Microsoft Safety Scanner is a
free virus scanner
Antivirus software (abbreviated to AV software), also known as anti-malware, is a computer program used to prevent, detect, and remove malware.
Antivirus software was originally developed to detect and remove computer viruses, hence the nam ...
similar to
Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool
__NOTOC__
Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool is a freely distributed virus removal tool developed by Microsoft for the Microsoft Windows operating system. First released on January 13, 2005, it is an on-demand anti-virus tool ("o ...
that can be used to scan a system for
computer viruses and other forms of
malware. It was released on 15 April 2011, following the discontinuation of
Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner
Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner (formerly ''Windows Live Safety Center'' and codenamed ''Vegas'') was an online scanning, PC cleanup, and diagnosis service to help remove of viruses, spyware/adware, and other malware. It was a free web serv ...
.
It is not meant to be used as a day-to-day tool, as it does not provide real-time protection against viruses, cannot update its virus definitions and expires after ten days. However, it can be run on a computer that already has an antivirus product without any potential interference, and can therefore be used to scan a potentially infected computer as a second check from another antivirus program. It uses the same detection engine and malware definitions as
Microsoft Security Essentials
Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is an antivirus software (AV) product that provides protection against different types of malicious software, such as computer viruses, spyware, rootkits, and Trojan horses. Prior to version 4.5, MSE ran on , ...
and
Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection.
License restriction
, part of Microsoft Safety Scanner's
end-user license agreement
An end-user license agreement or EULA () is a legal contract between a software supplier and a customer or end-user, generally made available to the customer via a retailer acting as an intermediary. A EULA specifies in detail the rights and rest ...
which restricts its use reads:
Notes
References
Further reading
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External links
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2011 software
Windows-only freeware
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