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Windows Defender yellow exclamation mark - but no problems flagged

Anonymous
2018-07-16T14:06:09+00:00

A few days ago I set up a new PC (Windows 10 Professional 64-bit) with Norton as the security provider.

The Windows Defender taskbar icon shows a yellow exclamation mark. When I hover over it, the hint says "Actions Recommended":

But when I click the taskbar icon and go to Security at a glance, no problems are flagged:

Just to be sure, I've clicked into each of those seven areas and no problems are flagged. The only sort-of warning I see is on Account protection, where it says in red text, "To use Windows Hello, sign into Microsoft." However, tat doesn't appear to be an actual warning, just an informational message. And I prefer to use a local account for logging in.

I've rebooted multiple times, I've run Windows Update a couple of times, and I've run a couple of Norton scans.

Am I overlooking an actual warning, or is this a false alert? And in either case, how can I resolve it?

UPDATE: The solution based on babble1's answer --

  1. Windows Defender Security Center > Virus & threat protection.
  2. Scroll down to Ransomware Protection and click it.
  3. At the bottom, in the Ransomware Data Recovery section, it encourages you to set up OneDrive.
  4. Next to that text is a Dismiss link. Click it.

Frankly, this is some pretty awful user interface design for something as important as a security center.

It's just wrong to hide the problem, and its resolution, in such an obscure place. In the Ransomware section, there's no indication whatsoever that this link is related to the security flag that appears in the taskbar.

The way things currently work, the Windows Defender security alert icon loses all valuefor anyone who's not signed into OneDrive, and who hadn't stumbled across this not-very-guessable link to resolve it. Because the alert is always on, it's hiding other alerts that might actually be much more pressing -- so this hard-to-dismiss alert trains us to ignore the alert indicator in the taskbar.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Security and privacy

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Anonymous
2018-11-20T23:24:39+00:00

Thank you so much!

This finally fixed my problem, and reassured me that nothing was mysteriously flawed with my security setup.

I did this:

  1. Windows Defender Security Center > Virus & threat protection.
  2. Scroll down to Ransomware Protection and click it.
  3. At the bottom, in the Ransomware Data Recovery section, it encouraged me to set up OneDrive.
  4. Next to that text was a link to Dismiss the notice. I clicked that.

This is some pretty awful user interface design for something as important as a security center. It's just wrong to hide the problem, and its resolution, in such an obscure place. In the Ransomware section, there's no indication whatsoever that this link is related to the security flag that appears in the taskbar.

The way things currently work, the Windows Defender security alert icon loses all valuefor anyone who's not signed into OneDrive, and who hadn't stumbled across this not-very-guessable link to resolve it. Since the alert is always on, it's hiding other alerts that might actually be much more pressing.

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Anonymous
2018-11-19T21:47:33+00:00

I fixed this on my computer clicked virus and threat protection 

clicked ransomware protection options provided ignore or setup one drive i chose ignore no more exclamation mark 

hope it helps

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  1. DaveM121 879.8K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2018-07-16T14:10:37+00:00

    Hi Andy, lots of users are reporting this for the last couple of weeks, it seems to be a bug in the last update.

    There is actually nothing wring with your system, hopefully Microsoft will patch this false alerting in the next update . . .

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-07-16T14:58:38+00:00

    It can be related to a number of issues that you have no control over in Windows Defender:

    Windows 10 wants you setup Windows Hello on a system that does not support it.

    Your TPM settings are outdated

    Virus definitions not properly installed.

    Some of these such as TPM and Windows Hello you will just have ignore. I have brought up in some discussions with Microsoft and I am expecting a reply soon. Until then, just make sure the virus definitions are updated.

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-09-16T15:58:05+00:00

    I think I may have found a fix.

    Right click on the Windows Defender icon in the task bar.

    Select 'View Notification Options'.

    Select 'Virus & Threat Protection Settings'.

    Turn 'Automatic Sample Submission' off and on again.

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