Malicious Software Removal Tool
The Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool is freely-distributed software developed by Microsoft for their Windows operating system. The software was originally released by Microsoft in January 2005. It is updated on the second Tuesday of every month via Windows Update, at which point it is run automatically in the background and reports if malicious software is found. To run it manually at other times, one can download the tool from Microsoft and to start "mrt.exe" from the command interface, by going to the system32 folder, or by using the Run command in the Start Menu.
The software was released by Microsoft as a basic virus removal tool[1] in January 2005. The company claims that the software does not directly compete with established anti-virus programs such as Norton AntiVirus and McAfee Antivirus, but simply provides basic antivirus security to as many users as possible. Because the software is distributed via Microsoft's Windows Update service, it is seen by the majority of the company's customers who are connected to the Internet.[citation needed]
In a report released by Microsoft in June 2006,[2] the company claimed that the tool has removed 16 million instances of malicious software from 5.7 million of 270 million total unique Windows computers since its release in January 2005. The report also states that, on average, the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool removes malicious software from 1 in every 313 computers it runs on.
It is interesting to note that, in order for Microsoft to have these statistics, the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool must report back to Microsoft about its actions. This reporting is done without asking for users' permission.
References
- ^ John Savill (2005). "Windows IT Pro - "What's the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool?"". Retrieved 2006-07-05.
- ^ "The Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool: Progress Made, Trends Observed". Microsoft. 2006. Retrieved 2006-07-05.
External links
- Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool on Microsoft.com
- Microsoft knowledge base article
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