Turn on removal of items from scan history folder
Verified with Windows 11 25H2 — updated on July 30, 2026
Supported on: At least Windows Server 2012, Windows 8 or Windows RT
Path in the GPO console
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Microsoft Defender Antivirus\Scan Description
This policy setting defines the number of days items should be kept in the scan history folder before being permanently removed. The value represents the number of days to keep items in the folder. If set to zero, items will be kept forever and will not be automatically removed. By default, the value is set to 30 days. If you enable this setting, items will be removed from the scan history folder after the number of days specified. If you disable or do not configure this setting, items will be kept in the scan history folder for the default number of days.
Registry
HKLM
Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scan Value name: PurgeItemsAfterDelay
MDM / Intune (CSP)
./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_MicrosoftDefenderAntivirus/Scan_PurgeItemsAfterDelay Microsoft Learn documentation Mapping data: Microsoft Learn (CC BY 4.0)
Export Builder
BETAConfigure the state, scope and options, then generate .reg, PowerShell, Intune and SCCM outputs — or add the setting to a multi-setting collection.
These exports write the registry — this is not a managed GPO. ⓘ
.reg file
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
; Exported from gporais.com
; Policy: Turn on removal of items from scan history folder
; State: Enabled
; Supported on: At least Windows Server 2012, Windows 8 or Windows RT
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scan]
"PurgeItemsAfterDelay"=dword:00000001
"PurgeItemsAfterDelay"=dword:0000001eMore formats (PowerShell, Intune, SCCM)
PowerShell
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn on removal of items from scan history folder
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2012, Windows 8 or Windows RT
$path = 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scan'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'PurgeItemsAfterDelay' -Value 1 -Type DWord
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'PurgeItemsAfterDelay' -Value 30 -Type DWordIntune XML
OMA-URI: ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_MicrosoftDefenderAntivirus/Scan_PurgeItemsAfterDelay
Data type: String
Value:
<enabled/>
<data id="Scan_PurgeItemsAfterDelay" value="30"/>Intune Remediation
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn on removal of items from scan history folder
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2012, Windows 8 or Windows RT
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scan' -Name 'PurgeItemsAfterDelay' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scan' -Name 'PurgeItemsAfterDelay' -Expected 30 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn on removal of items from scan history folder
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2012, Windows 8 or Windows RT
$path = 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scan'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'PurgeItemsAfterDelay' -Value 1 -Type DWord
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'PurgeItemsAfterDelay' -Value 30 -Type DWordSCCM scripts
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn on removal of items from scan history folder
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2012, Windows 8 or Windows RT
# SCCM Configuration Item guidance:
# Create a Configuration Item of type "Setting: Script".
# Discovery script: use the Detection script below.
# Remediation script: use the Remediation script below.
# Compliance rule: the Discovery script output equals 'Compliant'.
# === Detection script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn on removal of items from scan history folder
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2012, Windows 8 or Windows RT
function Test-RegistryValue {
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Path,
[Parameter(Mandatory = $true)][string]$Name,
[object]$Expected,
[ValidateSet('String', 'DWord', 'MultiString')][string]$Kind = 'String',
[switch]$Absent
)
try {
$item = Get-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $Path -Name $Name -ErrorAction Stop
} catch {
return $Absent.IsPresent
}
if ($Absent.IsPresent) { return $false }
$actual = $item.$Name
if ($Kind -eq 'DWord') { return ([int64]$actual) -eq ([int64]$Expected) }
if ($Kind -eq 'MultiString') {
$actualValues = @($actual)
$expectedValues = @($Expected)
if ($actualValues.Count -ne $expectedValues.Count) { return $false }
for ($i = 0; $i -lt $expectedValues.Count; $i++) {
if ([string]$actualValues[$i] -ne [string]$expectedValues[$i]) { return $false }
}
return $true
}
return [string]$actual -eq [string]$Expected
}
$checks = @(
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scan' -Name 'PurgeItemsAfterDelay' -Expected 1 -Kind DWord)
(Test-RegistryValue -Path 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scan' -Name 'PurgeItemsAfterDelay' -Expected 30 -Kind DWord)
)
if ($checks -notcontains $false) {
Write-Output 'Compliant'
exit 0
}
Write-Output 'Non-compliant'
exit 1
# === Remediation script ===
# Exported from gporais.com
# Policy: Turn on removal of items from scan history folder
# State: Enabled
# Supported on: At least Windows Server 2012, Windows 8 or Windows RT
$path = 'HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender\Scan'
New-Item -Path $path -Force | Out-Null
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'PurgeItemsAfterDelay' -Value 1 -Type DWord
Set-ItemProperty -Path $path -Name 'PurgeItemsAfterDelay' -Value 30 -Type DWordBuilding a multi-setting collection? Add this setting and generate combined .reg / PowerShell / GPO scripts.