
The MSRT differs from an antivirus product in three important ways:
Therefore, we strongly recommend that you install and use an up-to-date antivirus product. It is strictly a post-infection removal tool. The MSRT does not replace an antivirus product.
It also includes information for the administrators and advanced users, including information about supported command-line switches. This article contains information about how the tool differs from an antivirus or antimalware product, how you can download and run the tool, what happens when the tool finds malware, and tool release information. For comprehensive malware detection and removal, consider using Windows Defender Offline or Microsoft Safety Scanner. Use this tool to find and remove specific prevalent threats and reverse the changes they have made (see covered malware families). Microsoft releases the MSRT on a monthly cadence as part of Windows Update or as a standalone tool.
MSRT can only detect and remove malware that is currently running on your system.The Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) helps remove malicious software from computers that are running any of the following operating systems:. (Microsoft updates and releases the MSRT regularly, as often as every two weeks.) It doesn’t remove all malware from your PC since it only looks for specific threats that are prevalent at the time of release. MSRT is designed to work if your computer has already been infected by malware. Here’s how the MSRT differs from traditional antivirus software. It will not help you remove spyware from your PC. Unfortunately, the MSRT doesn’t offer active scanning and protection against threats and it isn’t designed to be used in place of robust antivirus software. It can detect and remediate Trojan horses, viruses, and worms. It’s meant to be run if your machine has already been compromised by malware. The Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool is a post-infection malware removal tool that is designed to look for specific prevalent threats and undo the changes they have made to your system. What Is the Microsoft’s Malicious Software Removal Tool?