Bug Causes Error
The bug seems to have affected Windows Defender version 4.18.2003 or newer after the latest update. Windows was trying to fix other issues with this update. The problem is only apparent in Windows 10, not in other operating systems. It is not clear whether the scan does complete when the notification “scan skipped an item due to exclusion or network scanning settings” appears. People stuggle to find out which exact items were skipped. Users who are reporting this issue say that they don’t have any exclusions applied. It is also unknown whether the antivirus software is able to detect any threats on Windows 10 right now. The notification could be popping up for no reason and the scan might have been completed successfully. The Windows Defender offline scan function is working without any issues.
Online Security
It is worrying if Windows Defender is not protecting people’s software at the moment. Some users are worried that the bug is a symptom of a virus. However, most people online have figured that this problem is just caused by some kind of bug. This hasn’t been confirmed by Microsoft yet, so the root of the problem is not clear. Those who use Windows Defender as their sole antivirus software should be extra carefull right now. It might be a good idea to install another virusscanner. Moreover, if you want to secure your Wifi you could use a VPN.
