How to update windows defender definitions offline

Online security is more important than ever, and given the prevalence of Windows operating systems, knowing how to update Microsoft Defender, the built-in anti-malware package included with modern Windows operating systems, is vital to your security plans. Alternately known as Windows Security, it’s the go-to tool for PC security. However, as with general Windows Update runs, sometimes the Defender updates don’t work. They’re usually a part of regular Windows updates, but if it’s not working for you, there are other ways to update Defender.

1. Use Microsoft Defender’s Update Facility

Under the Settings app, you can get into Windows Security facilities by selecting Start>Settings>Update & Security>Windows Security when using Windows 10, swapping out for Privacy & Security in Windows 11 for the third step. You’ll find a button that says “Open Windows Security”. You can also open it directly by putting “Windows Security” in your Start menu.

The app has several entries, including “Virus & Threat Protection”. Click this procedure and look for the “Virus & Threat Protection Updates” at the bottom. Click the “Check for Updates” link at the bottom to start Defender checking for any available updates. If they’re available, they’ll be downloaded and installed. If Windows Update is stuck, it may work, or it may not. Fortunately, there’s another way to force a Microsoft Defender update, which we’ll cover next.

2. Update Defender Signatures Under Update-MpSignature

Using PowerShell, you can use a command to update the security definitions or signatures for Defender. It’s a simple, basic syntax for the command by just typing the command name in PowerShell. It works in both Windows 10 and 11, and though it doesn’t look like it does much in PowerShell, it does update Defender.

To check your protection, click “Virus & Threat Protection” in Windows Security, accessed as above, then scroll to “Virus & Threat Protection Updates” and click on “Protection Updates”. This allows you to check what version number you have in the signature, or security intelligence version.

3. Update Defender components in Microsoft

There’s a specific Microsoft web page for Defender updates titled “Microsoft Defender Update for Windows Operating System Installation Images”, which mentions there are three components to the Defender environment, all of which need regular updates. Because the signatures are changed daily, your anti-malware client and anti-malware engine, the two other specific parts of the Defender system, also need to be updated regularly to keep everything in balance. These updates typically happen one to four times monthly, depending on the severity of malware activity. Here are several methods for updating all parts of Defender:

Get Installation Images for Offline Updating

The page mentioned above provides you with a ZIP file to download for 23- or 64-bit Windows systems, with 32 not available for Windows 11. Because the page is constantly updated, refresh it to get the most recent version. Once you’ve downloaded your file, unzip the download contents to a directory, such as C:Defender Update, which creates a file structure you can work within PowerShell, with a PowerShell Script that can handle your .CAB file for the updates to all three components. Then invoke your PowerShell script so that you can add the update to your offline Windows image, with the same script supporting removal and rollback, along with list detail operations.

Updating Online Images

Because the Microsoft Update Catalog keeps Defender updates for Windows 10 using x86, x64, and ARM versions. Do a search for Microsoft Defender in the Catalog to locate them. For 64-bit systems, find one that has amd64fre at the end of the description. Others include x86fre for 32-bit systems as well as arm64fre for 64-bit ARM units. Because the files are self-installing executables, you can run them onto a Windows 10 machine anytime, though they’re not yet available for Windows 11.

With the different ways to download signatures and executables for Microsoft Defender, there are many ways to bring your system up to date. Start with automated Windows Update options, then move to manual updates in Windows Security, and finally use PowerShell for signature updates. Defender installation images can also be used, or the Microsoft Update Catalog. By knowing these methods, you’ll always be able to keep your Windows system updated.

If you have any questions about your online security or Windows please reach out to the team of cybersecurity experts at Custom.

The Windows Defender is an anti-malware tool which protects your endpoints from data theft, viruses, malware, spyware, etc. It serves as a protection tool by scanning and cleaning your computers. Let's say your entire network is relying on this protection tool and this Windows Defender software isn't updated. What happens? This tool which is supposed to safeguard your systems will not be able to completely protect them if the Windows Defender definition isn't updated regularly. We recommend you to check for updates of Windows Defender on a daily basis.

