Windows Security and its Defender antivirus component carries out quick scans and full scans of the files on your computer at regular, scheduled intervals. However, if the computer is switched off at the scheduled time, the virus scan will not take place.
You can use a setting in the registry to specify the number of days without a scan after which a forced quick scan of the drive will take place. Type regedit into the search box on the taskbar and click on ‘Registry Editor’. Now navigate to the folder ‘HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Windows\Windows Security’.
In the Registry, you can set the number of days after which Windows Security will perform a mandatory quick scan.
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Right-click in the right-hand pane of the Editor and select ‘New → Key’. Name the new key ‘Scan’. Select ‘Scan’ and right-click again in the right-hand pane. Go to “New → DWORD (32-bit) Value” and name the value “DaysUntilAggressiveCatchupQuickScan”.
If you do not configure this value, Security will perform a forced scan 25 days after the last scan. If you double-click the new DWORD value, you can set the number of days yourself. The possible values range from seven to 60 days; a setting of seven days is recommended.
Recommended reading: Is Windows 11’s built-in antivirus security enough for normal people?
