Add “Scan with Windows Defender” to Right-click Menu in Windows 8.1

Microsoft's free antivirus comes built-in to Windows 8 as Windows Defender, but it doesn't have an option to scan individual files by right-clicking on them.

This trick adds a “Scan with Windows Defender” option to the context menu that appears when you right-click a folder. It works similarly to the “Scan with Microsoft Security Essentials” option on previous versions of Windows.

Unfortunately, there is no command that launches Windows Defender in graphical mode and initiates a scan, so we will have to launch Windows Defender in a Command Prompt window.

In this tutorial we will show you how to add “Scan with Windows Defender” to the Context Menu (right-click menu) in Windows 8.1. Not like many other articles, this is the first complete guide to make you have this option not only when right-click on folders but also when right-click on any individual files.

Steps to Add “Scan with Windows Defender” to Right click Menu

Step 1: Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box
Step 2: Type in regedit > click OK to open the Registry Editor (if prompted by the User Account Control, click Yes)

Step 3: Navigate to the following key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell

Step 4: Right-click on the shell key, navigate to New, and select Key.

Step 5: Name it WindowsDefender

Step 6: On the right pane of the newly created WindowsDefender key, right-click then point to New > select String Value

Step 7: Name the new string as Icon

Step 8: Double-click on the Icon string and enter the following value > click OK

%ProgramFiles%\\Windows Defender\\EppManifest.dll

Step 9: On the right pane of the WindowsDefender key, create another new String value.

Name it MUIVerb

Step 10: Double-click on the MUIVerb string and enter the following value > click OK

Scan with Windows Defender

Step 11: Right-click the WindowsDefender key in the left pane > navigate to New > select Key

Step 12: Name it Command

Step 13: On the right pane of the Command key, double-click on the Default string and give it the following value:

“C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\MpCmdRun.exe” -scan -scantype 3 -SignatureUpdate -file %1

Now you can close the Registry Editor and right-click on any folder to see the option “Scan with Windows Defender” in the Context Menu.

Note: If you get an error when trying to perform the scan, please remove the quotation marks to make it become:

C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\MpCmdRun.exe -scan -scantype 3 -SignatureUpdate -file %1

The scanning progress will be performed in a Command Prompt window and it will appear and disappear very quickly. You will only be informed and able to see the result if Windows Defender detects a thread.

The tips and tricks above works only for folders, not for individual files. If you want to see the option ““Scan with Windows Defender” when right-click on any files, you need to create the same registry keys in: