Add Microsoft Defender Options as Cascading Right-Click Menu in Desktop

Here is a registry tweak that adds some Windows Defender options to the Desktop Context menu as a cascading menu so you can quickly run a scan, update, or open Microsoft Defender.

Download defender_menu.zip, unzip it and run the enclosed REG file.

When you right-click on the desktop, you’ll see a Microsoft Defender menu option with a sub-menu containing open, scan, settings, quick scan, and full scan options.

Registry File Contents

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

;Ramesh Srinivasan
;Winhelponline.com
;Adds Defender cascading menu in Desktop Right-click menu

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DesktopBackground\Shell\WindowsDefender]
"Icon"="C:\\Program Files\\Windows Defender\\EppManifest.dll"
"SubCommands"="WD-Open;WD-Update;WD-QuickScan;WD-FullScan"
"Muiverb"="Microsoft Defender"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\WD-FullScan]
@="Full Scan"
"Icon"="C:\\Program Files\\Windows Defender\\EppManifest.dll"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\WD-FullScan\command]
@="\"C:\\Program Files\\Windows Defender\\MpCmdRun.exe\" -Scan -ScanType 2"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\WD-Open]
@="Open"
"Icon"="C:\\Program Files\\Windows Defender\\EppManifest.dll"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\WD-Open\command]
@="explorer.exe windowsdefender://"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\WD-QuickScan]
@="Quick Scan"
"Icon"="C:\\Program Files\\Windows Defender\\EppManifest.dll"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\WD-QuickScan\command]
@="\"C:\\Program Files\\Windows Defender\\MpCmdRun.exe\" -Scan -ScanType 1"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\WD-Update]
@="Update"
"Icon"="C:\\Program Files\\Windows Defender\\EppManifest.dll"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\CommandStore\shell\WD-Update\command]
@="explorer.exe windowsdefender://update/"

See also

How to Update Microsoft Defender and Run a Quick Scan in a single click.

Windows Security URL Shortcuts for Each Page (WindowsDefender://)