Windows Defender says it found a threat. What to do
Windows Defender found something potentially harmful. In most cases, it has already removed the threat for you automatically. Go to Windows Security and check the threat history to see what it found, whether it was cleaned, and what action was taken.
Windows Defender is your computer's antivirus. It runs all the time looking for threats. When it finds something suspicious, it quarantines or deletes it automatically and just lets you know about it. Your job is to check what happened, make sure it was dealt with, and avoid downloading similar files in the future. Most of the time the threat is already gone.
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Skip — I just want a technicianCommon mistakes to avoid
- Restoring a quarantined file without knowing what it is. If you're not sure it's safe, leave it in quarantine
- Thinking a threat in quarantine is still dangerous. Quarantine means it's locked up and can't run
- Assuming the threat is still active when Defender already removed it. Always check the threat history first
Signs you need professional help
- The same threat keeps appearing after you've deleted it multiple times Defender found multiple threats and you're not sure what they all are A threat was found but Defender says it cannot remove it and you don't know what to do next Your computer is running slowly or doing strange things alongside the threat warnings
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