What do you think about Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool ?

Discussion in 'other anti-malware software' started by Ashanta, Dec 22, 2011.

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  1. Ashanta

    Ashanta Registered Member

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    Hi,

    The MS Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions is not an anti-virus application but is intended to detect and remove specific malware such as, Blaster, Sasser and Mydoom. When anti-malware programs are designed for a specific task then the probability of success is much higher than generic programs. The tool removes malicious software from an already-infected computer. Again, this tool is not a replacement for an anti-virus product while Microsoft will be releasing an updated version every month.

    http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=16

    What do you think of this program ? Is it a bad/good/excellent malware detection software?

    Thanks in advance !
     
  2. blacknight

    blacknight Registered Member

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    I never used it. Generally I don't trust it, but the point is: which benefits ? I detect very few, well know, malwares, and above all, if a system is seriously infected it is seriously compromised: you probably you already would know that your pc is infected, may be you can't use it, or it's not easy clean it.
     
  3. ronjor

    ronjor Global Moderator

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  4. G1111

    G1111 Registered Member

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    I let it run during the monthly Windows update.
     
  5. Victek

    Victek Registered Member

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    I think of it as part of Windows Update security patches/fixes, not as a standalone tool. It doesn't have a GUI or any configurable options (AFAICT) and it doesn't display results so it's not particularly useful as an end-user tool, but it benefits the Windows ecosystem over all.
     
  6. The Hammer

    The Hammer Registered Member

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    Agreed. But I wonder would it display the results somewhere if it found something?
     
  7. Victek

    Victek Registered Member

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    This from http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=16

    When the detection and removal process is complete, the tool displays a report describing the outcome, including which, if any, malicious software was detected and removed. The tool creates a log file named mrt.log in the %WINDIR%\debug folder.

    I've never seen a report, but I've never run it "standalone".
     
  8. PJC

    PJC Very Frequent Poster

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    Same, here! :thumb:
     
  9. The Seeker

    The Seeker Registered Member

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    Why do you not trust it?
     
  10. MrBrian

    MrBrian Registered Member

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    When run as a standalone, it does have a GUI and gives results. You also have the choice of doing a quick scan, full scan, or custom scan.
     
  11. Dark Shadow

    Dark Shadow Registered Member

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    I keep it in my download just as handy tool.A man can never have to many on demand tools.;)
     
  12. Victek

    Victek Registered Member

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    Interesting - thanks for pointing this out. I need to have a look at it.
     
  13. Dark Shadow

    Dark Shadow Registered Member

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    Here is a screen shot of what MrBrian is talking about.
     

    Attached Files:

  14. Victek

    Victek Registered Member

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    Great, thanks! Here is more information about what the tool is capable of removing:

    http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=890830

    It's not clear that this is comprehensive enough to be worth using as a standalone scanner though given how many free "on demand" scanners are available.
     
  15. Dark Shadow

    Dark Shadow Registered Member

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    Agree,As a extra tool may be worthy to have just in case.
     
  16. blacknight

    blacknight Registered Member

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    Generally for security I prefer third part trusted softwares. And prevention naturally is better.....
     
  17. paulito

    paulito Registered Member

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    it is absolute garbage i thought it just went through the motion of looking goo, was very fast so fast it found nothing even though i put a bit of malware on yesterday to see what happened lol. ms security essentials is free too and i see why as i would want them to pay me. when i was hacked i contacted their support who were not supportive, sent me a password reset! i had told them i had a keylogger so wtf! Sophos is a good free rootkit scanner/remover.
     
  18. The Hammer

    The Hammer Registered Member

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    I believe the tool is supposed to look for specific malware which may change each time it's deployed by MS.
     
  19. m00nbl00d

    m00nbl00d Registered Member

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    Exactly.

    If other folks bothered reading the link user Victek123 mentioned, then they would read the following:

    To note that it's also possible to run it either by scheduling a task or if one would like either create shortcuts or add to Windows context menu, using the following flags/switches:

     
  20. m00nbl00d

    m00nbl00d Registered Member

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    -edit-

    To run an alternative on-demand scanner, that will look for all malware (all it can detect, of course), one could use Microsoft Safety Scanner, which has a similar UI to MMRT.

    -https://www.microsoft.com/security/scanner/en-us/default.aspx

    One needs to re-download it each 10 days.
     
  21. siljaline

    siljaline Registered Member

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    MSRT may be also run on-demand I do as do many others.

    Very helpful and useful.
     
  22. Karsten

    Karsten Registered Member

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    I use it from time to time, and it really does not offer all that much extra as I am very well protected by other programs too. But it is there and it works okay, therefore I scan with it, but it never really finds anything ;) ;)
     
  23. BrandiCandi

    BrandiCandi Guest

    Meh. Like others said, prevention is better than removal. I'd much rather reinstall the OS than remove malware.
     
  24. m00nbl00d

    m00nbl00d Registered Member

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    So, use it as a warning tool, then reinstall the O.S :p
     
  25. Dark Shadow

    Dark Shadow Registered Member

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    I totally agree,once I know for sure I been infected I rather replace a clean image to be sure everything is gone.
     
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