Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool is a nice little tool that can find and remove some of the most prevalent malware. This free software runs complete silently and notifies administrator only when a malicious software is detected or removed. So, it remains unknown to most Windows users. Anyway, is it possible to manually run this tool? Yes. Though this malware removal application runs silently, it does support manual scanning. Want to run Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool manually? If yes, read and follow the instructions.
The Malicious Software Removal Tool (MRT) is automatically installed on systems where Windows automatic updating is turned on (which is true on majority of modern Windows PCs). If your computer is regularly receiving Windows Updates, Malicious Software Removal Tool is already running in your system. So, you can use it anytime to scan for persistent and prevalent malware. Follow the steps below to run MRT manually.
Steps to manually run Malicious Software Removal Tool:
- Go Start and open Run..
- Type MRT in the search field.
- Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool window will appear. Press Next button.
- Scan type options will appear. Quick scan only the areas where malicious software are commonly found. Full Scan looks bad software in your whole system. And Customized scan option will let you select folders for scanning. Choose one option.
- Press Next button. The Malicious Software Removal Tool will scan your computer.
- Once the scan is completes, results will be presented. For more information, you can press the View detailed results of the scan link. If something is found, the tool will take automatic measures or prompt for removal of those files. You can remove some files by using your existing anti-virus software.
- Press Finish button to close the tool.
Note: Want to view details of the scan? The Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool creates a log file named mrt.log. You can find that in the %WINDIR%\debug folder.