Maintaining security on our devices is essential in all cases. We must always avoid the entrance of malware and other threats that may compromise the proper functioning of the systems. For this we can have certain tools that protect us. In this article we will explain how to scan the network drives registered with Windows Defender, the antivirus that is the most used operating system today.
How to scan network drives with Windows Defender
Among all the antivirus that we have at our disposal, we can say that Windows Defender is one of the most popular and present among users. In fact, it comes by default in what is today the most used operating system on desktop computers: Windows 10.
We have the possibility to analyze the registered network units , but for this we will have to configure some parameters. We will explain how to do it. You just have to follow a few simple steps.
Keep in mind that there are differences between users who have Windows 10 Pro and those who are using Windows 10 Home. Both can be configured, but the process is different.
How to set it up in Windows 10 Home
The first thing we have to do is open the Windows registry. To do this, press the key combination Windows + R. Once here we are going to write Regedit , we accept and we will be in the registry.
Then you have to go to the route EquipoHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindows Defender. This is where we have to create a new key called “Scan”.
Within Scan , the value that we have created must be given the value DWORD (32 bits) and we assign the name of DisableScanningMappedNetworkDrivesForFullScan. Once created we have to double-click it. Subsequently, the value must be 0. We accept and restart the system.
Use PowerShell
Now we are going to explain how we can configure it in case we want to use PowerShell . We have to go to Start, write PowerShell and run it in administrator mode.
We have to use the command Set-MpPreference -DisableScanningMappedNetworkDrivesForFullScan 0 and we give it to execute. Here it will not show any message indicating that it is already activated, but we can check it. To do this, run the Get-MpPreference command and search for DisableScanningMappedNetworkDrivesForFullScan. It should be marked False.
In case we want to revert what we have applied we would simply have to run DisableScanningMappedNetworkDrivesForFullScan 1.
How to set it up in Windows 10 Pro
In this case we are going to explain how to configure it if we are using Windows 10 Pro. For this we are going to use the group policy editor (gpedit). We have to run the Windows + R key combination again and type gpedit.msc and run it.
Once this is done, navigate to Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Windows Defender Antivirus, Detection and double-click Run full exam on mapped network drives.
When we are at this point we will see that it comes as Not configured. We simply have to give it to Enabled and we accept. From that moment on, it will be configured in Windows 10 Pro through this method.
In short, following these steps that we have discussed we can scan the network drives registered in Windows with your Windows Defender antivirus. This way we can improve security and avoid possible problems that put our devices at risk.
It is a reality that security is a very important factor for users. There are many attacks that we can find when browsing the Internet and this is something that can affect regardless of the type of device we are using, as well as the type of operating system.
Fortunately, to maintain security we can make use of a wide variety of tools. Both free and paid antivirus exist and are present in all operating systems. In the case of Windows 10 we can make use, as we have seen, of Windows Defender. A program that can help us to avoid the entrance of malware and other threats that affect the computer.
