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How to Clear Protection History on Windows 11 [Multiple Ways]
Learn to delete Windows Defender’s Protection History
6 min. read
Updated onOctober 4, 2023
updated onOctober 4, 2023
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When your PC is running low on storage, there are a lot of folders you immediately look into to free up space. One of these that consumes a large portion is the Windows Defender protection history.
So, let’s find out what is protection history, all the ways you can clear Protection History in Windows 11, and how to configure it to clear automatically after a set period of time.
What is Protection History?
Microsoft offers a built-in antivirus, Windows Defender, to keep your system secure and free from any threats and viruses.
In order to achieve that, Windows Defender will run regular scans in the background, given it is enabled, and keep a log of problems that it identifies, along with the actions taken. It will list out the potentially unwanted apps that were blocked or removed, or if any critical services are turned off.
These logs or the information are referred to as the Windows Defender Protection History or simply Protection History. It categories the problems based on their severity level. Remember, you need tohave administrator privilegesto view the details of these actions.
Now that you have a fair understanding of the process, let’s walk you through the ways you can clear the protection history in Windows 11.
How do I manually clear protection history in Windows 11?
1. Use the File Explorer
The protection history in Windows 11 has been successfully cleared. Also, you now know the Windows Defender History location on the PC, and can easily delete it the next time onwards.
2. Via Event Viewer
This is how you clear protection history in Windows 11 using the Event Viewer. The method is relatively simple and far more efficient for those who regularlycheck the error logs in Windows 11.
Both these methods help manually clear protection history, but what if you want it to be cleared automatically? There are a couple of ways to do that. Read the next section to find out.
How do I set the protection history to clear automatically?
1. Use Windows PowerShell
This is probably the easiest method to automatically clear protection history in Windows 11 using PowerShell. But in case you are not a big fan of the command line, try the next method.
2. Use Local Group Policy Editor (Gpedit)
That’s it! The protection history will now automatically be cleared after the set number of days. In case you want to keep the protection history forever, enter0in the field for the number of days.
In case you are running the Home Edition of the OS, learn how toinstall Local Group Policy Editor in Windows 11.
Should I delete Protection History?
Though not entirely necessary, deleting the protection history actually helpsclear some storage spaceon the system.
For some users, these files took 20-25 GB of space, and that can be intimidating if your computer is running low on storage.
Is it safe to clear the protection history in Windows 11?
There’s no harm in clearing the protection history in Windows 11 and it certainly wouldn’t affect the functioning of the PC in any way. More so, these files appear inDisk Cleanupif you run a scan.
And it doesn’t matter whether Windows Defender is now disabled and you are using athird-party antivirus, you can still clear the old log files.
Also, if the files have accumulated over time and their size has increased considerably, it could cause a crash each time you open Windows Defender protection history. All the more reasons to clear protection history
That’s all there is to the concept. Also, the methods listed here would help manually clear the Windows Defender protection history in Windows 10 as well.
In case theVirus & threat protection is not working, learn how to fix it since the issue is common, and without it, you wouldn’t be able to access the protection history through Windows Defender.
Besides, if your PC is running low on resources, you may considerdisabling Antimalware Service Executable(Windows Defender process), since it’s known to hog the system resources.
If you have any queries, drop a comment in the section below.
More about the topics:Microsoft Windows Defender,Windows 11
Kazim Ali Alvi
Windows Hardware Expert
Kazim has always been fond of technology, be it scrolling through the settings on his iPhone, Android device, or Windows PC. He’s specialized in hardware devices, always ready to remove a screw or two to find out the real cause of a problem.
Long-time Windows user, Kazim is ready to provide a solution for your every software & hardware error on Windows 11, Windows 10 and any previous iteration. He’s also one of our experts in Networking & Security.
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Kazim Ali Alvi
Windows Hardware Expert
Kazim is specialized in hardware devices, always ready to remove a screw or two to find out the real cause of a problem.
