Windows 11 Defender 5 ways to scan for viruses
In Windows11 Defender, you can use 1. Quick 2. Full 3. Custom 4. Offline virus scan function. Also, 5. Full and Offline Scan allows you to perform a more thorough virus scan. This page introduces how to scan for viruses in Windows 11.
Windows 11 virus scan method
You can select and run virus scan options for Windows 11 from “Scan options” in “Virus and threat protection” in Windows Security. If malware or viruses are detected by virus scanning, they are automatically deleted or moved to a safe location, making scanning operations easy.
Open virus scan option selection run screen
1. Click the “Start” button and click “Settings” in the Start. 2. Click “Privacy and Security”, and when the setting screen appears, click “Windows Security”.
3. Click “Virus & Threat Protection” and then ” Scan Options ” to open the Select Scan window.
Virus scan option selection and execution screen
“Quick” virus scan
A quick virus scan only scans common virus-prone locations, such as folders where Windows system files are stored. Scanning time is usually a few minutes. 1. Click to select “Quick Scan” in the scanning options.
2. Click Scan Now to run a virus scan.
3. Wait until the virus scan status page is displayed.
- You can check how long it will take for Virus Quick Scan because the estimated remaining time is displayed.
- Click Cancel if you want to cancel the virus quick scan. Aborting has no effect.
- There is no problem even if you step away from your computer during the virus scan. It is also safe to abort by clicking “Cancel”.
4. When the full virus scan is completed, you will return to the scan options screen, and the “Windows Defender Scan Results” dialog will appear and close automatically.
- If you are away from your PC and miss the dialog, but you are returned to the scan options screen, the quick scan is complete.
- You can check the details of the virus scan execution results on the scan options screen.
“Full” virus scan
A full virus scan scans all files and data on the disk for viruses. The scanning time will take a long time if the disk capacity is large, but the degree of safety will increase. 1. Click to select “Full Scan” in the scanning options. To run a virus scan, click “Scan Now”.
2. Wait until the virus scan status page is displayed.
- A full scan may take a long time depending on the disk usage environment. It doesn’t matter if you are away from your computer while scanning.
- You can check how long it will take for Virus Quick Scan because the estimated remaining time is displayed.
- Click Cancel if you want to cancel the virus quick scan. Aborting during full scan is no problem.
4. When the full virus scan is completed, you will return to the scan options screen, and the “Windows Defender Scan Results” dialog will appear and close automatically.
- If you miss the dialog when you are away from your PC and you return to the scan options screen, you have completed a full scan.
- You can check the details of the virus scan execution results on the scan options screen.
“Custom” virus scan
A custom virus scan scans the specified (selected) folder. Scanning will take some time if the selected folder has a lot of space. 1. Click to select Custom Scan in the scanning options.
2. To specify the folder to be scanned for viruses, click “Scan Now” to display the Explorer selection screen.
Here, we have selected the “Users” folder in the local disk (C:). 3. Click “Select Folder” to run virus scan immediately .
- Custom scan may take some time depending on the used space of the folder. It doesn’t matter if you are away from your computer while scanning.
- You can check how long the virus custom scan will take by displaying an estimate of the remaining time.
- Click Cancel if you want to cancel the virus custom scan. It’s okay to abort during a custom scan.
4. When the full virus scan is completed, you will return to the scan options screen, and the “Windows Defender Scan Results” dialog will appear and close automatically.
- If you are away from your PC and miss the dialog, but you are returned to the scan options screen, the custom scan is complete.
- You can check the details of the virus scan execution results on the scan options screen.
“Offline” virus scanning
Offline virus scan means that a virus scan is performed before Windows 11 starts, so the possibility of detecting hidden viruses is even higher . Other option scans are performed while Windows 11 is starting up, so there may be some data that could not be scanned due to use.
1. Click to select Microsoft Defender Offline Scan in the scanning options. To run a virus scan, click “Scan Now”.
2. When “Save work” is displayed, click “Scan” if there is no file in progress.
- Click Yes when User Account Control appears.
- After “You are about to sign out” is displayed, a reboot is performed.
4. After the computer restarts, the preparation screen for “Windows Defender Offline” will be displayed after “Please wait”.
5. The Command Prompt screen will be displayed, and the screen that is executing the virus scan will be displayed, so wait as it is.
Once the offline scan is complete, reboot and sign in to complete the “offline virus scan”.
full virus scan
A full virus scan is not an option item. The virus scan option allows for a more thorough virus scan by performing a “full scan” of everything on disk and an “offline scan” for pre-boot virus scans . The virus scan order is full scan first, followed by offline scan. 1. Run a “Full Scan” from the scan options.
2. Once the full scan is complete, then run the “Microsoft Defender Offline Scan”.
A more thorough virus scan is now complete. You can check
details such as whether threats such as viruses have been detected by clicking “Protection history ” on the “Virus & threat protection” screen.