Microsoft's free Safety Scanner for Windows is a time-limited virus scanning utility similar to the Malicious Software Removal Tool of Windows.
The Microsoft Safety Scanner it was formerly known as Windows Live One Care Safety Scanner. Microsoft renamed the program when the entire Windows Live brand was discontinued by the company. It recently reached version 1.415.219.0 and is available for download.
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What is Microsoft Safety Scanner
Microsoft Safety Scanner is used to scan a system for computer viruses and other forms of malware. It was released on April 15, 2011, after the discontinuation of Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner. It is used as a more stringent second opinion in cases where it is suspected that your protection programs have missed an infection.
It is not intended to be used as a replacement for your antivirus tools, as it does not provide real-time protection and expires ten days after you download it. It uses the same detection engine and malware definitions as Microsoft Security Essentials and Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection.
It is a portable utility and does not require installation. It is also known as MSERT, short for Microsoft Support Emergency Response Tool.
Microsoft Safety Scanner only scans when enabled, manually. To run a scan again it is best to re-download and run it again.
How it is used
When you launch the program, it gives you the following 3 scan options to choose from:
- Fast scanning
- Full scan
- Custom scan
Quick Scan: Scans areas of the system that are most likely to contain viruses, spyware, and other potentially unwanted software. If such software is found, you may be prompted to run a full scan.
Full Scan: Scans the entire system. Please note that this scan can take up to several hours on some computers.
Custom scan: In addition to a quick scan, the tool will also scan the contents of a user-specified folder.
The tool also creates for advanced users, a log file in %SYSTEMROOT%\debug\msert.log that contains detailed information about the scan results.
Microsoft Safety Scanner system requirements
Microsoft Safety Scanner can be downloaded and used on the following operating systems:
Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 7, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2008 R2.
You can download Microsoft Safety Scanner for free using the official direct download links below:
