Useful Link: Cyberattacks Increase 50% in 2021, Peaking All-time High of 925 Weekly Attacks per Organization! This list of scanning exceptions is lucrative for malicious actors as they can stealthily store malicious files on the excepted locations without being detected. Users often make exclusions so that antivirus wouldn’t impact the functionality of legitimate apps that are mistakenly scanned as malware. Like any antivirus solution, Microsoft Defender allows users to exclude locations on their systems from malware scanning. Let’s dig deep into the details: What Went Wrong with Microsoft Defender? Even before the new update got traction, cybersecurity researchers spotted a new vulnerability that affects Microsoft Defender on Windows.Īccording to the researchers, hackers can potentially exploit this vulnerability to learn the list of locations excluded from Microsoft Defender scanning and plant malware there. The more shocking revelation is that the flaw has persisted for at least eight years. Recently, Microsoft has ingrained its Defender tools with new capabilities to fend off the security risks spawned by the Apace Log4j flaw. Though Microsoft is going the extra mile to bolster its security offerings, unprecedented vulnerabilities are sprouting up and are bogging down the giant’s cybersecurity aspirations.

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