Summary
Applies to: Windows 7/Vista/XP
This Wiki Article is intended to guide you "How to exclude a file/folder from Microsoft Security Essentials malware scan in Windows 7/Vista/XP". Under certain conditions, you may in need of excluding files/folders from scanning. (Generally, it is not
recommended to exclude any file/folder, unless you are having an issue related to that particular file/folder.)
Details
(If you are using Windows 8/8.1, refer this article . How
to exclude a file/folder from Windows Defender malware scan in Windows 8/8.1?)
First you need to open Microsoft Security Essentials.
(1) Go to Start menu and open Security Essentials . (For Windows 7/Vista, open Start menu and type security essentials and Click Security Essentials, For Windows XP, Go to Start Menu--->All programs---->Microsoft Security Essentials).
(2) Go to the "Settings" tab and Click "Exclude files and locations". Then, click "Browse".
(3) Here, at this step, you can use either a file or a folder. Select a file or a folder and click OK.
(4) If you need, you can add multiple files and/or folders using a semicolon at the end. After selecting a file/folder, click "Add" .
(5) Finally, you need to save the changes.
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Later, once again, if you feel you need to include that file/folder into the Security Essentials scanning process, what you need to do is to remove it, just as in the illustration, presented below.
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