Updating and Using Microsoft Defender Antivirus
Microsoft Defender Antivirus is included in Windows 10 and Windows 11, as well as in Windows Server versions. Microsoft Defender Antivirus is a key component of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.
Windows devices are typically managed centrally for ease of administration. If you encounter unmanaged devices, you can check if Microsoft Defender Antivirus is being used, manually update it, and use it to scan the device for malware.
The following demo is from a Windows 11 device.
To check the status of Microsoft Defender Antivirus, login on your Windows device, go to Start — Settings — Privacy & security — Windows Security.
The green checks indicate each protection area is operational.
Select Open Windows Security.
Select Protection updates under Virus & threat protection updates.
To manually update Microsoft Defender Antivirus, select Check for updates.
Microsoft Defender Antivirus can also scan your Windows device for malware. Select Scan options to see other scan options.
Choose the following scan type you prefer. For example, you can click Scan now to perform a manual Quick scan.
Afterwards, you can see the results or findings of the scan.
The Virus & threat protection settings also show an important setting: Real-time protection. This should remain enabled to protect your device.
References:
PowerShell can be used to manage Microsoft Defender Antivirus. You can use the following PowerShell cmdlets to schedule a scan:
Set-MpPreference -ScanParameters
Set-MpPreference -ScanScheduleDay
Set-MpPreference -ScanScheduleTime
Set-MpPreference -RandomizeScheduleTaskTimes
For more information, you can refer to the following articles:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/defender/?view=windowsserver2022-ps
