Is this program any good? Malicious Software Removal Tool

[Sal_gal]

I saw it on the Microsoft site and never see it mentioned in message boards. Just wondering.

[Broni]

You can safely skip it.

[HAN]

MS releases an updated version every month. I have ran it on dozens of machines. I have never seen it catch anything.

That said, I think it may have worth. It provides a second opinion on malware, independent of whatever other antivirus/anti-malware product may already be on board a PC.

I tend to operate on the 2 heads are better than one theory. So I use it. Maybe someday I'll be glad I did...

[Train]

Microsoft is very clear that MSRT is not an antivirus program:

It offers no protection from infection. As Microsoft terms it, MSRT is a "post-infection removal tool".
It only targets malware that Microsoft has judged to be the most important. Full blown anti-malware software works against a much wider range of software.
It only gets updated once a month. Full blown anti-malware software is updated daily, at least.

You can run MSRT manually at any time. In Windows XP, use Start -> Run -> mrt.exe. You can even get away with just "mrt" in the Run box. In Vista, type "mrt" into the search box (yes, it's "mrt" not "msrt").
Yes it will run manually in Win 7.
http://blogs.computerworld.com/what_...e_removal_tool

[Broni]

Any security program which updates once a month falls in a joke category...IMHO.