Defender Antivirus Process Exception

This guide will show an administrator how to configure a process that will be excluded from Defender Antivirus interference.

Role Requirements

Procedure Scope: Administrators

Required Group Membership: Admin.Security

Handbook Reference

Package: Device Security

Domain: Antivirus Management

Modifies: Defender Antivirus Process Exclusions

Defender Antivirus Process Exclusion

  1. Navigate to the Antivirus – Intune portal, locate and select the Security Essentials Defender Exclusion policy or an equivalent Antivirus Exclusion policy.
  2. Scroll down to Configuration Settings and select Edit.
  3. The default rules will be displayed. Locate the Excluded Processes option, select the Add button below the previously listed header. A text box will be generated where you can specify the necessary process path. It is recommended that these are not commonly used processes or processes which could be used to spawn in malware – such as explorer.exe, lsass.exe, etc. Select Next to continue.
  4. From the Review section, you will be able to select the Settings dropdown to verify that the necessary exclusions are properly generating. Select Save to finalize the necessary file extension exclusion. Rule changes propagate in less than 24 hours.

Need Assistance?

Reach out to your Customer Success Manager to discuss how a Sittadel cybersecurity analyst can assist in managing these tasks for you. New to our services? Inquire about arranging a consultation to explore optimizing your Azure environment for painless management.