Windows Defender is a reliable shield against digital threats, once it detects infected folders or files, it will remove them immediately. However, sometimes it can be a bit too vigilant by removing the uninfected folders and files. To prevent a specific folder or file from being deleted by Windows Defender, you’ll need to manually exclude it from Windows Defender.
If you’re looking for a guide on how to exclude a specific folder from Windows Defender, you’re in the right place. This post shows you how to exclude folders from Windows Defender step by step.
Use one of the two methods below to exclude folders from Windows Defender:
Method 1: Using Windows Security Settings
Method 2: Using PowerShell
Method 1: Using Windows Security Settings
You can exclude folders from Windows Defender using Windows Security settings. Follow these steps:
1) Press the Windows + S keys to open the search box.
2) Type ‘virus and threat protection settings‘ into the search box and click on Virus & threat protection.
3) Click on Manage settings under the ‘Virus & threat protection settings’ section.
4) Scroll down to the ‘Exclusion’ section, and then click on Add or remove exclusions.
5) Click on Add an exclusion and select Folder from the drop-down menu.
6) Navigate to the folder you wish to exclude and select it.
7) Click on Select Folder to confirm adding the folder exclusion.
Method 2: Using PowerShell
Follow these steps:
1) Press the Windows + X keys and click on Windows PowerShell (Admin).
2) Type the following command and press Enter:
Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "C:\Path\To\Your\Folder"Replace “C:\Path\To\Your\Folder” with the actual path to the folder you want to exclude. In the screenshot below, I want to exclude the folder “F:\amd”, so I replace “C:\Path\To\Your\Folder” with “F:\amd”.
After you press Enter, you’ll find nothing will happen, so it’s hard to tell if the exclusion has been added. To verify that the exclusion has been added, you can type the following command and press Ener:
Get-MpPreference | Select-Object -ExpandProperty ExclusionPath
The above two methods should help you exclude a folder from Windows Defender. Keep in mind that excluding certain folders may reduce the level of protection, so only exclude folders that you are confident are safe from malicious content. Hopefully you find this post helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to drop a comment below.