How to Create a Microsoft Defender Offline Scan shortcut in Windows 10
Starting with Windows 10 version 2004, Windows Defender Offline as been renamed to Microsoft Defender Offline.
Microsoft Defender Offline is an antimalware scanning tool that lets you boot and run a scan from a trusted environment. The scan runs from outside the normal Windows kernel so it can target malware that attempts to bypass the Windows shell, such as viruses and rootkits that infect or overwrite the master boot record (MBR).
You can use Microsoft Defender Offline if you suspect a malware infection, or you want to confirm a thorough clean of the endpoint after a malware outbreak.
This tutorial will show you how to download or create a Microsoft Defender Offline scan shortcut to manually run an offline scan of your PC in Windows 10.
You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to scan offline with Microsoft Defender Offline.
When you run the Microsoft Defender Offline scan shortcut, you will be prompted by UAC to approve, and your computer will automatically restart to perform the offline scan with Microsoft Defender Offline.
Contents
- Option One: To Download a Microsoft Defender Offline scan Shortcut
- Option Two: To Manually Create a Microsoft Defender Offline scan Shortcut
EXAMPLE: Microsoft Defender Offline scan
1 Click/tap on the Download button below to download the .zip file below.
2 Save the .zip file to your desktop.
3 Unblock the .zip file.
4 Open the .zip file, and extract (drag and drop) the shortcut to your desktop.
5 If you like, you can Pin to Taskbar, Pin to Start, add to All apps, add to Quick Launch, assign a keyboard shortcut to, or move this shortcut to where you like for easy use.
6 When finished, you can delete the downloaded .zip file if you like.
1 Right click or press and hold on an empty area on your desktop, and click/tap on New and Shortcut.
2 Copy and paste the location below into the location area, and click/tap on Next. (see screenshot below)
PowerShell.exe Start-Process PowerShell -Verb RunAs Start-MpWDOScan
3 Type Microsoft Defender Offline scan for the name, and click/tap on the Finish button. (see screenshot below)
You could name this shortcut anything you would like though.
4 Right click or press and hold on the new Microsoft Defender Offline scan shortcut, and click/tap on Properties.
5 Click/tap on the Shortcut tab, then click/tap on the Change Icon button. (see screenshot below)
6 In the line under "Look for icons in this file", copy and paste the location below, and press Enter. (see screenshot below)
%ProgramFiles%\Windows Defender\EppManifest.dll
7 Select the icon highlighted in blue above, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot above)
You could use any icon that you would like instead though.
8 Click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below step 5)
9 If you like, you can Pin to Taskbar, Pin to Start, add to All apps, add to Quick Launch, assign a keyboard shortcut to, or move this shortcut to where you like for easy use.
That's it,
Shawn
Related Tutorials
- How to Create Windows Defender Security Center Shortcut in Windows 10
- How to Run a Microsoft Defender Offline Scan in Windows 10
- How to Add or Remove Microsoft Defender context menu in Windows 10
- How to Manually Scan Files, Folders, and Drives with Windows Defender in Windows 10
- How to Schedule a Scan in Microsoft Defender Antivirus in Windows 10