[This version of Windows Defender is still in development, so some Help information might be inaccurate or missing.]

Scan for spyware and other potentially unwanted software

In Windows Defender, you can choose to run a "quick scan" of your computer or a "full system scan". If you suspect spyware has infected a specific area of your computer, you can customize a scan by selecting only the drives and folders that you want to check.

A quick scan checks the places on your computer's hard disk that spyware is most likely to infect. A full scan will check all files on your hard disk and all currently running programs, but it might cause your computer to run slowly until the scan is complete. We recommend that you schedule a daily quick scan. At any time, if you suspect that spyware has infected your computer, run a full scan.

To run a quick scan

1. Open Windows Defender. (Click Start, click Programs, and then click Windows Defender.)
2. Click Scan.

To scan all areas of your computer

1. Open Windows Defender. (Click Start, click Programs, and then click Windows Defender.)
2. Click the Down arrow next to Scan, and then click Full Scan.

To scan specific areas of your computer only

1. Open Windows Defender. (Click Start, click Programs, and then click Windows Defender.)
2. Click the Down arrow next to Scan, and then click Custom Scan.
3. Click Scan selected drives and folders, and then click Select.
4. Select the files or folders that you want to scan, and then click OK.

Related Topics

Schedule when Windows Defender scans your computer

View the progress of a Windows Defender scan

Remove spyware from your computer