To help speed up scans running on your computer, you can choose to exclude certain files, locations, file types, and processes from the scan.

Warning:
Exclusions can help speed up the scan, but may leave your computer less protected. Only select them if you're sure that the excluded files, locations, or processes do not contain malicious software.
Important:
Exclusions are applied to both on-demand scans and real-time protection.

To exclude certain files and locations

  1. Click the Settings tab, and then click Excluded files & locations.

  2. Click Add, and then select the files, folders, and locations (such as drives) that you want to exclude.

  3. Click OK, and then click Save changes. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or confirm the action.

To exclude certain file types

  1. Click the Settings tab and then click Excluded file types.

  2. In the field at the top of the tab, enter the file type to exclude, and then click Add.

  3. Repeat step 2 until you've added all the file types that you want to exclude.

  4. Click Save changes. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or confirm the action.

To exclude processes running on your computer

  1. Click the Settings tab and then click Excluded processes.

  2. Click Add, and then select the processes you want to exclude. Make sure that you add only files that use one of the extensions listed below.

  3. Click OK, and then click Save changes. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or confirm the action.

You can exclude the following process types: