What is triggering the antimalware service executable to start? I want to create an exclusion but I don't know which file(s) is the culprit.

[conquesimo]

The antimalware service executable is hogging up system resources on my Win10 work computer such that I can't get my work done. I.T. refuses to disable Windows Defender and install something better, so I'm stuck trying to figure out how to prevent these scans from triggering. Is there a log file somewhere that shows which suspected file(s) caused the full scan to take place?

 

[Wolfie]

Hi,

open Windows Defender > Virus & threat protection > Virus & threat protection settings > Manage settings > then scroll down to "Exclusions > Add or remove exclusions > Add an exclusion. Then try adding your folders one by one and each time you do a scan, keep an eye on the performance levels. That is all I can suggest!.

 

[Tim Locke]

Does your IT department allow you to alter the settings of Defender? Many IT depts would not allow that.
They are right to insist on Defender as it is free and updated automatically every day and, importantly it is light on resources.

Does your job involve you downloading a lot of things from the web which might contain suspicious data/files?