SharpExclusionFinder: finds Windows Defender folder exclusions

SharpExclusionFinder

This C# program finds Windows Defender folder exclusions using Windows Defender through its command-line tool (MpCmdRun.exe). The program processes directories recursively, with configurable depth and thread usage, and outputs information about exclusions and scan progress.

The program allows you to:

• Scan for folder exclusions up to a specified depth, without relying on event logs or admin permissions.
• Use multi-threading to speed the scan process.
• Log errors and exclusion messages to a specified output file.

How It Works

A blog explaining the technique utilized can be viewed here.

Use

program.exe <BasePath> [options]

Options

• --max-threads N: Set the maximum number of threads to use for scanning. Default is 3.
• --depth N: Specify the maximum directory depth to scan. Depth 1 means only immediate subdirectories.
• --output <filePath>: Specify a file path to log exclusions and errors.
• -h, --help: Display help and usage information.

Example

program.exe “C:\MyDirectory” –max-threads 5 –depth 3 –output scan_log.txt

This will scan C:\MyDirectory up to a depth of 3 subdirectories, using 5 threads, and log any exclusions or errors to scan_log.txt.

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