Page 693 - Windows 10 May 2019 Update The Missing Manual: The Book That Should Have Been in the Box

discovered, and what actions it took to clean things up. If you’re

lucky, that screen says “No recent actions.”

If any malware has been found, hit “Threat history” to go beyond
the headline (see “What happens when Defender finds malware”).

Virus & threat protection settings. Here’s the on/off switch for
Defender’s automatic scanning cycles (“Real-time protection”).
You’d basically be nuts to turn it off, which is why Windows

frantically warns you, if you try, that you’re leaving yourself
vulnerable. (Windows also turns Defender back on after a “short
time,” a duration that Microsoft keeps secret.)

This page also includes the on/off switch for Cloud-delivered
protection, which is a big, big deal. It allows Windows to protect
you even from malware that’s evolving and spreading by the hour

—even malware that’s never been seen before. There’s also a
switch for Automatic sample submission, which lets you decide
whether to send sample files from your PC to Microsoft for

malware analysis. See the box below for details.

Nowadays, some malware gets sneaky: It works by turning off
your security software! Tamper protection, new in the May 2019

Update, stops it in its tracks. It prevents background changes to
your Windows Security settings, which can be changed only by
opening the Windows Security app. Leave this on!

Controlled folder access is Microsoft’s way of protecting you
against ransomware (malicious software that holds system
components hostage until you pay up). It’s rather clever: It

maintains a list of folders that you’d be really, really unhappy to
lose to some overseas dirtbag and his greedy scheme. If any app
tries to modify anything in these folders, Defender shuts it down

(and notifies you in the Action Center).

The folder list starts out with your Documents, Pictures, Videos,
Music, Favorites, and Desktop folders, but you can add other