We all know that Windows 8 has an inbuilt antivirus named as Windows Defender. However in Windows 8 there is no direct link to open Windows Defender, like we open say, Explorer. So if you want to do a quick scan, you have to first search for Windows Defender,  open the program and then run the scans.

In this article, we’re going to tell how you can add some of the important features of Windows Defender to the desktop right-click context menu using Registry Editor., This will allow you to directly access the Windows Defender features.

To do so:

1. Press Windows Key + R combination, type put Regedt32.exe in Run dialog box and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor..

Add Windows Defender to context menu and create cascading menu

2. Navigate to the following location:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ DesktopBackground \ Shell \ WindowsDefender

3. In the right pane, create three strings in with corresponding data:

Icon :  %ProgramFiles%\\Windows Defender\\EppManifest.dll

SubCommands  : WD-Settings;WD-Update;WD-Update-QS;WD-QuickScan;WD-FullScan

MUIVerb  : Windows Defender

Add Settings option

4. Now go to the following location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ CommandStore \ shell \ WD-Settings

5. In the right pane, use the corresponding data for the strings (If you don’t find any string, create one):

Default  : Settings

HasLUAShield

Icon :  %ProgramFiles%\\Windows Defender\\EppManifest.dll

6. Create a sub key command in left pane under:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows  \CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ CommandStore \ shell \ WD-Settings.

Insert the following data for Default string in the right pane:

“C:\\Program Files\\Windows Defender\\MSASCui.exe\” -Settings

Add Update option

7. Now go here:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ CommandStore \ shell \ WD-Update

Put the following data:

Default  : Update

Icon :  %ProgramFiles%\\Windows Defender\\EppManifest.dll

8. Next, create a sub key command under in left pane under

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ CommandStore \ shell \ WD-Update. (Similar to step 6).

Put the following data for Default string in the right pane:

“C:\\Program Files\\Windows Defender\\MSASCui.exe\” -Update

Add Update and Quick Scan option

9. Next, move here:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE  \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ CommandStore \ shell \ WD-Update-QS

Put following data:

Default  : Update and Quick Scan

Icon :  %ProgramFiles%\\Windows Defender\\EppManifest.dll

10. Create a sub key command under in left pane under (Similar to step 6):

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SOFTWARE \Microsoft \Windows \CurrentVersion \Explorer \CommandStore \shell \WD-Update-QS

Put the following data for Default string in the right pane:

“C:\\Program Files\\Windows Defender\\MSASCui.exe\” -UpdateAndQuickScan

Add Quick Scan option

11. Now its time for following location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SOFTWARE \Microsoft \Windows \CurrentVersion \Explorer \CommandStore \shell \WD-QuickScan

Use following data:

Default  – Quick Scan

Icon -  %ProgramFiles%\\Windows Defender\\EppManifest.dll

12. Create a sub key command under in left pane under (Similar to step 6).

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SOFTWARE \Microsoft \Windows \CurrentVersion\ Explorer \CommandStore \shell \WD-QuickScan

Put the following data for Default string in the right pane:

“C:\\Program Files\\Windows Defender\\MSASCui.exe\” -QuickScan

Add Full Scan option

13. Finally, navigate here:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SOFTWARE \Microsoft \Windows \CurrentVersion \Explorer \CommandStore \shell \WD-FullScan

Use following data:

Default : Full Scan

Icon :  %ProgramFiles%\\Windows Defender\\EppManifest.dll

14. Create a sub key command under in left pane under (Similar to step 6):

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \SOFTWARE \Microsoft \Windows \CurrentVersion \Explorer \CommandStore \shell \WD-FullScan.

Put the following data for Default string in the right pane:

“C:\\Program Files\\Windows Defender\\MSASCui.exe\” -FullScan

You can now go to your Desktop and check the right-click context menu. It should be similar to shown in first image of this article. The benefit of manual method is that you can add only those options which you need.

If you do not want to do this work, I have created a registry fix which will let you add or remove these entries easily. You can download it by clicking HERE.

Hope this will make life a bit easy for you while using Windows Defender in Windows 8.

UPDATE: Go here if you want to Add Scan With Windows Defender Option To Context Menu In Windows 8