Summary
Applies to: Windows 8/8.1
This Wiki Article is intended to guide you "How to exclude a file/folder from Defender malware scan in Windows 8/8.1". 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
First you need to open Windows Defender.
(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 Windows Defender scanning process, what you need to do is to remove it, just as in the illustration, presented below.
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See also
Add or remove items from the Windows Defender allowed list in Vista (Microsoft support webpage)
