14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has recently confirmed a new big bug in Windows 11, and this time, it’s not caused by a cumulative update but by a definition update that was shipped to the pre-loaded antivirus.
One of the updates received by Microsoft Defender this week is removing application shortcuts in the Start menu or from the desktop, with Microsoft explaining that it became aware of the problem after shipping security intelligence update build 1.381.2140.0.
The issue exists on pretty much any Windows version that is still getting updates, beginning with Windows 10 version 20H2 and ending with Windows 11 version 22H2. It doesn’t occur on Windows Server devices.
“After installing security intelligence update build 1.381.2140.0 for Microsoft Defender, application shortcuts in the Start menu, pinned to the taskbar, and on the Desktop might be missing or deleted. Additionally, errors might be observed when trying to run executable (.exe) files which have dependencies on shortcut files. Affected devices have the Atack Surface Reduction (ASR) rule "Block Win32 API calls from Office macro" enabled. After installing security intelligence build 1.381.2140.0, detections resulted in the deletion of certain Windows shortcut (.lnk) files that matched the incorrect detection pattern,” Microsoft explains.
The company goes on to say that Windows devices used by consumers at home or in small offices shouldn’t be impacted by the issue.
However, if the said definition update has already been installed, there’s a chance users might notice their app shortcuts missing anyway.
The good news is that Microsoft has already shipped a fix, but on the other hand, this won’t bring back the removed shortcuts but only prevent Microsoft Defender from removing other shortcuts.
“This issue is resolved in security intelligence update build 1.381.2164.0. Installing security intelligence update build 1.381.2164.0 or later should prevent the issue, but it will not restore previously deleted shortcuts. You will need to recreate or restore these shortcuts through other methods,” Microsoft notes.