Windows 10, How do I set Windows Defender's scan schedule?

This is so confusing. How do I know what is being said to me or asked of me?

I know others have the same issue and they come her for help just as I did.

I have no problem with that at all, I hope they get the answers they came looking for.

I just need to now what is being said to me, or asked of me.

Thank you.

Microsoft sets system’s automatic maintenance to run Windows Defender's Quick scan on daily basis. There is no need for, and I do not recommend, a daily full system scan. This (full scan) takes more computer resources for a long time and slows down your system performance. Microsoft, the system builder and developer, sets all necessary settings of security and maintenance tasks to give you a best over-all system security and performance for most of its consumers to perform their daily works. If you want, you can run full system scan from time to time (once in a month or several months) manually.

Where can I find automatic system maintenance time and change it to a different time? Can I run it manually?

To change the time and/or run system maintenance manually in Windows 10, open Security and Maintenance window in Windows Control Panel (or type Security and Maintenance in the search box near to the Start menu). Then expand Maintenance section to see the Automatic Maintenance.

                Security and Maintenance -> Maintenance -> Automatic Maintenance

In addition, you can see what tasks are included in the system Automatic Maintenance.

What to do if a hidden malware file flied in under RTP (real time protection) radar, and hide itself in a container file (such as zip folder and RAR container) or archives?

These files are passive (inactive) and will not become active until it accessed by user or triggered by an application or a service. In this situation, these malwares do not affect your system while they are inactive. Once an inactive malware file accessed or triggered, Windows Defender’s RTP (Real Time Protection) faces it (scan it before it opens or becomes active) and deals with it.

You, like many other users, will not likely exposed to these files daily. In addition, you can perform full or custom scan manually whenever you want and there is no need to schedule a full system scan for something my happen once in several months.

If my computer is infected, how can I clean it?

When you feel that your system is infected and something abnormal is happening (maybe once during several months or maybe it doesn’t happen at all until the next upgrade of Windows for users doing their usual daily work), open Windows Defender and, manually, perform a full system scan or custom scan of the possibly infected drivers and/or folders.

If this did not solve the problem, you can perform an online system scan using a 3rd-pary antivirus. An example of such online scanner is ESET Online Scanner - free one-time scan.

http://www.eset.co.nz/for-home/products/eset-online-scanner/#tab-1=1

What if a malware prevented my antivirus software to start and I could not perform a scan?

In such cases, you can perform an off-line scanning of your system using a bootable CD or Flash memory.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/what-is-windows-defender-offline

Who needs to change built-in security tools and settings?

Maybe, you need to change some of default settings, built-in tools and/or use additional security tools using higher-rated 3rd-party software, if you are working on public place and using many of others possibly infected external memories (such as Flash drives and External HDDs), connected to an unsafe public Wi-Fi frequently, opening unknown and dangerous websites, playing with hackers or visiting their websites (maybe for downloading, installing or testing some illegal apps), visiting porn websites, and/or downloading and testing apps from unknown sources. In these cases, you are exposing to viruses and external attacks from hackers more than usual.

Although, for many of these cases, Windows built-in security tools with default settings are good enough to block these external attacks, you can use additional 3rd-party tools and/or antiviruses depending on the case you have.  

http://www.pcantivirusreviews.com/Comparison/

To increase your system security, if you want, you can install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware as a precaution.

https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/

https://www.malwarebytes.org/pdf/datasheets/AVTestingReport.pdf

If I want to setup my own schedule full system scan (ex., once every month), how can I perform that?

If you know why you want to setup a custom scan or change the existing daily quick scan to full scan (which is not recommended) and you have a good reason for that, use Task Scheduler service in the Windows Control Panel.

Windows 10: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10/schedule-a-scan-in-windows-defender

Windows 8 (More detailed with screenshots – same steps in Windows 10):

                http://www.thewindowsclub.com/schedule-scans-in-windows-defender

@Bobby Bobcat only =>

This is so confusing. How do I know what is being said to me or asked of me?

You might start by answering the questions I asked on the 19th =>

1. When (exact date) did you "upgrade" to Win10?
2. Did you format the HDD before you did the clean install of Win7 prior to "upgrading" to Win10?
3. You've NEVER had an anti-virus application installed on the computer, is that correct?
4. After you did the clean install of Win7, how long was the computer connected to the internet before you "upgraded" to Win10 using the Media Creation Tool & ISO?
5. Was the Win10 upgrade offered to your computer via Windows Update before you "upgraded" using the MCT & ISO?
6. When (exact date) were KB3081444, KB3081438, KB3081436, KB3081424 installed according to Installed Updates (not Update History)?

7a. Open Edge (or Internet Explorer) - not Chrome or Firefox - to this page => http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/

7b. What version is displayed in the Version Information box on that page?

                     => Note that I'm not asking you to install Flash Player! <=

8. Is Firefox v40.0.2 (or higher) and Google Chrome v44.0.2403.157 (or higher) installed?
9. Is it the same computer (i.e., machine - not the same problem) as in one or more of these previous threads of yours?...

