4 Best Ways to Clear Windows Defender Protection History on Windows 11

Windows Defender is Microsoft’s built-in security application that scans and protects your computer from malicious actors. You can get detailed information about the scans and detections made by Windows Defender on the Protection History page. Normally, the Protection History log is automatically deleted every 30 days, but if you want, you can speed things up manually.

Clearing Protection History will create more space on your computer. Also, it can help you fix Windows Security when it won’t open. This guide has four ways to clear Windows Defender Protection History on Windows 11. So check them out.

1. Delete Windows Defender protection history with File Explorer

Like many applications, Windows Defender stores the Protection History log on your computer as an accessible file. The fastest and easiest way to access and delete the Protection History log on Windows 11 is to use File Explorer. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Press Windows key + E to open File Explorer. Click on the Windows operating system drive, which is usually C for most users.

Step 2: Click the View option at the top, select Show from the context menu, and select the Hidden items option from the submenu.

Step 3: Next, navigate to the following location or you can copy-paste it into the File Explorer’s address bar:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scans\History

Step 4: Click on the Services folder.

Step 5: Press Control + A key to select everything and press Shift + Delete key to permanently delete all history files.

You’ll get some storage space if this is your first time removing Windows Defender Protection History from your computer.

2 . Delete Windows Defender protection history with Group Policy Editor

Group Policy Editor is a Windows utility from which you can manage and edit important Windows policies. However, the Group Policy Editor is not available in Windows 11 Home Edition. If you are using the desktop version, skip this solution.

To use it to clear the Protection History log, follow the instructions below:

Step 1: Press the Windows + R key combination to open the Run dialog box.

Step 2: Enter gpedit.msc in the search bar and click OK.

Step 3: In the Group Policy Editor, navigate to the following location in the left sidebar:

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Microsoft Defender Antivirus > Scan

Step 4: In the right pane, double click ‘Enable removal of items from the scan history folder.’

Step 5: Select Enabled. Alternatively, specify a number of days after which the history will be automatically deleted. By default, it is set to 30 days.

Step 6: Click Apply and OK.

3. Clear Windows Defender protection history with Event Viewer

Windows stores a log of messages from system features such as errors, warnings, information, and other messages in the Event Viewer. So, another quick way to clear Windows Defender Protection History is through the Event Viewer. This is the way:

Step 1: Press the Windows key to open the Start Menu, type Event Viewer in the search bar and select Open from the right pane.

Step 2: Click the drop-down arrow in front of the Applications and Services record in the left sidebar.

Step 3: Click the drop-down arrow next to the Microsoft folder in the left sidebar.

Step 4: Now, click the drop-down arrow in front of the Windows folder in the left sidebar.

Step 5: Locate and double-click the Windows Defender folder from the left sidebar.

Step 6: Right-click Activity Log and select Clear Log from the context menu.

Step 7: Select ‘Save and Clear’ in the confirmation box that pops up.

4. Delete Windows Defender Protection History Using Windows PowerShell

Windows PowerShell is a command-line tool that you can use to manage programs, solve system problems, etc. You can also use it to clear Windows Defender Defender History logs on Windows 11 Here’s how:

Step 1: Open Start Menu, type Windows PowerShell in the search bar and select Run as administrator from the right pane.

Step 2: In the elevated PowerShell window, type the following command and press Enter. Be sure to replace the Date in the command with the number of days after which you want the Protection History log to be automatically deleted. For example, we chose 5 days.

Set-MpPreference -ScanPurgeItemsafterDelay Days

How to fix protection history crash

Does protection history crash every time you open it on Windows 11? If that’s the case then you can stay above to see the History right from the start. Follow the solutions below to fix the Protection History hang issue on Windows 11.

1. Temporarily disable real-time protection

The best way to troubleshoot Protection History errors is to temporarily disable Real-Time Protection on the Windows Security app. Here’s exactly what you need to do:

Step 1: Open Start Menu, type Windows Securitythen press Enter.

Step 2: Select Virus and threat protection from the left sidebar.

Step 3: Click Manage settings.

Step 4: Disable the toggle in Real-Time Protection and Cloud-Delivered Protection.

Step 5: Press Windows key + E to open File Explorer and navigate to the following location, or you can copy-paste it in the address bar:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scans\History

Step 6: Open the Windows Security app and enable Real-time Protection and Cloud-Powered Protection.

2. Reset Windows Security

If you’re still having issues, you can reset the Windows Security app as a last resort. You can do that by following the steps below.

Step 1: Press Windows + I to open the Settings app.

Step 2: Select Applications from the left sidebar.

Step 3: Select Installed Apps.

Step 4: Click the three horizontal dots next to Windows Security and select Advanced options.

Step 5: Click the Reset button.

Keep the protection history clean

Whether it’s temporary system files or Windows Defender Defender History logs, you should regularly delete them. This ensures that your system always delivers the best performance. You can clear Windows Defender Protection History by following one of the methods mentioned above.

Categories: How to
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