Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool
Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool is a freely-distributed virus removal tool developed by Microsoft for the Microsoft Windows operating system. First released on January 13, 2005, it is an on-demand anti-virus tool that scans the computer for specific widespread malware and tries to eliminate the infection. It is automatically distributed to Microsoft Windows computers via Windows Update service but can also be separately downloaded.
The program is usually updated on the second Tuesday of every month and distributed via Windows Update, at which point it runs once automatically in the background and reports if malicious software is found. Alternatively, users can manually download this tool from Microsoft Download Center. It records its results in a log file located at %windir%\debug\mrt.log. To run it manually at other times, users can start "mrt.exe" using the Command Prompt or Run command in the Start Menu. With Windows 2000 going out of support in July 2010, Microsoft stopped distributing the MSRT tool to Windows 2000 users. As of March 2012 it's still possible to manually run the most recent version in Windows 2000.
As released, the tool is configured to report anonymized data about infections to Microsoft if any are detected. The reporting behavior is disclosed in the tool's EULA, and can be disabled if desired.
In a June 2006 Microsoft report, the company claimed that the tool had 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 stated that, on average, the tool removes malicious software from 1 in every 311 computers on which it runs. As of 19 May 2009 Microsoft claims that the software has removed password stealer threats from 859,842 machines.
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