Has Anyone Used MSFT Safety Scanner?

Xhi · 11 May 2011

Windows Defender only scans for Spyware/Adware. It does not scan for viruses. MSE is sort of an update to that, since it scans for viruses, worms and some rootkits. The Microsoft Safety Scanner on the other hand scans for spyware, adware, rogue anti-malware and rootkits. It was made to be a standalone portable scanner just in case a virus/malware on the computer prevents or disables the installed anti-virus.

In short:
Windows Defender = Only scans for spyware/adware
MSE = Scans for spyware/adware, viruses, worms, some rootkits. (real-time)
Microsoft Safety Scanner (MSERT) = Scans for spyware/adware, viruses, worms, some rootkits. (stand-alone)

NoN · 11 May 2011

Xhi said:

Windows Defender only scans for Spyware/Adware. It does not scan for viruses. MSE is sort of an update to that, since it scans for viruses, worms and some rootkits. The Microsoft Safety Scanner on the other hand scans for spyware, adware, rogue anti-malware and rootkits. It was made to be a standalone portable scanner just in case a virus/malware on the computer prevents or disables the installed anti-virus.

In short:
Windows Defender = Only scans for spyware/adware
MSE = Scans for spyware/adware, viruses, worms, some rootkits. (real-time)
Microsoft Safety Scanner (MSERT) = Scans for spyware/adware, viruses, worms, some rootkits. (stand-alone)

+1 for those details! Rep done!

seekermeister · 11 May 2011

I don't use MSE, and therefore can't compare the Safety Scanner to it, but considering the time that it takes to run the scanner, I tend to feel that it looks more deeply than many other programs. As a word of warning, if you have any large archives, such as I do, I would advise not using the full scan, because it took 10.5 hours for it to finish on my machine. Even when I selected for it to only scan C:, it still took ~ 4 hours to finish, however it did find one trojan that my other scanners didn't.

NoN · 11 May 2011

Got an average of two hours full scan for my 500Gb drive with MSE now...was very bad with my previous Internet Security Suite...5 to 6 hours scan!

Might compare with the MS online one, one day.

sygnus21 · 11 May 2011

seekermeister said:

I would advise not using the full scan, because it took 10.5 hours for it to finish on my machine. Even when I selected for it to only scan C:, it still took ~ 4 hours to finish, however it did find one trojan that my other scanners didn't.

Hmmm.... sounds like the "full scan" issues discussed here - MSE 2 Final Released!

Thanks for the info. Think I'll give it a try when I have some downtime.

Thanks.

Buddahfan · 12 May 2011

NoN said:

Buddahfan said:

My question is about WD not MSE

If you does look in your Windows Update History you can find that the N° version of the MS virus definition for WD or MSE (for those that have it install!) are the same...that's mean they do use both the same!

That was what I thought based upon the MSFT Safety Scanner's Scan. It appears that the difference between the two is that WD also offers real time protection and a full scan whereas MSFT SC only offers an on-demand quick scan, which most likely scans the protected areas of Windows 7 where Malware is most likely to infect.

Corrine · 12 May 2011

Hi, Buddahfan.

Yes, Windows Defender has real-time protection and the Safety Scanner does not. However, you cannot put Windows Defender in the same category or compare it with the Safety Scanner. As has been explained, after being downloaded, the Safety Scanner expires after 10 days.

The Safety Scanner is the replacement for the Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner, not a resident software program. Windows Defender does not include definitions for viruses, trojans, etc. but the Safety Scanner does.

Perhaps my article will help you with Understanding Microsoft Anti-Malware Software.

seekermeister · 12 May 2011

sygnus21 said:

seekermeister said:

I would advise not using the full scan, because it took 10.5 hours for it to finish on my machine. Even when I selected for it to only scan C:, it still took ~ 4 hours to finish, however it did find one trojan that my other scanners didn't.

Hmmm.... sounds like the "full scan" issues discussed here - MSE 2 Final Released!

Thanks for the info. Think I'll give it a try when I have some downtime.

Thanks.

Increase that scan time for C: to ~ 6 hours. 4 hours only gets to the end of the progress slider, and it keeps running for some time afterward.

sygnus21 · 12 May 2011

Well I gave it a try and my SSD "C" drive (50% of 120Gig) finished up in a little over an hour on full scan :)

Unfortunately that was only 1 out of 10 partions as I quit when it started into the "E" partition on one of my storage drives

Anyway I give it another try before I go to bed so it can do it's thing uninterupted. I'll post the results tomorrow - provided it leaves a time stamp.

Update: Well I ran the full scan on my system but have no ideal how long it took since it was finsihed when I got up this morning. There was no info telling me how long the scan took. It did find one file out of 10 partitions with tons of data - OpenCandy. Not bad at all :)

OpenCandy btw.....

- Learn More About OpenCandy and False Adware Detections | OpenCandy
- Encyclopedia entry: Adware:Win32/OpenCandy - Learn more about malware - Microsoft Malware Protection Center