks here on eleven forum. It's not the case that everybody here works just for the points. Most of us really care about helping other Windows users solve technical difficulties. But the points are a great morale booster for volunteers. Thanks.

I didn't know about clicking all three. I previously clicked "like" but wasn't aware of the other two.

I hope that I did it correctly. I clicked all three but it looked to me that only one of the emojis took effect.

I'll remember that in the future. I really appreciate the help that you and others provide in these forums. It not only solves problems but serves as learning experiences.

Thank you again!

dsscottage said:

I didn't know about clicking all three. I previously clicked "like" but wasn't aware of the other two.

I hope that I did it correctly. I clicked all three but it looked to me that only one of the emojis took effect.

Click to expand...

All you do is pick ONE of the left-hand three (Like=1, Helpful=3, or Great Support=5) and click it. And you can go back to a post and re-click to change your choice if you ever want to.

OK. Done.

Thank you again for your Great Support!

Thank you for your generosity.

Dan