"Scan with Microsoft Security Essentials" - Add or Remove Context Menu

"Scan with Microsoft Security Essentials" - Add or Remove Context Menu

How to Add or Remove "Scan with Microsoft Security Essentials" from Context Menu in Windows​

   Information

When you have Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) installed, it adds "Scan with Microsoft Security Essentials" to the context menu of files, folders, and drives by default to make it easier to scan them on demand.

This tutorial will show you how to add or remove "Scan with Microsoft Security Essentials" from the context menu of all users in XP (SP3), Vista, and Windows 7.

You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial.

   Note

• You cannot install Microsoft Security Essentials in Windows 8 since the default Windows Defender in Windows 8 is the new Microsoft Security Essentials and used instead. This tutorial will not work in Windows 8.
• Even if you removed "Scan with Microsoft Security Essentials" context meu item, Microsoft Security Essentials progam updates may add it back. If it does, you'll just need to remove it again.

EXAMPLE: "Scan with Microsoft Security Essentials" in Context Menu





Here's How:

1. Do step 2 or 3 below for what you would like to do.

2. To Add "Scan with Microsoft Security Essentials" to Context Menu
NOTE: This is the default setting. Microsoft Security Essentials must already be installed for this to work.
A) Click on the download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.
Add_Scan_with_Microsoft_Security_Essentials.reg

Download


3. To Remove "Scan with Microsoft Security Essentials" from Context Menu
A) Click on the download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.
Remove_Scan_with_Microsoft_Security_Essentials.reg

Download


4. Save the .reg file to the desktop.

5. Right click on the downloaded .reg file, and click on Merge.

6. When prompted, click on Run, Yes (UAC-Windows 7) or Continue (UAC-Vista), Yes, and OK to approve merging the .reg file.

7. You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.




That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Install and Use Microsoft Security Essentials
• How to Create a Microsoft Security Essentials "Quick Scan" Shortcut
• How to Create a Microsoft Security Essentials "Update" Shortcut
• How to Create a Microsoft Security Essentials "Update & Quick Scan" Shortcut
• How to Create a Microsoft Security Essentials "Full Scan" Shortcut
• How to Create a Microsoft Security Essentials "Settings" Shortcut
• How to Add a "Microsoft Security Essentials" Cascading Desktop Context Menu in Windows 7

 

[brianzion]

cool another handy context tool

 

[Phil Lloyd]

Thanks for the tutorial. It's nice to have that removed. Unfortunately I want it back and merging the "Add Scan With Microsoft Security Essentials" reg file didn't work!
I have also done a couple of other Right-Click mods and wonder if I've somehow messed up.
I had wondered if there was a way to rename "Scan with Microsoft Security Essentials" to "Scan with MSE" at one point, but did not find anything on that before finding this add/remove tutorial. I looked again at the .reg files, and in regedit at the locations for some clue, thinking that maybe i DID see the actual menu title and renamed it, but i don't see anything that would have tempted me, and i am sure i would have backed it up before doing something like that...but my memory is not perfect , and my discipline maybe less so
I don't know much about the registry except to back it up every time I change something, but since this seemed a pretty simple thing i did not do one just before I merged. I do have other backups, but they are older and I guess it's best, if i want to get the menu back, to do a reinstall of MSE?
Any idea of something common which might cause this?

============= SOLVED ===============
I had used SHEXVIEW to disable several things, among them MSE.
I had done this while using REGSHOT to compare what changes were made, but saved the registry backups to other than my normal location!
LESSON: Leave bread crumbs!

 

[Brink]

Hello Phil,

Yes, reinstalling MSE to essentially perform a repair install of it should restore the context menu.

 

[Phil Lloyd]

Thanks again, Brink.
This glitch prompted me to find several other things of interest and I've been learning things i hope to never HAVE to do!

 

[Brink]

You're most welcome Phil.

 

[fabl63]

Not working for me

Hi,

i tried the suggested procedure to add the "Scan with Microsoft Security Essentials" to Context Menu in Windows (register merging), but it does not work, although with regedit I was able to check that the items were added to registry. Even a PC reboot does not work. My system runs Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bits.

Actually, the voice was present in the menu, but a couple of days ago I discovered that it was suddendly gone. I made a PC scan with ComboFix first, and then with AdwCleaner, maybe this is the cause for the item to have disappeared?

And about the failing fix, could it be related to the fact that the system language is Italian, and not English?

 

[Brink]

Hello fabl63, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Just to verify, do you have Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) installed?

 

[fabl63]

Hi, thank you very much!

Yes, I have MSE installed.

 

[Brink]

The context menu should be added by default.

I'll do some testing a VM in a bit to see what may have changed, and will post back.

 

[Brink]

It's still working for me, so it may be a language issue.

Let's see what you have for the registry key below to see if it's the same.

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers

 

[fabl63]

Hi,

the menu was present until a week ago, now it has disappeared. I ran a PC check with ComboFix first, and then with AdwCleaner. Maybe a registry cleaner cancelled the item? But it is in the Windows registry now, and still not appearing. I also used CCleaner to check if the item was in the menu, but disabled, but even CCleaner says it is not present in the Context Menu.

 

[Brink]

As a test, see if reinstalling MSE may help.

 

[MarsMoon]

Same here as fabl63. Had the right click context menu just a couple of days ago and now it's gone. Used the method from OP and it hasn't showed up. Checked the registry entry as stated a couple of posts above and have it. I'm going to try reinstalling now and report back if it works.

EDIt: Reinstalling didn't make it come back but after updating (or a restart of the computer I'm not sure) it came back.

 

[MarsMoon]

Just adding that it disappeared again. Losing patience. >_<

 

[Brink]

Do you have any 3rd party tweaking type program installed that may be removing it?

 

[MarsMoon]

None.

As per this topic/post, it's an issue (or a "feature") with the latest version of MSE.

 

[Brink]

Hopefully a new version of MSE will be released soon to correct this.

 

[fabl63]

I reinstalled MSE, and now the item is presnt again in the context menu.

 

[MarsMoon]

It will probably be gone after updating MSE to the latest version. The same happened with me.