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(Continued from page 7) The upshot of this was I checked each file’s Prop-
The Malicious Software Removal Tool does erties and confirmed Microsoft had signed them.
not use an installer. Typically, when you run Then I deleted the folders and files manually and
the Malicious Software Removal Tool, it cre- nothing bad happened. In the future, I’ll disconnect
the external drives before downloading or installing
ates a randomly named temporary directory Windows Update.
on the root drive of the computer. This directo-
ry contains several files, and it includes the Folders and files found on external drive.
Mrtstub.exe file. Most of the time, this folder is
automatically deleted after the tool finishes
running or after the next time that you start the
computer. However, this folder may not al-
ways be automatically deleted. In these cases,
you can manually delete this folder, and this
has no adverse effect on the computer.

I also learned that MRT is not a substitute
for a resident antivirus for various reasons: 1.
MRT only removes malware AFTER infection,
it doesn’t BLOCK malware like an antivirus
does; 2. MRT is designed to target a small set
of malware only, while an antivirus takes care
of most malware in the wild; and 3. MRT can
only detect actively running malware — an an-
tivirus can also detect dormant malware.

Microsoft’s Knowledge Base (http://
support.microsoft.com/kb/890830) also said a
new version of the Microsoft Malicious Soft- HAVE A NEW TOY
ware Removal Tool is released every month.
After you download the tool, the tool runs one HAVE A GREAT REPICIE TO
time to check your computer for infection by SHARE
specific prevalent malicious software HAVE A TECHONOLIGY
(including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom) and
helps remove any infection it finds. RELATED OPINION

This KB article contains information about
how you can download and run the tool, and SUBMITTE AN ARTICLE TO
what happens when the tool finds malicious “YOUR”
software on your computer. CLUB NEWS JOURNAL

Even though I did not intentionally down-
load the Removal Tool or run it, I read that WE ARE ALWAYS
Windows Update may do that when it down- LOOKING FOR NEW
loads automatic updates. Further, it uses the
largest hard drive on the system to create the MATERIAL
temp folders; and in my case, the external editor@lcace.org
hard drives are the largest with each being

2TB. “Members Helping Members”

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