Warning: Windows Defender May Break (Workaround)

Windows 10's built-in security tool Windows Defender has stopped working properly for some users. There's a workaround for those who want added peace of mind.

Exactly what's causing the problem isn't yet clear, but some users are finding both manual and automatic scans produce messages such as: "Items skipped during scan: The Windows Defender Antivirus scan skipped an item due to exclusion or network scanning settings." In other cases, the error message reports that the entire scan was skipped.

The message isn't proving particularly helpful as it's not clear what items are actually being skipped. It's also possible the error message is a mistake and the scans are working fine.

Windows Update Gets The Blame

There's a widespread assumption that the problem is the latest example of a Windows 10 update introducing problems. While that's not been proven yet, Windows Defender appears to still be working fine in Windows 7 and 8.

Some users have tried reinstalling Windows from scratch and applying all the updates. The results suggest, but don't confirm, that an update earlier this month caused the glitch. (Source: techradar.com)

Windows Defender Offline Scan Still Works

It's hard to be certain what risk the problem creates but it's certainly possible that skipping items during the scan means some security threats aren't being picked up.

One way to reduce that risk is to use Windows Defender Offline. That's a way of scanning the computer before Windows itself starts up, and it doesn't appear this method is affected by the problem.

To do so:

1. Login to Windows with administrator rights. Most users will have administrator access already - you will know if this is not the case if you attempt to carry out the following instructions and are asked for an administrator password to continue.
    
2. Next, use the Start menu to select Settings, then Update & Security, then Windows Security and finally Virus & threat protection.
    
3. From here, look for the "Current threats" section and select "Scan options". Another way to do it is to look for the "Threat history" section and select "Run a new advanced scan."
    
4. Choose "Windows Defender Offline scan" and then click the "Scan now" button. This will restart the PC, carry out the scan which will take around 15 minutes, then the PC will restart Windows. (Source: microsoft.com)

What's Your Opinion?

Have you spotted this problem? Should Microsoft contact people directly to warn about a possible security gap? Do you rely on Windows Defender or use third-party security tools as well?