Download, Install, and Configure Windows Defender
Windows Defender is the new and improved release of Windows Antispyware. It offers the same reliable Protection against spyware, but also has a few added features for the advanced user as well.
*Note: The approximate time to download, install and configure Windows Defender is 10 minutes.
*Note: If you have previously installed Microsoft Antispyware, please uninstall it and restart your computer before continuing!
Download Windows Defender
The amount of time it will take to download Windows Defender depends on your Internet connection, but the application is relatively small and will download in fewer than 10 minutes.
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Go to the Windows Defender home page. To download the Defender tool, click "Download it here."
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Click Continue. This will then direct you a validation page which will verify your copy of Windows.
The Validation page looks like this (below); if Microsoft alerts you that your copy of Windows is not valid, follow their instructions to remedy the situation.
You may also see a dialog box that looks like this one. Click Install.
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Click Download.
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When the "File Download - Security Warning" dialog box opens, click Run.
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The file will download and a Security Warning dialog box may appear. Click Run.
The installation process will now begin.
Install Windows Defender
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The Windows Defender window appears. Click Next.
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Read the license agreement, then click "I accept the terms in the license agreement," and click Next.
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Select "Use recommended Settings," and click Next.
- Select "Complete," and click Next.
- Click Install.
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Select "Check for updated definitions and run a quick scan now," and click Finish.
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You may see a bubble in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen which informs you that Windows Defender is connecting to the internet to download updates. This is normal and should be expected.
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Defender opens and starts a quick scan.
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When the scan is finished a window will be displayed informing you of the results of the scan.
