The tool focuses on the detection and removal of active malicious software. Specific prevalent malicious software is a small subset of all the malicious software that exists today. The tool removes only specific prevalent malicious software.

It is significantly more desirable to block malicious software from running on a computer than to remove it after infection. Antivirus products block malicious software from running on a computer. The tool removes malicious software from an already-infected computer. The MSRT differs from an antivirus product in three important ways: Therefore, we strongly recommend that you install and use an up-to-date antivirus product. It is strictly a post-infection removal tool. The MSRT does not replace an antivirus product. It also includes information for the administrators and advanced users, including information about supported command-line switches. This article contains information about how the tool differs from an antivirus or antimalware product, how you can download and run the tool, what happens when the tool finds malware, and tool release information. For comprehensive malware detection and removal, consider using Windows Defender Offline or Microsoft Safety Scanner.

Use this tool to find and remove specific prevalent threats and reverse the changes they have made (see covered malware families). Microsoft releases the MSRT on a monthly cadence as part of Windows Update or as a standalone tool. The Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) helps remove malicious software from computers that are running any of the following operating systems:

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