In order to protect your Windows computers from hidden threats and unwanted malware, Microsoft gives its users many ways to clean up a compromised system. You will find the in-built Microsoft Defender that helps you scan your computer system or PC and keeps the computer free of unwanted software. However, in case Microsoft Defender fails to take any action against deadly viruses, you do not need to worry about it as you also have Microsoft Safety Scanner at your service, which can help you to do the needful. Now, if there is a minimum chance that you are not aware of the Safety Scanner before, here we are going to correct that. So here in this article, we are going to tell you or discuss what Microsoft Safety Scanner is and how you can use it to get rid of computer viruses and spyware. However, you need to stay in this article and keep reading.
What is Microsoft Safety Scanner?
As the name suggests, the Microsoft Safety Scanner is a malicious software removal tool (MSRT) for Windows computer systems. This tool has the same engine and virus definition as Microsoft Defender.
Let’s start from the first, the Microsoft Safety Scanner does not offer you real-time protection and it can not up and replace your usual antivirus program. Secondly, it is a portable program and does not require installation like other software programs. Now, what will you do? Well, you just need to download it and run the program. Here, you are not required to wait for any application installations, engine updates, and new virus definitions to get started with malware removal on your Windows 10 computer system.
You need to keep one thing in mind, unlike Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Safety Scanner only has a validity of 10 days, meaning, when the 10-day validity expires, you are required to download the latest version from Microsoft’s official website. Why? Because the new tool brings engine and virus definition updates to catch newly-detected malware.
How to Use Microsoft Safety Scanner:
1. First off, you need to go to this page and then download Microsoft Safety Scanner for free. You know what, most of the modern computers are built on 64-bit architecture, so you need to go forward and download the 64-bit program. But, in case you are confused, you have to open Windows Settings and go to System and then About. Now here, you have to confirm the System Type.
2. After that, you need to double-click on the downloaded program and run it. Here, you need to click on “Next” and it is done. You do not need to install.
3. Here, you need to choose what kind of scan you need to perform on your Windows system or PC. You have three choices to pick from, quick scan, full scan, and customized scan.
Quick Scan: As the name suggests this tool scans the section of your PC likely to contain viruses, spyware, and other unwanted software. Quick Scan does not automatically remove the virus and instead it prompts you to run a full scan.
Full Scan: A complete system scan to detect and remove undesired or unwanted software.
Customized Scan: Customized Scan performs a quick scan and finds the viruses and malware in a folder location specified by the user as well.
4. Here, you will find the number of scanned and infected files, in case there are any, at the time of the scan. After that, you can remove the infected files and make your computer system free of unwanted software.
5. In case Microsoft Safety Scanner finds no infected files, you will see the message: “The scan completed successfully and no viruses, spyware, and other potentially unwanted software were detected.”
Conclusion:
So that is all about Microsoft Safety Scanner that you need to know. I am very sure you will find this article helpful in various scenarios. Let me tell you one thing that you can run Safety Scanner off a thumb drive and scan your whole Windows 10 computer system without even installing this tool. So you need to go ahead and try this neat Windows 10 trick if you think that your PC is affected. Anyway, that is all from us, in case you have any questions, suggestions, and feedback, please let us know in the comment section down below.
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