{"id":4472,"date":"2016-10-30T13:19:27","date_gmt":"2016-10-30T07:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=4472"},"modified":"2024-04-01T13:54:43","modified_gmt":"2024-04-01T08:24:43","slug":"windows-defender-running-alongside-antivirus-program-limited-periodic-scanning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/windows-defender-running-alongside-antivirus-program-limited-periodic-scanning\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Is Windows Defender Running Alongside my Antivirus Program?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is Windows Defender running alongside their main antivirus program, as the icons for both programs are visible in the Notification area? Isn’t Windows Defender supposed to turn itself off when it detects a third-party antivirus program?<\/p>\n

\"windows
\nWindows Defender and Avast antivirus icons in the Notification area.<\/p>\n

“Limited Periodic Scanning” enabled?<\/h3>\n

Yes. Windows Defender is designed to turn itself off automatically if you install another antivirus application. However, a new opt-in feature, “Limited Periodic Scanning,” is available for Windows 10 and 11 systems with a third-party antivirus program installed and registered with Windows Security<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Limited
Limited periodic scanning – Windows 11 screenshot<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If “Periodic Scanning” is turned on, Windows will use the Windows Defender scanning engine to periodically scan your PC and eliminate threats, even if you’ve installed a third-party antivirus and are using its real-time protection.<\/p>\n

Limited periodic Scans will utilize Automatic Maintenance<\/a> to ensure the system chooses optimal times based on minimal impact to the user as well as the system performance.<\/p>\n

Automatic Maintenance tasks usually kick in after you leave the system idle for more than 5 minutes or so. That’s probably when the limited periodic scans take place.\u00a0 Limited Periodic Scanning doesn’t take care of real-time protection (as your primary antivirus program does that already) and it’s intended to offer an additional line of defense to your existing antivirus program\u2019s real-time protection.<\/em><\/p>\n

Turning on Limited Periodic Scanning activates the Windows Defender Service and its Early Launch Anti-Malware<\/a> (ELAM) boot driver WdBoot.sys<\/em> and Microsoft antimalware file system filter driver WdFilter.sys<\/em>.<\/p>\n

On the front end, it adds the Windows Defender Notification area icon, which is causing a little bit of confusion for users.<\/p>\n

Related: Windows Security Icon Missing from Tray and the Task Manager Startup Tab<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Why “Limited Periodic Scanning”?<\/h3>\n

Per MMPC<\/a>, Microsoft\u2019s Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) scans over 500 million Windows devices for malware and malicious software every month. This tool aids in detecting and removing malware from 1 to 2 million machines each time, even on those devices running antivirus software<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

So, in < 0.4% of the cases, the primary antivirus program failed to nab malware in the first place. And thankfully, MSRT got them. That’s the reason they introduced the Windows Defender Limited Periodic Scanning feature for secondary scanning — to make it more secure.<\/p>\n

And don’t forget the Windows Defender Offline scanning feature built-in to Windows 10 and 11. Windows Defender Offline<\/a> and Limited Periodic Scanning are two useful features you can use even if you have a 3rd-party antivirus solution in place.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is Windows Defender running alongside their main antivirus program, as the icons for both programs are visible in the Notification area? Isn’t Windows Defender supposed to turn itself off when it detects a third-party antivirus program?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,869],"tags":[661,958],"class_list":["post-4472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows-10","category-windows-11","tag-windows-defender","tag-windows-security"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5966,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/windows-defender-disabled-by-malwarebytes-antivirus-protection\/","url_meta":{"origin":4472,"position":0},"title":"Fix: Malwarebytes Disables Defender or 3rd Party Anti-Virus","author":"Ramesh","date":"November 22, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"After installing Malwarebytes Premium 14-day trial or licensed product, your anti-virus software (e.g., Microsoft Defender Antivirus) may get disabled automatically. In this scenario, when you attempt to start the Microsoft Defender Antivirus Service\u00a0(WinDefend) via the Services console, it shows the following error, and the service wouldn't start. The Windows Defender\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Utilities"","block_context":{"text":"Utilities","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/utilities\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"malwarebytes security center register","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/mbam-register-wsc-off.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/mbam-register-wsc-off.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/mbam-register-wsc-off.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/mbam-register-wsc-off.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8717,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/enable-or-disable-defender-shortcut-command-line\/","url_meta":{"origin":4472,"position":1},"title":"Enable or Disable Windows Defender Using Shortcut or Command-line","author":"Ramesh","date":"April 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Windows Defender, the built-in anti-virus program in Windows, has useful features such as cloud-based protection, offline scanning, limited periodic scanning, tamper protection, controlled folder access, etc. Almost every aspect of Windows Defender can be managed or automated using the MpCmdrun.exe command-line tool and PowerShell cmdlets. There are times when you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Utilities"","block_context":{"text":"Utilities","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/utilities\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"advancedrun command-line to disable defender","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/advanced-run-command-line-defender.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":30085,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/defender-snoozed-other-antivirus-providers\/","url_meta":{"origin":4472,"position":2},"title":"Microsoft Defender Antivirus is Snoozed; You\u2019re using other antivirus providers","author":"Ramesh","date":"November 22, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"When you open Windows Security, the security dashboard may show the message \"You're using other antivirus providers.\" even though you don't have any third-party antivirus program installed. In some cases, the real-time protection option would be available. But it reverts to \"off\" status immediately after you try to turn it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"defender enabled in security providers","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/ms-defender-snoozed-fixed.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/ms-defender-snoozed-fixed.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/ms-defender-snoozed-fixed.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/ms-defender-snoozed-fixed.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18890,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/windows-defender-service-missing-security-page-empty\/","url_meta":{"origin":4472,"position":3},"title":"Windows Defender Service Missing; Security at a glance page is Empty","author":"Ramesh","date":"September 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"In the aftermath of malware infection, when you open the Services MMC on a Windows 10 or 11 computer, you may find that the Windows Defender (\"Microsoft Defender Antivirus Service\") service is missing from the Services MMC. The Windows Security settings \"Security at a glance\" page may show up empty\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"advancedrun start regedit.exe","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/advancedrun-start-regedit.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/advancedrun-start-regedit.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/advancedrun-start-regedit.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6620,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/set-up-onedrive-yellow-exclamation-defender-security-center\/","url_meta":{"origin":4472,"position":4},"title":"[Fix] Windows Defender Yellow Exclamation Icon and “Set up OneDrive” Warning","author":"Ramesh","date":"September 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Windows 10 action center may show a prompt with a black exclamation inside a yellow triangle icon in the Notification area. When you click on that, it opens Windows Defender Security Center.\u00a0In the Windows Defender Security Center, underneath the \"Virus & threat protection\" icon the exclamation mark inside a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows 10"","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"windows defender set up onedrive - yellow exclamation warning","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/defender-set-up-onedrive-yellow-exclamation.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/defender-set-up-onedrive-yellow-exclamation.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/defender-set-up-onedrive-yellow-exclamation.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/defender-set-up-onedrive-yellow-exclamation.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4568,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/defender-enable-pua-pup-adware-protection\/","url_meta":{"origin":4472,"position":5},"title":"How to Enable Scanning for PUA\/PUP\/Adware in Windows Defender","author":"Ramesh","date":"November 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Windows Defender can detect and remove malware and viruses, but it doesn't catch Potentially Unwanted Programs or crapware by default. However, there is an opt-in feature that you can enable to make Microsoft Defender antivirus scan and eliminate adware, PUAs, or PUPs in real-time. Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP), Potentially Unwanted\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows"","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/windows-defender-header.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/windows-defender-header.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/windows-defender-header.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4472\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}