I just installed a new hard drive, then installed a fresh copy of Windows 7 64bit, then let the windows update do its thing...after installing 267 updates. I then let it install most of the optional system updates. then installed Microsoft's security essentials...Yesterday Security Essentials said the real time protection was turned off...about an hour later the PC shut down as if I had shut it down, but I didn't. So I turned it back on. about 30 minutes later it shut down again, but this time right before it shut down it said it was shutting down because to many files are running in 16Bit...when I shut the PC down [later] I get a message saying Security Essentials refuses to shut down. Windows will force it to close, or you can choose to see if it will close on its own, then windows shuts down before I can do anything. So, I uninstalled Security Essentials, and all of this has stopped...

http://answers.microsoft.com/thread/13aa30f0-7226-4f47-8e00-2a764608cda6 (08 Jul-15)

I keep getting a Kernel Power Drain Blue Screen Error, every time I start up my Computer...It started doing this after a Microsoft automatic update about 2 to 3 weeks ago...

http://answers.microsoft.com/thread/ad17d647-97b3-44cb-a4f3-e285c3d1f798 (05 Nov-14)

My computer some how has 9 network connections. At times it will change connection by its self...

http://answers.microsoft.com/thread/036df0c7-d7af-47f6-b346-824da5192116 (20 Aug-14)

Folders keep saying access denied and i have to ask for permission, but doing that almost always ends up in an error message saying access denied you may not take over permission of this folder, or it says i already have permission, but i still can't get in to the folder or folders...

http://answers.microsoft.com/thread/360673ca-3169-46f4-82b5-ea00e197de7f (09 Nov-13)

This is so confusing. How do I know what is being said to me or asked of me?

I know others have the same issue and they come her for help just as I did.

I have no problem with that at all, I hope they get the answers they came looking for.

I just need to now what is being said to me, or asked of me.

Thank you.

It certainly is true that real-time protection mitigates the need for scheduling Full Scans – but the new Windows Defender actually uses a much more powerful “on-access” real-time protection – a kernel-mode mini-filter driver (WdFilter.sys) that continuously scans file-system activity. On the other hand, it’s entirely possible for hidden malware to fly in under this on-access radar, because this form of real-time protection has to be very quick in order to keep it from bogging down the system – and consequently it never takes the time to scan the contents of archived files. So a Full Scan is still very useful because it does unpack those container files in search of any hidden (but inactive) malware that might have gotten through your primary line of defense.

What we need to look at here is the rationale for adding a scheduled scan by modifying the Windows Defender Scheduled Scan task. First, ask yourself this question: If Automatic Maintenance already runs a Quick Scan on a daily basis, then what possible reason would there be for adding a second scheduled Quick Scan? The Microsoft method just adds a totally redundant scan, which doesn’t really make any sense, but otherwise is completely harmless.

It should be clear that the only additional scheduled scan that would make any sense would be a scheduled Full Scan. Unfortunately, if you schedule a Full Scan by changing the command line (action) of the Windows Defender Scheduled Scan task, as the Windows Club tutorial recommends, the result might not be quite what you expected, and it also might not be quite so harmless. The Windows Club tutorial, like many of the other Windows-help site tutorials, was copied from the Eight Forums tutorial (recommended above by PA Bear MS MVP); and the Eight Forumsmethod was based on the mistaken notion that the Windows Defender Scheduled Scan task was NOT being triggered by Automatic Maintenance:

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/14264-windows-defender-scheduled-scan-set-up-windows-8-a-2.html

But of course it IS being triggered by Automatic Maintenance; so if you schedule a weekly Full Scan with this method; for example, the unintended consequence is that the daily Automatic Maintenance scan is also converted into a Full Scan (you can easily confirm this in Event Viewer).  Not only does that not make any sense; it also makes it quite likely that you’re going to create some kind of bottleneck in the Automatic Maintenance workflow, since the default mode for this service runs maintenance tasks strictly during system idle states and within strictly limited “maintenance windows”. So if you decide to cut corners here and go with this “simple” method of creating a scheduled Full Scan, you should definitely pay close attention to the results that get logged in Event Viewer and Task Scheduler. Also, the new Windows Defender icon might be useful for monitoring your scans – if you load it at startup:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/protect/forum/protect\_defender-protect\_start/is-windows-defender-icon-supposed-to-be-in-system/6cfa9d1d-3db8-49a9-add7-280a284ccfdc

Anyone wishing to add a proper scheduled Full Scan can refer to these resourses:

https://www.winhelp.us/kaseke/configure-windows-defender-in-windows-8.html#.Ub3sFMXn_IU

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/protect/forum/mse-protect\_start/running-mse-full-scan-as-a-scheduled-task/f627f5ce-0b74-4b1d-be64-d6ceeb4d9b02

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows\_8-performance/windows-defender-windows-8-schedule-option-missing/b6603c6a-cba9-4ba7-a894-37f895fc6c92?page=1

GreginMich