Malicious Software Removal Tool and Windows Defender

[Jeff]

I have Windows Defender run automatically every morning, would there be any
benefit of runing the M/S Malicious Software Removal Tool also? My feeling is
that it would just run the same checks.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

They are not the same. The MSRT runs once a month on patch Tuesday anyway
so there is no need to run it again unless you know for a fact you are
infected with one of the bad guys it removes.

The list of malware the tool detects and removes is in the KB article at:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=890830 (scroll down).
The list is cumulative and the KB article is updated each month.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

No benefit, no. Run the MSRT monthly, when you're downloading/install that
month's critical updates via Automatic Updates.