When you use a computer there are a lot of software programs out there that can contain infections that are just waiting to pounce on you.
You never know where it is going to come from and unless you have an good, updated antivirus program then there is a good chance that you will never see it coming.
So, just in case of the off chance that your computer has become infected with something serious, Windows 7 offers a tool that you can use to get rid of it.
windows 7 security
The tool is made especially for malware that has crept into your computer and it consists of a worm or a rootkit.
The Malicious Software Removal Tool
The software that removes this type of infection is called the Malicious Software Removal Tool.
It is not a very awe-inspiring name as far as creativity goes, but the software really does the job that it is supposed to.
If your normal antivirus cannot get the job done, then you should use this tool to get everything straightened out.
Before I go on, I will explain why this special tool is needed to get rid of infections such as this.
Windows 7 already offers a free powerful antivirus that you can download, so why do you need this tool as well?
It is because this program specializes in finding rootkits on your computer after it has already become infected.
A rootkit is a piece of software that is not able to be detected by your computer.
I will not get into the grizzly details on how it is able to do this but I will say that your computer needs specials tools to be able to see an infection such as this.
The Microsoft Malicious Software Remove Tool is one of these tools.
It will allow you to get deep inside of the operating system and see if it can spot the intruder.
Once it does, it will do all that it can to flush it out.
It is very dangerous to leave a piece of software such as this alive on your computer for a long time – most of the time it will turn your computer into some sort of botnet but overall you can never real tell what it is going to do until it does it.
But as I said, unless you are a security researcher, you do not want to give it a chance to find out.
The Malicious Software Removal Tool also detects and gets rid of worms as well.
A worm is another kind of infection that will use a network to self replicate itself over and over again.
It has the ability to spread itself very quickly over a home and corporate network.
You want an infection such as this off your system as soon as possible.
To make sure that your computer stays in top shape, you must have all of the tools that it needs to get there.
The Malicious Software Removal Tool is one of the tools that you will need.
Read more on Windows 7 Security
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Article by Lee Munson
Lee's non-technical background allows him to write about internet security in a clear way that is understandable to both IT professionals and people just like you who need simple answers to your security questions.
Lee has written 2879 awesome articles for us at Security FAQs
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I checked an Vista does have it , guess it came with it an i never noticed, an it does update ever so often.
Thanks for the update Dave, I guessed Vista probably would have it too.
This should work the same in Vista and XP (or does XP have this tool) shouldnt it.
It should indeed Dave.
I’m not sure if it comes bundled with XP/Vista but it is easily downloaded from Microsoft – http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.aspx
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