Adding a File, Folder, or Program to Windows Defender Exceptions

Microsoft Defender antivirus is built into the Windows 10 operating system, designed to protect your computer from the effects of malicious software. This antivirus is also known by other names: Windows Defender, Windows Defender, Microsoft Defender, Windows Security.

Using a PC with an antivirus application installed is much safer than using a device that does not have protection. That is why Microsoft has developed its own antivirus, which serves to protect the system right out of the box, because it is built into Windows.

Currently, antivirus – Microsoft Defender, fully provides the necessary protection for your computer, not inferior to competitors. This has been shown by studies and tests by independent laboratories.

At the same time, Microsoft Defender, like any other antivirus program, may prevent some applications from running or not open suspicious files. According to the antivirus, running a program or opening a file may harm the operating system or the user’s security.

Not always suspicious programs or files harm the system, often this is the right software that needs to be used in Windows. Blocking the launch of applications on a computer occurs because antivirus software reacts especially sharply to various patches, keygens, cracks, etc., seeing this as a threat to the PC.

In such situations, the question arises of how to add a file, program or folder to the antivirus exception in order to freely use the necessary software. According to the user, some files and programs are not malicious or do not contain threats, so their use will not affect the security of the computer.

Of course, the user can use the method that involves temporarily disabling the antivirus before using the desired software. This option should not be used for reasons of overall system security.

Like other similar programs, Windows Defender has exceptions: items that are not removed from the computer and are not checked by antivirus. To solve the problem with the launch of the necessary software, it must be added to the defender exceptions.

Exceptions in Windows Defender 10 help solve the problem because the antivirus no longer blocks the launch or use of software that is disabled from the control of the antivirus program.

In this guide, you will find instructions on how to make an exception in Windows Defender 10: how to add a file to exceptions, how to add a program to exceptions, how to add a folder to Microsoft Defender Antivirus exceptions.

How to add exclusions to Windows Defender 10

First, we’ll figure out how to add some elements to Windows Defender exceptions. The computer uses different software, so users need to exclude some software from the antivirus scanning process.

Do the following:

1. Press the “Win” + “I” keys.
2. In the Settings app window, open Update & Security.
3. Open the Windows Security tab.
4. In the “Windows Security” tab, in the “Protection areas” section, click on the “Virus and Threat Protection” option.
5. The Windows Security application window will open.
6. In the “Virus and threat protection settings” section, click the “Manage settings” link.
7. In the Exceptions section, click the Add or Remove Exceptions link.
8. In the “Exclusions” window that opens, click the “Add exclusions” button. There are several elements available to exclude from antivirus scanning:

• File.
• Folder.
• File type.
• Process.

9. Select the desired item type to exclude it from the virus scan process.

Files and folders added to exclusions are stored in the registry along the path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Exclusions\Paths File

File types excluded by the antivirus are stored in the registry at this path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Exclusions\Extensions

Processes excluded by Microsoft Defender are located in the registry at the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Exclusions\Processes

How to add a file to Windows Defender exclusions

Often, users need to add a file to Windows 10 Defender exceptions. This is necessary for the file to be used smoothly on the computer so that it is not blocked by the antivirus program.

Go through the steps:

1. In the Exceptions section, click on the Add Exception button.
2. In the context menu, click on the “File” item.
3. In the Explorer window that opens, select the desired file on your computer.

The selected file will be displayed in the “Exclusions” window, under the button for adding exclusions.

How to add a program to defender exclusions

If you need to add a program to Windows 10 Defender exclusions, use the previous method. In the process of adding a file, you need to select the application executable file with the extension “.exe” on the computer.

After adding the application executable file to the exceptions, the antivirus will stop responding to the launch of this program on the computer.

How to Add a Folder to Windows 10 Defender Exclusions

It is often necessary to exclude some folder on the PC from antivirus control in order to keep the contents from being deleted by the antivirus. In this case, you should add this folder to Microsoft Defender exceptions.

If there are several files on your computer that the antivirus reacts to and they are not tied to a specific location, collect these items in one place (folder). Then exclude this folder from scanning for viruses and other threats.

In the “Exceptions” window, go through the following steps:

1. Click on “Add to exclusions”.
2. In the drop-down menu, click on “Folder”.
3. Select a folder on your PC to add to Microsoft Defender exclusions.

Adding file type exceptions

In some cases, the user may need to add some file types to Microsoft Defender exceptions. To implement this, you will need to add the appropriate extension of this file type to the exceptions.

The choice of extension is as follows:

1. In the Exceptions window, click the Add Exceptions button.
2. Click on “File Type”.
3. In the “Enter extension” field, add the appropriate file extension.
4. Click on the “Add” button.

Extensions can be added with a dot, such as “.png” or without – just “png”.

Excluding a process from being scanned by antivirus

If you need to disable antivirus scanning of a certain process running in Windows, you can add it to the exclusions.

Do the following:

1. In the “Exclusions” section, click on the “Add to exclusions” button.
2. Select “Process” from the menu.
3. Enter the name of the process with its extension.

You can select the desired process using the Task Manager.

How to remove exclusions from Windows Defender 10

If you need to remove any element from the Microsoft Defender exclusion, then you need to reverse the operation.

Follow these steps:

1. In the Settings app, open Update & Security.
2. Go to the “Security” tab.
3. In the “Protection scopes” section, select the “Virus and Threat Protection” option.
4. In the Windows Security app, navigate to the Virus and threat protection settings section.
5. Click on the Manage Settings link.
6. In the Exceptions section, click the Add or Remove Exceptions link.
7. The Exceptions window displays a list of Windows Defender exclusions.
8. Highlight the desired exception, and then click on the “Delete” button.

After performing this operation, the anti-virus program will again scan this element for viruses or other threats, according to its settings.

Article Conclusions

Many computers use a built-in antivirus application called Microsoft Defender Antivirus (Windows Defender). The antivirus program removes or blocks malicious software from running on the PC.

In some situations, despite the actions of the antivirus, according to the user, the software is safe and does not contain threats, so it can be used. To make this possible, you need to add exclusions for files, folders, programs or processes in Windows Defender 10.