How to exclude files and folders from Windows Defender Antivirus scans

On Windows 10, the Windows Defender Antivirus is your default anti-malware engine to protect your device and data from viruses, roolkits, ransomware, and other security threats.

Although for the virtually part the built-in Windows 10 antivirus does a pretty good chore, information technology may flag a file or folder that y'all trust as malicious. If y'all want to prevent this type of behavior from happening, Windows Defender Antivirus includes an option to exclude files and folders, as well every bit file types and processes from getting scanned and blocked.

In this Windows 10 guide, we walk you through the steps to exclude specific items and locations from Windows Defender Antivirus scans.

How to foreclose Windows Defender from scanning specific files

If you take certain files, folders, file types, and processes that you desire to exclude from Windows Defender Antivirus scans, use the following steps:

Open up Windows Defender Security Center.
Click Virus & threat protection.
Click the Virus & threat protection option.
Under "Exclusions," click the Add or remove exclusions choice.
Click the Add an exclusion button.
Select the content you want to exclude from Windows Defender Antivirus, such every bit:
- File — Excludes but one file per exclusion.
- Folder — Excludes a folder and its content, including sub-folders.
- File blazon — Instead of excluding files and binder locations, you can configure the antivirus to ignore files with a specific extension no matter their location.
- Process — Excludes background processes by name.
Proceed with the on-screen directions to add the new exclusion depending on your option. (For case, if you select File, yous simply need to browse and select the file you want to exclude. Or if you select the File type selection, you only need to enter the extension of the file format to skip during scans.)

Once you complete these steps, y'all may demand to repeat the instructions to exclude other items you don't want the antivirus to scan to avert false positives.

At any time, you can remove an exclusion using the aforementioned instructions, but on pace No. 5, make certain to select the item and click the Remove button.