Windows 11: Schedule a Full Scan with Windows Defender Antivirus
We will show you how to schedule a full scan with Windows Defender Antivirus in Windows 11.
⏰Timestamps⏰
00:00 Intro
00:25 Schedule a Full Scan with Task Scheduler
02:36 Test the Created Task
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In the “Add arguments” field, enter the following line:
-Scan -ScanType 2
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Unfortunately, Windows Defender doesn’t offer a direct way to schedule scans from the app itself.
But don’t worry—there’s a workaround using Task Scheduler.
To open Task Scheduler, go to the Start menu, type “Task,” and select Task Scheduler from the search results.
In Task Scheduler, click on “Create Basic Task” on the right-hand side.
Give your task a name, such as “Windows Defender Full Scan,” and provide a description if you’d like. Then, click “Next.”
Next, choose when you want the scan to run.
You can set it up to run daily, weekly, or monthly.
Pick the schedule that works best for you and click “Next.”
For example, you might choose Fridays at 7:00 PM for the scan. This way, a full scan will be performed at 7:00 PM each week.
Now, you’ll select the action. Choose “Start a program” and click “Next.”
You’ll need to specify the program to run.
Click “Browse” and navigate to the following path: C:\Program Files\Windows Defender.
Select MpCmdRun.exe, which is the executable file, and click “Open.”
In the “Add arguments” field, enter -Scan -ScanType 2, which tells Windows Defender to perform a full scan.
You can copy and paste this from the video description.
Click “Next.”
Review your settings, and if everything looks good, click “Finish.”
Your full scan is now scheduled!
To test the newly created task, go to the Task Scheduler Library, right-click on the task, and select “Run.”
A command window will pop up, indicating that a full scan has started.
You can either close it or wait for the scan to complete.
With this setup, a full scan of your system will be performed automatically at the specified times, and you will be notified of the results.
As you can see, the scan we initiated manually didn't find any threats.
To view more details about the created task or make changes to it, right-click on it and select “Properties.”
You can also disable or delete the task by right-clicking on it.
You’ve successfully scheduled a full scan with Windows Defender Antivirus in Windows 11.
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In another tutorial, we answered the important question: Even though Microsoft Defender Antivirus is always active in Windows, is it necessary to run a full system scan periodically?
We also discussed how often you should perform a scan with Windows Defender Antivirus.
How to Scan for Viruses in Windows 11 for Free
• How to Scan for Viruses in Windows 11...
Windows Defender Antivirus: How Often Should You Run Full Scans?
• Windows Defender Antivirus: How Often...
If you haven’t seen that tutorial yet, we recommend checking it out.
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Got any questions or run into issues? Drop them in the comments below, and I’ll be sure to help you out.
Thanks for watching, and see you in the next video!
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#howto #windows11 #windowdefender #windowssecurity #antivirus #antimalware #schedulescan
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