Microsoft Defender comes bundled with every copy of Windows 10 and 11 and requires no payment or subscription to use. And over the years, it has slowly evolved into a powerful antivirus tool that's well worth using.
Running a full scan with Microsoft Defender regularly is recommended, but if you only need to check a single file or a single folder, a custom scan gets the job done much faster. Here's how to use Microsoft Defender's custom scan to check a single file or folder.
How to Scan a Single File or Folder With Microsoft Defender
Microsoft Defender comes with several types of antivirus scans; Quick, Full, and Custom. Microsoft doesn't make it immediately obvious what a custom scan is and what it can do. However, custom scans are perfect if you want to do a targeted scan on a file or folder. Here's how:
- Open the Start menu and click the cog icon to open Settings.
- Click on Update & Security, then Windows Security on the left.
- Click on Virus & Threat protection, which will open a new window. Click Scan options in this window.
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Select Custom scan and then click the Scan now button. An Explorer window will open, allowing you to navigate to the folder you want to check.
- You won't see individual files listed in the window, but as long as you know where your file is located, you can just select that folder or drive location.
- When you click the Select Folder button, scanning will automatically begin. Everything in the folder will be scanned, including any sub-folders. Even so, a single folder scan should take just a few seconds.
Custom scans are just a small part of what makes Microsoft Defender a great antivirus tool. Recent antivirus test scores from AV-Test prove just how reliable the built-in Windows security tools are.
Microsoft Defender's Custom Scans, Made Easy
Although Quick scans usually don't take more than a few minutes, being able to scan just a single folder or a single file within a folder is a handy option. Windows Security offers a great range of protection for your computer, and exploring to see what else it can do is worth your time.