WNDF-AV-000072 - Microsoft Defender AV must scan excluded files and directories during quick scans.

Information

In Microsoft Defender Antivirus, when an exclusion for a file or folder is created, it will generally be skipped during both real-time protection and on-demand scans (including quick scans and full scans). However, with newer releases, the option exists to configure quick scans to include files and directories that are otherwise excluded from real-time protection.

Solution

Set the policy value for Computer Configuration >> Administrative Templates >> Windows Components >> Microsoft Defender Antivirus >> Scan >> Scan excluded files and directories during quick scans to 'Enabled'.

See Also

https://dl.dod.cyber.mil/wp-content/uploads/stigs/zip/U_MS_Defender_Antivirus_V2R8_STIG.zip