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#16
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Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool?
On Thu, 22 Oct 2015 18:46:27 -0400, Stan Brown
wrote: On Thu, 22 Oct 2015 12:12:32 -0700, Ken Blake, MVP wrote: Necessary? No. But it' a good idea, since it lowers the risk of malware. But does it? That's the question. As far as I'm concerned, it clearly does. Certainly Microsoft Security Essentials is nowhere near #1 in threat detection. Why should we expect the Microsoft Software Removal Tool to be better than the combination of a top-rated antivirus plus Malwarebytes? Better? No, I don't think so. And I didn't say so. But the extra check it provides lowers the risk. |
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#17
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Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool?
On Thu, 22 Oct 2015 16:52:49 -0600, Ken1943 wrote:
On Thu, 22 Oct 2015 18:46:27 -0400, Stan Brown wrote: On Thu, 22 Oct 2015 12:12:32 -0700, Ken Blake, MVP wrote: Necessary? No. But it' a good idea, since it lowers the risk of malware. But does it? That's the question. Certainly Microsoft Security Essentials is nowhere near #1 in threat detection. Why should we expect the Microsoft Software Removal Tool to be better than the combination of a top-rated antivirus plus Malwarebytes? Because it is programmed to only detect malware that has been reported in the wild. No two programs look in the same area. Each is a little different. Exactly! I should have said that in the reply I just sent, but I didn't. |
#18
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Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool?
On Thu, 22 Oct 2015 18:46:27 -0400, Stan Brown
wrote: On Thu, 22 Oct 2015 12:12:32 -0700, Ken Blake, MVP wrote: Necessary? No. But it' a good idea, since it lowers the risk of malware. But does it? That's the question. Certainly Microsoft Security Essentials is nowhere near #1 in threat detection. Why should we expect the Microsoft Software Removal Tool to be better than the combination of a top-rated antivirus plus Malwarebytes? I don't think it claims to be better than those, either combined or separately. It's just claimed to be better than nothing, and probably is. -- Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus |
#19
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Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool?
On Thu, 22 Oct 2015 18:46:27 -0400, Stan Brown
wrote: On Thu, 22 Oct 2015 12:12:32 -0700, Ken Blake, MVP wrote: Necessary? No. But it' a good idea, since it lowers the risk of malware. But does it? That's the question. Certainly Microsoft Security Essentials is nowhere near #1 in threat detection. Why should we expect the Microsoft Software Removal Tool to be better than the combination of a top-rated antivirus plus Malwarebytes? What I always wondered was, why did they call it a *software* removal tool? Why not a malware removal tool? If I want to remove software, I hardly want to wait a month for the next iteration of MSRT. ;-) -- Char Jackson |
#20
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Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool?
On Thu, 22 Oct 2015 23:06:50 -0500, Char Jackson
wrote: On Thu, 22 Oct 2015 18:46:27 -0400, Stan Brown wrote: On Thu, 22 Oct 2015 12:12:32 -0700, Ken Blake, MVP wrote: Necessary? No. But it' a good idea, since it lowers the risk of malware. But does it? That's the question. Certainly Microsoft Security Essentials is nowhere near #1 in threat detection. Why should we expect the Microsoft Software Removal Tool to be better than the combination of a top-rated antivirus plus Malwarebytes? What I always wondered was, why did they call it a *software* removal tool? Why not a malware removal tool? If I want to remove software, I hardly want to wait a month for the next iteration of MSRT. ;-) "Malware" is surely an abbreviastion for MALicious softWARE. -- Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus |
#21
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Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool?
Ed Cryer wrote:
Paul wrote: David E. Ross wrote: On 10/22/2015 11:39 AM, David E. Ross wrote: On 10/22/2015 11:11 AM, wrote: I have an Important Update(s) for the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool (KB890830). Is this Tool necessary and safe - it updates every month. Do everyone update it when presented? Any thoughts really appreciated and would be helpful. charliec I never use or update the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool. I depend on non-Microsoft anti-malware applications to detect and remove malicious software. Oops! I forgot to say why I do not use Microsoft's tool. Microsoft constantly finds security vulnerabilities in its software. This makes me wary of using a Microsoft tool to mitigate malware. That is, if they cannot make their other applications safe, why should I trust the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool to be safe? The tool is an attempt to remove the top fifty or so, forms of malware. If the industry notices there are a million machines in a botnet say, maybe MSRT has a tool added to remove or quarantine part of that. So rather than being a substitute for an AV program, it's a tool focused on those people who run no AV at all, and the tool removes the high-runner malwares. It's still possible for a million different malwares to get in the machine, or be missed entirely by the tool. Think of it as the "FBI Ten Most Wanted List". It's that list, only for malware. The scan runs during the Windows Update tool installation, with options being available later to extend the scan if you want. Thus, for the average user who does not investigate, this is a very quick and dirty check for malware, and is intended to be an aid for those who don't have a tool collection for this purpose. I install it (and let it run), but do not have high expectations it's going to be doing anything for me. Paul I let it run as well. I have done for years. But I can't recall a single occasion when it's had a hit. Maybe that's thanks to good firewall and AV that I run. I've had those two have hits. Similarly with my web browser; Firefox. Ed Likewise I install it when offered. Never found anything, nor has any AV/AM program I've used on multiple machines (MSFT, ESET, Avast, Norton AV stand-alone). The last intrusion was decades ago and from a Word doc macro - relatively harmless and easily resolved without the need for AV/AM ware. -- ....winston msft mvp consumer apps |
#23
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Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool?
