Create Windows Security Shortcuts for Quick Scans and Scan Options

A Windows Security shortcut can do one of two different jobs: open the Virus & threat protection page so you choose a scan, or start a Microsoft Defender Antivirus quick scan immediately. The original guide mixed these up and omitted backslashes from both shortcut targets. Choose the version that matches what you want.

Create a shortcut that runs a quick scan

1. Right-click an empty area of the desktop and choose New > Shortcut.

   

2. In the location box, enter "%ProgramFiles%Windows DefenderMpCmdRun.exe" -Scan -ScanType 1, then select Next. Keep the quotation marks because the folder name contains a space. Microsoft's MpCmdRun reference identifies scan type 1 as a quick scan.

   

3. Name it Defender Quick Scan and choose Finish. Double-clicking this shortcut starts a scan; it does not open the Windows Security dashboard. Confirm the scan result in Windows Security > Virus & threat protection.

   

Windows also stores an updated MpCmdRun executable in a versioned folder under %ProgramData%MicrosoftWindows DefenderPlatform. Microsoft recommends using the current platform version for command-line scanning. If the simple shortcut does not run on your installation, use the Windows Security interface below instead of guessing a versioned path. A third-party antivirus or organizational policy may also affect Defender scanning.

Optional shortcut icon

Right-click the shortcut, open Properties > Shortcut > Change Icon, and select an icon already on your computer. The icon changes only its appearance; it does not change the command. There is no need to download an icon from an unknown site.

Create a shortcut that opens scan options

For a shortcut that lets you decide between a quick, full or custom scan, create another desktop shortcut and use this location:

%windir%explorer.exe windowsdefender://threat

Name it Virus & threat protection, choose Finish, and open it. It should take you to the protection page; choose Quick scan or Scan options there. If a Windows update changes the deep link, search Start for Windows Security and open Virus & threat protection manually. Microsoft's Windows Security guide explains the scan choices.

For recurring scans, a desktop shortcut is not a schedule; see how to schedule Microsoft Defender scans. For a suspicious individual file, use Windows Security's context-menu scan instead of scanning the entire PC; TipsMake also covers scanning potentially unwanted programs.