February 2023 Updates Turned Off Defender Periodic Scanning

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I manually keep track of all of the changes to my machine, and I noticed that Windows Defender patterns had not been updated since 02/28/2023 09:51.  I went to Windows Security and the “enable periodic scans” setting was set to off. I set it to on, and a new Defender pattern was downloaded.  I did not change the setting manually, so I assume that the March updates, which I installed 02/28 at 10:00 must have changed the scan settings.  This is the eighth time this has occurred since I installed Windows 10 in March 2020.

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bsfinkel wrote:

so I assume that the March updates, which I installed 02/28 at 10:00 must have changed the scan settings

disfunction due to time travel?

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So what is your other AV program?

Limited periodic scanning is a special type of threat detection and remediation that can be enabled when you have installed another antivirus product on a Windows 10 or Windows 11 device.

May the Forces of good computing be with you!

RG

PowerShell & VBA Rule!
Computer Specs

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In her Feb 28, 2023 Ask Woody Plus column Susan Bradley said “Always keep in mind that if you install another antivirus software program, it will promptly disable Microsoft Defender. One AV program at a time, please!”  I did not know this.

I have been using Windows since version 3.1. When I got my Win 10 Dell 3471 computer in 2019, I did not know there was Microsoft Defender and I installed Norton Anti-Virus because that is mostly what I always used for my Windows computers. I have never had problems updating windows while following her DEFCON recommendations, and never really had any other issues either. I am on 22H2 and used Opatch to block any newer versions or accidental converson to Win 11. Am I doing the right thing using Norton instead of Microsoft Defender?

Charles

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Norton Anti-Virus will turn off Microsoft Defender. It is a valid alternative to Defender, if that is your preference.

audeq45 wrote:

I am on 22H2 and used Opatch to block any newer versions or accidental converson to Win 11.

Opatch provides security patches for Windows and other software. To my knowledge, it doesn’t block newer versions of Windows or accidental conversion to Win 11. Did you mean InControl from Gibson Research?

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Correct, I meant InControl. Thanks for pointing that out.

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audeq45 wrote:

When I got my Win 10 Dell 3471 computer in 2019, I did not know there was Microsoft Defender and I installed Norton Anti-Virus because that is mostly what I always used for my Windows computers. …Am I doing the right thing using Norton instead of Microsoft Defender?

Hi audeq45:

You might find some helpful information in my 31-Mar-2021 thread Norton 360 and Windows Defender Limited Periodic Scanning in the Norton 360 for Windows forum. According to the Norton 360 users posting in that thread, if you turn on Limited Periodic Scanning while Norton 360 is installed it will now display a pop-up suggesting that you leave Limited Periodic Scanning turned off (according to the pop-up Limited Periodic Scanning “may interfere with your Norton protection“), but if you ignore the warning and turn on Limited Periodic Scanning it should run correctly. However, that thread is almost two years old so I don’t know if NortonLifeLock is being more aggressive these days about disabling MS Defender’s Limited Periodic Scanning.

When I purchased my Dell Inspiron / Win 10 laptop in Aug 2019 it came with a trial version of McAfee LiveSafe (which also disables Microsoft Defender) but I enabled MS Defender’s Limited Periodic Scanning to run the occasional MS Defender Quick Scan while McAfee was installed and didn’t experience any problems.

Just FYI, I didn’t like McAfee LiveSafe and now use the built-in Microsoft Defender as my main antivirus. I also run Malwarebytes Premium in real-time (I have a perpetual lifetime license so I don’t have to pay for an annual subscription) but I have DISABLED the setting in Malwarebytes Premium at Security | Windows Security Center | Always Register Malwarebytes in the Windows Security Center as advised <here>. This ensures that my Microsoft Defender antivirus is registered with Windows as my main real-time antivirus and has the primary responsibility for malware detection and remediation while Malwarebytes Premium essentially works as a secondary “backup” to look for any potential threats missed by MS Defender.

I used Norton Security for over a decade on my old Vista SP2 machine (also in combination with Malwarebytes Premium) but I don’t like all the unnecessary bloat that NortonLifeLock has added to Norton 360 in recent years – see my 26-Jun-2022 post <here> in the Norton forum. The bundled Norton VPN is a useful feature but I decided it was not worth paying for an annual subscription for Norton 360 just to get Norton VPN and am happy with the protection currently offered by the combination of MS Defender and Malwarebytes Premium.
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Dell Inspiron 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.2604 * Firefox v110.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.2301.6-1.1.200000.2 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.5.23.241-1.0.1927 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279 * Dell Update for Windows Universal v4.7.1

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I just noticed that something (I do not know what)  again disabled Defender periodic updates.  My last Defender update was 03/12 at 10:07.  The only software I installed after that time are updates to Zoom, Skype, Garmin Express, Chrome, and HRBlock TaxCut.

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RetiredGeek wrote:

So what is your other AV program?

Limited periodic scanning is a special type of threat detection and remediation that can be enabled when you have installed another antivirus product on a Windows 10 or Windows 11 device.

Windows 11 Pro version 22H2 build 22621.2361 + Microsoft 365 + Edge

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