Windows Defender Offline works by scanning an operating system to check the authenticity of any communication the operating system has with the Internet.
Once on a PC, this software might run immediately, or it might run at unexpected times.
Windows Defender Offline is a standalone software application that is designed to help detect malicious and other potentially unwanted software, including rootkits that try to install themselves on a PC. This article in our series focused on Microsoft’s free security tools is on a tool called Windows Defender Offline.
We can ensure this page stays updated with the most relevant information on how to help protect your PC with Windows Defender Offline. UPDATE: For the most relevant information on Windows Defender Offline, please visit the Microsoft support page on Windows Defender offline.
Check your motherboard manual to learn how.ĥ. Note: If you are not able to boot into Windows Defender Offline media, you might have to change the boot priority in BIOS. While rebooting make sure the USB drive is plugged in. Once created, restart the system to boot into the Offline Scanner. This action will create the Offline Scanner bootable drive.
Now, insert an empty USB drive, select the “ On a USB flash drive that is not password protected” radio option, and click on the “ Next” button.Ĥ. After downloading, install the software like any other application and launch it.ģ. You will find the download links at the bottom of the page.Ģ. First, go to this page and download Windows Defender Offline. Thankfully, the procedure is pretty simple and straightforward.ġ. This is because the feature is not integrated into Windows Defender in those versions. Windows 7 and 8 users have to create the Windows Defender Offline bootable drive.
From here, Windows Defender will scan and remove any threats. Once you accept the prompt, Windows will reboot into the recovery environment. As soon as you do that, you will see a warning/information window stating that the PC will sign you out and restart. Now, select the “ Windows Defender Offline Scan” option and click on the “ Scan now” button.Ĥ. Once you are here, click on the “ Scan Options” link appearing on the right page.ģ. In the Windows Security app, go to the “ Virus & Threat Protection” page appearing on the left panel. This action will open the Windows Security app.Ģ. First, open the Start menu, search for “ Windows Security” and click on the result. Also, Windows Defender is now called Windows Security.ġ.
If you are using Windows 7 or 8, follow the second method. Note: Below steps are only applicable to Windows 10. So, all you have to do is click a button and Windows will take care of the rest. Step-by-Step Guide to Run Windows Defender Offline ScannerĪs I said before, the Offline Scanner is built into Windows Defender in Windows 10. Since Windows Defender is no longer running or using the same regular Windows environment, it can not only scan efficiently but also remove any malware from the system files or processes. When you launch the Offline Scanner, Windows Defender will reboot your system into a secure recovery environment that is outside the regular Windows environment. The Offline Scanner is another scan type of Windows Defender that is mainly designed to remove stubborn malware. What is Windows Defender Offline Scanner? In those cases, you can use the Windows Defender Offline Scanner. This happens when malware is infecting the Windows system processes or other files. However, there might be times when Windows Defender is unable to remove the threat. When you perform a virus scan, no matter the scan type, if a threat is detected, Windows Defender will try to remove it from your system.