On Fri, 23 Oct 2015 07:22:56 +0200, Steve Hayes
wrote: On Thu, 22 Oct 2015 23:06:50 -0500, Char Jackson wrote: On Thu, 22 Oct 2015 18:46:27 -0400, Stan Brown wrote: On Thu, 22 Oct 2015 12:12:32 -0700, Ken Blake, MVP wrote: Necessary? No. But it' a good idea, since it lowers the risk of malware. But does it? That's the question. Certainly Microsoft Security Essentials is nowhere near #1 in threat detection. Why should we expect the Microsoft Software Removal Tool to be better than the combination of a top-rated antivirus plus Malwarebytes? What I always wondered was, why did they call it a *software* removal tool? Why not a malware removal tool? If I want to remove software, I hardly want to wait a month for the next iteration of MSRT. ;-) "Malware" is surely an abbreviastion for MALicious softWARE. Yes, it is! You took the words out of my (figurative) mouth. |
#24
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Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool?
On Fri, 23 Oct 2015 10:34:21 -0400, Wolf K wrote:
On 2015-10-23 00:06, Char Jackson wrote: On Thu, 22 Oct 2015 18:46:27 -0400, Stan Brown wrote: On Thu, 22 Oct 2015 12:12:32 -0700, Ken Blake, MVP wrote: Necessary? No. But it' a good idea, since it lowers the risk of malware. But does it? That's the question. Certainly Microsoft Security Essentials is nowhere near #1 in threat detection. Why should we expect the Microsoft Software Removal Tool to be better than the combination of a top-rated antivirus plus Malwarebytes? What I always wondered was, why did they call it a *software* removal tool? Why not a malware removal tool? If I want to remove software, I hardly want to wait a month for the next iteration of MSRT. ;-) Erm, it's "malicious software", not "malicious...tool" Which is admittedly a possible reading, because English spelling ignores compounds, and we don't indicate the stress patterns that signal compounds in speech. But that's OT (again :-) ). Thanks, everyone, for the follow-ups, but I'm disappointed. I guess no one saw or understood the emoticon. -- Char Jackson |
#25
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Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool?
On Thu, 22 Oct 2015 11:11:36 -0700, wrote:
I have an Important Update(s) for the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool (KB890830). Is this Tool necessary and safe - it updates every month. Do everyone update it when presented? Any thoughts really appreciated and would be helpful. charliec I know this thread is 2 weeks old but I just came across this somewhe Microsoft is very clear that MSRT is not an antivirus program: It offers no protection from infection. As Microsoft terms it, MSRT is a "post-infection removal tool". It only targets malware that Microsoft has judged to be the most important. Full blown anti-malware software works against a much wider range of software. It only gets updated once a month. Full blown anti-malware software is updated daily, at least. http://www.computerworld.com/article...oval-tool.html You can run MSRT manually at any time. In Windows XP, use Start - Run - mrt.exe. You can even get away with just "mrt" in the Run box. In Vista, type "mrt" into the search box (yes, it's "mrt" not "msrt"). It seems to do a lot of processing before displaying the initial window, expect a delay of 5 to 10 seconds. A portion of the initial window is shown below. It sounds like a good idea to me, to run it. I think I'll run it right now. |
#26
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Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool?
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#27
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Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool?
OTOH, with automatic running of MSRT (msr.exe);
In the normal stealth mode of operation, if MSRT finds an infection, it does not warn you immediately. Instead, it displays a warning the next time Windows starts up and an Administrator logs on. If the machine is reguarly used by a restricted user, this warning may not display for a long time. That stinks!! There are many advantages to running MSRT manually: You can opt to run a full scan rather than the default quick scan You can run the program more than once a month, including any time a PC seems to be acting strangely You can manually insure that the latest version of MSRT is, in fact, installed You get definite notification of an infection The last point stems from two issues. In the normal stealth mode of operation, if MSRT finds an infection, it does not warn you immediately. Instead, it displays a warning the next time Windows starts up and an Administrator logs on. If the machine is reguarly used by a restricted user, this warning may not display for a long time. There are many advantages to running MSRT manually: You can opt to run a full scan rather than the default quick scan You can run the program more than once a month, including any time a PC seems to be acting strangely You can manually insure that the latest version of MSRT is, in fact, installed You get definite notification of an infection The last point stems from two issues. In the normal stealth mode of operation, if MSRT finds an infection, it does not warn you immediately. Instead, it displays a warning the next time Windows starts up and an Administrator logs on. If the machine is reguarly used by a restricted user, this warning may not display for a long time. From the same url. |
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