Microsoft Defender is generally very good at protecting your Windows PC.
It usually scores highly in antivirus detection tests and is regularly updated with new security features.
One of the things it doesn’t do is automatically scan a USB drive when it is plugged in.
Why Doesn’t Microsoft Defender Automatically Scan USB Drives?
Earlier versions of Defender on previous versions of Windows did have the option to scan removable USB drives.
This option has since been removed from the main Defender options.
There doesn’t seem to be any official explanation for why automatic scanning is no longer available.
It is likely to be due to the potential for data loss or corruption.
If you have Real-time Protection enabled, files on a removable drive will be scanned before they are executed.
Unfortunately, that is sometimes too late to prevent infection.
you’re able to manuallyscan files on a removable USB drivewith Defender with a Custom Scan.
But even using this method won’t let you scan the entire drive and all files.
You will have to select files individually.
Getting Automatic Drive Scan Notifications
Unfortunately, the notifications for USB Drive scanning are pretty limited.
But don’t worry, you will be alerted when malware is detected.
Microsoft Defender should open automatically and show you options to quarantine or delete the infected file.
This is a good indication that the USB drive is being scanned for malware automatically.
However, enabling this feature requires you to be careful not to disconnect a USB drive during the scan.
Doing so could result in lost data.
