An important distinction must be made when it comes to security programs against viruses that can infect a Windows PC. There are antiviruses that protect your computer with real-time monitoring and which should stop infections before they can cause harm.
Then there are the scanners, i.e. the automatic tools that scan the computer's hard disk for viruses, malware and infected files to be eliminated, without real-time protection.
Any antivirus has also incorporated the scanner which should be run every time there are problems on the computer to see if they derive from viruses or malware.
However, since there are viruses that disable and make antivirus useless, it is important to always have a separate scanner ready.
Microsoft this week released the Microsoft Safety Scanner, a free on-demand tool for Windows that is used to eliminate viruses from your PC and undo changes in malware .
This tool is different from the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool available on every Windows 10, Windows 7 and 8 pc.
Perhaps not everyone knows that by going to the Start menu -> Run and writing mrt a scan is started to eliminate the malware that are just one of the many types of viruses.
The Microsoft Safety Scanner, on the other hand, is more powerful and does a complete check for all known viruses and threats.
It uses the same antivirus detection and scanning engine as Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) and Windows Defender on Windows 10.
The main advantage of having a standalone emergency tool to remove malware and cancel its effects, if it is not possible to use the antivirus or security software installed on the system.
Another advantage is the ability to run a Windows scan to eliminate viruses and malicious programs without having to think about any program configuration or updates.
In fact, the Microsoft Safety Scanner uses the latest virus information from the Microsoft Malware Protection center.
This means that after 10 days it expires and you have to download it again.
Microsoft Safety Scanner was designed to repair infected computers whose antivirus has been compromised and can be started immediately after download.
The only thing you can decide is the depth of the scan, everything else is handled automatically.
You can run a quick scan that checks the areas of the system that are most likely to contain viruses, a full scan of each individual file or a custom search on selected folders.
Microsoft Safety Scanner is one of those programs to remove viruses and malware such as the celebrated and popular MalwareBytes, Superantispyware or NoVirusThanks
It is not a substitute for antivirus, it does not do a real-time check, but it is an additional tool for the protection of the Windows PC.
The download of Microsoft Safety Scanner in Italian is a file called msert.exe of approximately 70 MB.
As mentioned before, it doesn't auto-update so after 10 days it stops working and you have to download it again.
