Windows Defender Identifies The SAME PUP As A Threat Repeatedly

Anonymous
2020-06-16T21:00:07+00:00

Since the implementation of W10 V2004, Windows Defender has now been defaulted to identify

PUPS as a threat.  As a result, many are now made aware of their presence.  And they are "remediated",

on the spot, to prevent them from causing any mischief.

The problem occurs on the subsequent scans with Windows Defender. It identifies the same PUP again,

and again. It has been determined that this is caused by the presence of the PUP in Protection History.

It appears that the default remediation that Windows Defender applies to PUPs is to Block them,

then leave them in Protection History .

EDIT:  It has been found that malware other than PUPS, can require this same procedure.

           Some have discovered, that even Trojans exhibit this same characteristic, when remediated by

          Windows Defender in W10 v2004.

If you have any malware, remediated by Windows Defender, that alerts repeatedly, this procedure applies to

it as well. In order to cleanup the malware completely, find the file in the "container file" in the Protection

History record, and delete the file that is described. If you can't find or access the file, run the Microsoft

Safety Scanner. It uses the same definitions as Windows Defender, and should remediate  the file.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/threat-protection/intelligence/safety-scanner-download 

Then proceed to delete the Protection History info.

END EDIT.

Windows Defender is defaulted to scan its own "Scans/History". Resulting in the discovery of the malware over

and over again.  Even though, other scanners see no evidence of the malware on the PC.       It doesn't exist!

Until Microsoft sees fit to fix this problem,  you can prevent the repeating error indication, by deleting the

items that are described in Windows Defender Protection History. You can delete them by accessing their files,

that are located in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scans\History\Service.

In the "Service" folder, find and delete "Detection History". 

Note:  ProgramData is a hidden file. In order to access it, the "Hidden Items" option in "File Explorer" must be

checked.  Find the "Hidden Items" check box under the "View Tab".

And, the first time that you access "Scans", you must select "continue", to obtain the permission.

Restart and try another scan.    Notifications for the current malware should stop.  

However, this program miscue will probably reoccur, when the next PUP / Malware is encountered.  

Glen

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Security and privacy

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-12-16T20:42:55+00:00

    Hi Abdel,

    I'm sorry, but it looks like you have been the victim of Ransomware!

    That is off topic in this discussion. If you start a new thread in this forum, perhaps

    someone else will be able to help you.

    Good luck,  Glen

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-11-05T02:56:42+00:00

    Hi Glen, thank you for your instructions! However, I have a quick question. I went to "C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scans\History\Service" as instructed, and found three folders, named 00, 01 and 02. I noticed that the dates/times on the folders matched the three times I was notified by Windows Defender about the same problem, so I just assumed a folder was created for each alert. I just deleted all of the folders without much thinking, and I only now started to wonder if I've done something stupid. Do you know if it was okay to just delete the numbered folders inside Service-folder, or have I f-ed up, and need to reinstall Windows, download a patch etc., or am I okay?

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-09-30T07:02:27+00:00

    hi Glen. been struggling for week and its annoying with this prob..

    thank you for sharing.. 

    Godbless

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  4. Anonymous
    2020-09-24T20:31:10+00:00

    Hi Labeeb,

    Congratulations! Very glad to hear that you solved your problem!

    Regarding any remnants of any malware. For peace of mind, you should perform a

    full scan with Defender.   And download a free copy of MalwareBytes, and perform a

    full scan with that. Set it to "Scan for Rootkits", and allow it to cleanup anything it finds.

    Best of luck to you, Labeeb.

    It has been my pleasure.

    Glen

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  5. Anonymous
    2020-09-24T06:59:48+00:00

    Hi Labeeb,

    Your inability to access "Scans", even in administrative mode, is disconcerting.

    That may indicate the presence of corruption in your OS.

    You can test for that condition by using DISM and SFC. If you like, enter Command Prompt

    by clicking "Start" and type "cmd". Select "Run as Administrator".  On the Command Prompt

    Admin screen, type the following commands.

    DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth  and hit <enter>.

    Allow it time to finish. It takes a little while. 

    Then type SFC /scannow   and hit <enter>  Allow it time to finish.  If it finds any errors,

    run it again, until it runs clean.

    Type Exit to leave Command Prompt.

    Restart your PC, and see if you can access "Scans" now.

    If you can't, it may be necessary to perform a Repair Upgrade. The procedure replaces

    your OS, but keeps your Apps & Files. If you have been able to overcome the repeating

    alert from Defender, using the methods previously described, you may not want to go

    this far.        However,

    The Repair Upgrade is a very solid procedure, if your PC configuration is HDD only or

    SSD only. The two combined, has been problematic a few times in the past. If that is

    your PC configuration, you should create a system backup, before proceeding.

    Should you elect to do the Repair, you download the Creation Tool from here.

    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

    Right click the downloaded file and choose "Run as Administrator".

    Choose "Upgrade this PC now" and the procedure will begin. Answer any questions

    logically, and when asked "what to keep", ensure that both the OS and Apps & Files

    are selected.

    The procedure takes about an hour to complete. Your PC will restart several times. And

    sometimes it appears to be doing nothing. Be patient, when it is finished your "sign in"

    screen will appear.  Your PC will be just as it was before the Repair, but without corruption.

    You should be able to access "Scans", if you ever need to again. And anything else that

    the corruption was going to affect, should not occur. 

    Good luck,  Glen

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