Vista - Security Essentials - Adding New Entry To the Context Menu

If you want to scan the file from the Context Menu using the Microsoft Security Essentials and you don't have such option over there, as I found out on friend's fresh install of the Vista x64, you can follow this tutorial.

In order to do this, you should backup the registry first by creating a system restore point. When done restart your computer.

Upon boot up open the Run terminal and type "regedit" (without quotes) and hit Enter. Go to this registry entry: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers. Click on the ContextMenuHandlers, now we have to create the new entry.

To do that:

1. Right Click on ContextMenuHandlers ->New ->Key and name the new key "MSSE".

2. Left-Click on the "MSSE" key you just created. In the right pane, you should see "(Default) REG_SZ (value not set)".

3. Now, we need to create a new value, so right-click on the "(Default)" in the right pane, then select Modify...
Enter the path to the application you want to run, in our case the MSE so the path is "{0365FE2C-F183-4091-AC82-BFC39FB75C49}", without quotes.

4. That's it. Close the Registry Editor window.

5. Reboot.

If you did it right, the option "Scan with Microsoft Security Essential..." should be there in the context menu and you should now launch the scan of any file you need from there.

Hi Martee,

The new MSE Ongoing Beta 1.0.1676.0 version from Microsoft Connect has the context menu item added automatically during the installation. I do not remember if the old beta version had it or not though.

Hello Shaun,

As I do remember the old beta version had it, too. That's strange, the new version didn't added this option during fresh install. Anyway, after few hours of hunting, I finally found the right entry and could hack the registry on friend's machine.