Windows Defender is Microsoft's antivirus built into your Windows PC to protect you from viruses, malware threats, and attacks. Information technology maintains a tape of its scans and actions in its Protection History folder.

Though Protection History gets deleted after some time, you might want to have more control to clear it by yourself. So permit's run across how you can clear Protection History in 4 ways.

What Is the Microsoft Defender Protection History? Why Should You Clear It?

One of the best antivirus for your PC, Windows Defender keeps getting meliorate with some powerful upgrades.The detections made past Windows Defender announced on the Protection History page—which ways yous tin can view actions that Microsoft Defender Antivirus has taken on your behalf. These would be scans done to identify and block malware and other threats. And also the recommendations (highlighted in scarlet or yellowish) for deportment you should have.

Y'all also have access to all this information in a clear and easily understandable form, including Potentially Unwanted Apps that have been removed, or key services that have been turned off. The Protection History will also show the detections that appear while performing a Windows Defender Offline scan.

Protection History Page in Windows Security

Though Windows Defender keeps the history of its detections for xxx days, you can clear information technology before that time if you lot need to—for example, when a lot of scan logs have accumulated. Clearing the Protection History would help you make space on your PC and keep Defender running smoothly.

And then let's see four piece of cake ways to clear Protection History in Windows 10 and 11.

1. How to Clear the Microsoft Defender Protection History From the Local Bulldoze

You can manually clear the Protection History by deleting the contents of the Service folder in the Windows Defender binder on your local drive—the C drive where the Windows Bone is installed. Here'southward how:

  1. Press Windows + R keys to bring upwards the Run box.
  2. Copy and paste the path beneath and click on OK or hit enter: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scans\History
    Path to Navigate to History Folder in Run Box
  3. Alternatively, you lot can navigate to the Defender Protection History folder using the above path in File Explorer. If yous don't run into the ProgramData folder when you open the Local Drive, select View then tick the box adjacent to Hidden items.
    Click Hidden Items under View to See ProgramData Folder
  4. Open the Service binder and select all the files inside it. Right-click and select Delete to clear all the files. Then exit File Explorer.
    Select Files in History Folder and Delete Them
  5. Next, search for Windows Security and open up it.
  6. Nether Virus & threat protection click on Manage settings.
    Virus and Threat Protection Settings in Windows Security
  7. Finally, toggle the push to Off and so to On again, for Existent-Time protection and Cloud-delivered protection.

2. How to Clear the Microsoft Defender Protection History Using the Consequence Viewer

You tin can also manually clear the Defender Protection History via the Event Viewer—a useful app to analyze the event logs on your device.

Get-go, practice a Windows search for Event Viewer and click on the app effect nether Best friction match to open Event Viewer.

3. How to Clear the Microsoft Defender Protection History via PowerShell

What if y'all want the Protection History to clear automatically after a specific number of days? Yous tin also employ a PowerShell command to do that.

Let's see how to exercise this: Type PowerShell in the search bar. Right-click on Windows PowerShell under All-time match and select Run as administrator. Or choose Run as administrator on the correct search pane.

Click Yes on the UAC prompt that appears. The Administrator: PowerShell window volition open upwards.

Type or copy and paste the following command and and then hitting enter:

                      Set-MpPreference -ScanPurgeItemsAfterDelay            seven
Command to Clear Protection History in PowerShell

The number 7 at the end of the command is the number of days after which the protection history logs volition be cleared. Just change that number to specify when you desire the protection history to be cleared. And information technology volition be cleared automatically.

four. How to Clear the Microsoft Defender Protection History Using the Group Policy Editor

If you accept a PC with Windows 10 Pro, Windows 11 Pro, or a higher version, you tin also use the Group Policy Editor to articulate the Defender Protection History automatically. Though at that place are solutions to access the Group Policy Editor on Windows Home too. But let's see how to clear Protection History via Group Policy Editor in Windows Pro and higher versions:

  1. Printing Win + R keys to open the Run box. Blazon gpedit.msc to open up the Local Grouping Policy Editor. Or merely blazon gpedit in the search bar and click on Edit Group Policy under Best match to open it.
  2. In the Local Group Policy Editor, on the left pane nether Computer Configuration, expand Administrative Templates by clicking on the down pointer next to it.
  3. Inside the Administrative Templates folder, click on Windows Components and the listing of its components would come up on the eye pane of the Group Policy Editor.
  4. Then curl downward to find Windows Defender Antivirus and double-click on it.
    Navigate to Windows Defender Antivirus in Group Policy Editor
  5. In the listing of Windows Defender items, double-click on the Scan binder.
  6. In the right pane, double-click on Turn on removal of items from browse history binder. Or click Edit policy setting in the middle pane. This policy setting defines the number of days items should be kept in the scan history binder earlier existence permanently removed.
    Turn on Removal of Items Policy in Defender Scan Folder
  7. Side by side, select Edit policy setting to open the policy window. It would exist showing Not Configured past default. To set the number of days, toggle on the button side by side to Enabled. The default number of days, which is xxx, would then be ready. If you set the number of days to zero, items will be kept forever and will not be automatically removed. And then just modify the days to whenever you want the items to be removed. Finally, click Apply and and then OK.
    Specify Number of Days to Remove Scan Items in Defender

Now, you won't need to manually clear Protection History every time—the items in the scan history binder would be deleted automatically after the days y'all've specified.

Clear the Microsoft Defender Protection History Whenever You Want

If you lot ever want to clear Defender Protection History, you know how easy it is to do it through any of the four ways discussed above. If you lot would want to refer to the Protection History logs later on, you can apply the Save and Clear option while clearing Protection History using Event Viewer.