Windows Security's Quick Scan consistently gets stuck at the same point on the progress bar, then stops without showing normal scan results. The status sometimes says the last scan is unavailable, while the overview displays a recent scan time that does not seem accurate. I clicked a link sent by a friend who later discovered their account had been hacked. VirusTotal did not flag the link as malicious, but I'm still concerned that the scan problem could indicate malware. What should I check, and is there a reliable way to scan the entire drive?
2 Answers
Try running a Custom Scan against the entire system drive instead of relying only on Quick Scan. Some people have reported Quick Scan crashing or hanging while a full-drive scan still works. If the scan stops again, note the approximate file count or location where it fails, since that may point to a damaged file or security component.
Because you clicked a link from a compromised account, it is reasonable to perform an additional check with a reputable second-opinion scanner. Malwarebytes or Bitdefender can help confirm whether Microsoft Defender is missing anything, but make sure they are downloaded from their official websites and updated before scanning. A clean VirusTotal result is reassuring, but it cannot guarantee that a link or file is completely safe.
I tried free scans with Malwarebytes and Bitdefender, and they did not report a current threat, although one scan previously detected something.
The scan also stops after roughly 30,000 files and then says Virus & threat protection has stopped, so it may be more than just the progress display.