Skip to content
How to Use Microsoft Safety Scanner MSERT In Windows

How to Use Microsoft Safety Scanner MSERT In Windows

Written By Jitesh Kumar
Last Updated June 8, 2022
Posted In Windows 11
SHARE

Let’s learn how you can use Microsoft Safety Scanner MSERT in Windows. Microsoft Safety Scanner is a scan tool designed to find and remove malware from Windows computers.

The Microsoft Safety Scanner is a free stand-alone virus scanner used to remove malware or potentially unwanted software from a system. Safety Scanner only scans when manually triggered and is available for use 10 days after being downloaded.

It is recommended that you always download the latest version of this tool before each scan. Download it and run a scan to find malware and try to reverse changes made by identified threats.

The MSERT tool does not replace your antimalware product, For Windows 10 and Windows 11 include Windows Security, which provides the latest antivirus protection with Microsoft Defender. Defender protection is tightly integrated with cloud intelligence to protect Windows 11 PCs.

Patch My PC

You can also learn more about the free tool Windows Malicious Software Removal MSRT. Microsoft releases a new version of the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) every month.

Download Microsoft Safety Scanner

Let’s download and use the Microsoft Safety Scanner.

Run Microsoft Safety Scanner

Once you have downloaded the file Microsoft Safety Scanner Tool (MSERT). Right-click and select Run as administrator.

Note: Microsoft Safety Scanner is a portable executable and does not appear in the Windows Start menu or as an icon on the desktop. To remove this tool, you need to delete the downloaded msert.exe file.

Click Run as administrator - Run Microsoft Safety Scanner
Click Run as administrator – Run Microsoft Safety Scanner

Check the Accept all terms of the preceding license agreement box, and click on Next.

Accept Terms - Run Microsoft Safety Scanner
Accept Terms – Run Microsoft Safety Scanner

Click on Next to scan for and help remove viruses, spyware, and other potentially unwanted software from your computer.

Important Note: This tool does not replace your antimalware product. For real-time protection with automatic updates, use Microsoft Defender Antivirus on Windows.

Click Next to scan - Run Microsoft Safety Scanner
Click Next to scan – Run Microsoft Safety Scanner

Choose the type of scan (Quick, Full, or Customized scan) you want to be performed, and click on Next.

  • Quick scan: Scans areas of the system most likely to contain viruses, spyware, and other potentially unwanted software. If such software is found, you may be prompted to run a full scan.
  • Full scan: Scans the entire system, Note that this scan can take up to several hours on some computers.
  • Customized scan: In addition to a quick scan, the tool will also scan the contents of a user-specified folder.
Select Scan Type
Select Scan Type

Once you complete the steps, The tool starts scanning your computer, and The process will take time to complete. After this operation completes, the tool will provide you with a report of the detected and removed software.

The scanning process includes :

  • Current Step Scanning
  • File Scanned
  • Files Infected
  • Start Time
  • Time Elapsed
Scanning System - In Progress
Scanning System – In Progress

Here, you can review the scan results displayed on the screen. The scan completed successfully, and no viruses, spyware, and other potentially unwanted software were detected. Click Finish to exit from wizard.

Scan Results
Scan Results

Microsoft Safety Scanner saves a log file of everything it does. View the log file located at %SystemRoot%\debug\msert.log for detailed detection results. You can open it up in Notepad to get more information.

Author

Written by

Jitesh has over 5 years of working experience in the IT Industry. He writes and shares his experiences related to Microsoft device management technologies and IT Infrastructure management. His primary focus area is Windows 10 Deployment solution with Configuration Manager, Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT), and Microsoft Intune.

Discussion · 1 comment

Join the discussion

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related guides

Security

Microsoft Fixes 570 Security Vulnerabilities and 3 Zero-Day Vulnerabilities in July 2026 Patch Tuesday

Key Takeaways Microsoft Fixes 570 Security Vulnerabilities and 3 Zero-Day Vulnerabilities in July 2026 Patch Tuesday! Microsoft fixed 3 zero-day vulnerabilities as part of the July 2026 Patch Tuesday updates. Two of them, CVE-2026-56164 (Microsoft SharePoint Server Elevation of Privilege) and CVE-2026-56155 (Active Directory Federation Services Elevation of Privilege), were actively exploited before the security […]

AC Anoop C Nair 29 min read
Intune

Windows 11 KB5101650 KB5099414 July 2026 Patch and 3 Zero Day Vulnerabilities and 570 Flaws

Key Takeaways Windows 11 KB5101650 KB5099414 July 2026 Patch and 3 Zero Day Vulnerabilities and 570 Flaws! In the July 2026 Patch, Microsoft introduced new features designed to improve the overall Windows experience. The update adds enhancements to Windows Update for more flexible update management and introduces Point-in-Time Restore, providing an additional recovery option for […]

AC Anoop C Nair 9 min read
Windows 11

Boost Productivity with Zoom Workplace on Windows 11 | Setup Guide for Meetings Chat Calls and Collaboration

Key Takeaways Hey, let’s learn about Boost Productivity with Zoom Workplace on Windows 11 | Setup Guide for Meetings Chat Calls and Collaboration. Zoom workplace is an AI-powered collaboration app used for online meetings, team collaboration, and video calls. This application helps to conduct meetings Including chat and messaging, screen sharing and Calendar Integration. Boost […]

AC Anoop C Nair 35 min read
Windows 11

13 Windows AI Features to Turn Off for Better Privacy

Key takeaways Hey, let’s discuss about 13 Windows AI features to turn off for better privacy. AI is widely used in modern systems such as Windows 11 to automate tasks, improve productivity, and enhance user experience. However, AI also has several disadvantages. It may raise privacy concerns because personal data can be collected and analysed […]

AC Anoop C Nair 15 min read