How to Exclude Files and Folders from Defender in Windows 11 – Guide

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Delete Defender Files and Folders in Windows 11 and Windows 10

To delete Defender files and folders, you will need to make some changes to your Windows security settings. These changes will depend on your computer’s configuration and the Defender program that is installed on it. However, in general, you will want to follow these steps:

  1. Open the Windows Control Panel and click on the Security tab.
  2. In the Security Settings area, click on the Add/Remove Programs button.
  3. Under the Defender program, select “Delete files and folders.”
  4. Click on OK to add this setting to your computer’s security settings.

Open Windows Security (Microsoft Defender)

Windows 10: To keep your computer safe and secure, start by searching for Windows security under Start in Windows 10. From the search results, select Windows Security to get started. ..

Open ‘Virus and threat protection settings’

Now, under the ‘Manage Settings’ tab, you will see a list of options. The first option is to turn on or off virus protection. If you want to turn on virus protection, simply click on the ‘Enable Virus Protection’ button. If you want to turn off virus protection, simply click on the ‘Disable Virus Protection’ button. The second option is to change your virus scanning settings. You can choose how often your computer will check for viruses and malware, and how severe the warning message will be if a virus or malware is detected. You can also choose whether or not to automatically remove viruses and malware that is detected. The third option is to change your privacy settings for virus and threat protection. You can choose whether or not your computer will send information about viruses and malware that is detected to Microsoft or another company that you select. You can also choose whether or not you want Microsoft to send you notifications about new viruses and threats that are detected. ..

Go to Windows Security Exclusion Settings (Microsoft Defender)

In the ‘Manage Settings’ section of your Windows 11 or Windows 10 computer, under ‘Exclusions’, you can add or remove Defender files and folders. You can use this setting to exclude them from your computer.

Select Exclusion Type for Windows Security (Microsoft Defender)

Now, click on “+ Add an exclusion” button and select the type of deletion you want to do. You can make 4 types of exclusions which are explained in the table below. Then, scroll through the list and select the desired deletion. In this tutorial we are adding a folder exclusion in Defender.

  1. Folder exclusion: This will exclude all files and folders inside the selected folder from being deleted.
  2. File exclusion: This will exclude all files and folders inside the selected file from being deleted.
  3. File name exclusion: This will exclude all files with a specific name from being deleted.
  4. Folder name exclusion: This will exclude all folders with a specific name from being deleted. ..

Select files or folders to exclude from Defender

To exclude a folder from Defender in Windows 10 or 11, open the Defender app and select the folder you want to exclude. Then, under Exclusions, select the file or folder you want to exclude. This will remove the file or folder from future scans by Defender. ..

Remove Windows Security Exclusion (Microsoft Defender)

You have now successfully deleted the selected Microsoft Defender/Windows Security folder. However, if you decide to remove it from the exclusions, you can easily do that too. Just click on the exclusion to select it and then click on Remove button to remove this Defender exclusion. ..

Final note

If you’re looking to exclude files and folders from Windows Defender in Windows 11, this guide can help. ..