In order to keep track of the updates every day you can use any of the following methods:

Windows defender definitions updates installation methods

1. Manual installation of Windows Defender Definition updates
2. Automatic installation of Windows Defender Definition updates
3. Installation using the Control Panel

Manual Installation of Windows Defender updates:

You can install Windows Defender manually in two ways:

1. Standard method
2. Using Windows PowerShell

1. Standard method:
   

   How to manually update Windows Defender definition updates?

   • To begin with manually updating your Windows Defender, you'll have to first find out whether you're using a 32-bit or a 64-bit version of Windows 7/8.1/10.
   • The next step is to download the installer files of the Windows version which you're using. You can download them here:
     32-bit version: Windows 7 / 8 or 8.1 / 10
     64-bit version: Windows 7 / 8 or 8.1 / 10
   • Go to the downloads section and click on the downloaded file to install Windows Defender definitions. Follow the prompts given by the installation wizard to update the Windows Defender.

   This is how you install Windows Defender manually using the standard method.

2. Using Windows PowerShell:
   

   How to update Windows Defender definition updates using Windows PowerShell?

   • To install Windows Defender manually using Windows PowerShell, press 'Win Key + Q' and type 'Windows PowerShell'. Right-click on it and choose to 'Run as administrator'.
   • When prompted for the credentials, provide them.
   • First type 'cd..' and press the 'Enter' key. Then type 'cd..' again and press the 'Enter' key.
   • Type this command and press the 'Enter' key to update definitions.

     PS C:\> Update-MpSignature

     If you wish to update the definitions source, you should alter the command given above.

     PS C:\> Update-MpSignature -UpdateSource MicrosoftUpdateServer

     Note: The update sources which can be used are InternalDefinitionUpdateServer and Microsoft Malware Protection Center (MMPC).

Automatic installation of Windows Defender updates:

With a patch management tool like Patch Manager Plus you can install Windows Defender automatically by keeping track of the Definition Updates being released every now and then. It's tedious to update them frequently from the anti-virus vendors site and also consumes a lot of bandwidth. This patching tool has a feature called Automated Patch Deployment (APD) which has an option to install Windows Defender automatically.

Follow the steps given below to install the Windows Defender definition updates:

• Navigate to the Patch Manager Plus console and go to Admin -> Deployment Settings -> Automate Patch Deployment.
• Click on Automate Task and choose the platform as Windows.
• Give a suitable name for the APD task that you're creating using the edit option.
• The first stage of creating this task is Select Applications. Under Anti-virus Updates select the checkbox Definition Update. On selecting this box, you'll be provided with the latest Windows Defender definition updates.

  Note: We support the following Definition Updates - Mcafee Virusscan Enterprise, Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010 Server Management, Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010 Server Management x64, Microsoft Forefront Client Security, Microsoft Forefront Client Security x64, Microsoft Security Essentials, Microsoft Security Essentials x64.

• The second stage of this APD task is to choose the deployment policy wherein you can select the existing deployment policy or create a new one. So here you can configure the frequency and the preferred day for deployment to happen.
• The third stage is where you can specify the target computers on which you want the deployment to happen.
• The final stage is configuring notifications so that you'll be notified about the APD task. After providing your e-mail address and selecting the required options, click on Save.

So this is how you can automatically update the Windows Defender definitions. To know about how to create an Automate Patch Deployment task in detail to install Windows Defender automatically, refer to this document.

Installation using the Control Panel:

Another way of installing Windows Defender Definitions is through the Control Panel.
The steps to be followed are given below:

• Press the 'Win key + R' -> Type 'Control Panel' -> Click on 'OK'.
• Once the Control Panel is opened, click on System and Security -> Administrative Tools -> Task Scheduler.
• In the Task Scheduler, towards the right under Actions click on Create Basic Task.
• This will open the Create Basic Task Wizard. Give a suitable name and description and click on Next.
• Choose how often you want this task to run from the options listed there and click on Next.
• You can set the Start and End time of this task and then click on Next.
• Choose the option Start a program.
• Type “C:\Program Files\Windows Defender\MpCmdRun.exe” in the Program box. This executable file helps in performing tasks like scanning and updating the Windows Defender definitions.

• Once you've entered the details and chosen all the required options, click on Finish.

Thus, the scheduled task will happen on the specified days and time which you've set. So this is how you can install the updates of Windows Defender definitions through the Control Panel.

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