Windows Defender event-viewer and logs

Location Windows

input.conf

C:\Program Files\SplunkUniversalForwarder\etc\apps\SplunkUniversalForwarder\local\input.conf

When to Use Each

Scenario	Use Event Logs	Use Files
Real-time threat detection	✅ Yes	❌ No
Simplicity and ease of setup	✅ Yes	❌ No
Detailed debugging or diagnostics	❌ No	✅ Yes
Centralized log collection	✅ Yes	❌ No
No access to Event Log system	❌ No	✅ Yes

Microsoft Defender logs can be accessed via

• Event Logs: Defender writes logs to the Windows Event Log (Microsoft-Windows-Windows Defender/Operational).

• Files: Defender activity may also be written to log files depending on your organization's configuration.

Make a Index in Splunk

Settings > Indexes > New Index

1. Name it "Defender" or ensure the name used in the forwarder matches the Index name, as the forwarder must align with the Index.

2. Everything else default and save

For Event Logs

1. Open SplunkUniversalForwarder\etc\apps\Splunk_TA_Windows\local\inputs.conf or create the file if it doesn’t exist.

2. Add the following to collect Defender logs:

[WinEventLog://Microsoft-Windows-Windows Defender/Operational]
disabled = 0
index = defender
sourcetype = WinEventLog:Defender

1. Replace index = defender with the index where you want to store the logs in Splunk.

2. Restart the Universal Forwarder to apply the configuration:

splunk restart

For Files

1. Identify the directory where Defender logs are stored.

2. Add a file monitor input in inputs.conf:

[monitor://C:\Path\To\DefenderLogs\*.log]
disabled = 0
index = defender
sourcetype = defender:log

Malware test file

Download Anti Malware TestfileEicar