Microsoft Defender antivirus is a reliable choice to protect your Windows PC.
It consistently scores high in AV tests, includes multiple scan options, and provides several extra tools.
But that doesn’t mean it’s infallible and immune from alerting to false positives.
Here’s what to do if Defender quarantines a file you know to be safe.
Why Would Defender Quarantine a Safe File?
Microsoft Defender is generally good at not alerting to safe files.
But they do happen.
Defender provides strong protection by being proactive and will quarantine potential threats, as well as active ones.
Files are usually flagged as suspicious due to a mismatched or expired digital signature.
It can also occur if the file has been incorrectly reported as dangerous.
However, in some situations, files confirmed to be infected will be deleted to protect your system.
you’re able to find recently quarantined files in the Protection History.
you’re free to find this option in the Virus & Threat Protection options.
If you need more help, check out our guide aboutadding exclusions to Microsoft Defender antivirus.
This is usually because the system might no longer have the requirednetwork credentialsto get into the file.
But it might occasionally quarantine files that you know are safe.
On those occasions, it’s possible for you to restore files in either Windows Security or Command Prompt.
