Programs for Windows 7 or any other version, including its own system tools for all occasions, are so diverse today that users often do not know what they are for. A particular misunderstanding is associated with system processes that may run in the background. One such service is the process with the MRT.exe executable that is responsible for it. What is this system tool, many users do not even have a clue. That is why it is further proposed to understand what it is and why it is needed.
MRT.exe: what is this service?
The name of the executable file is an abbreviation for the built-in protective tool of the system called Microsoft Removal Tool. Based on this, it is not difficult to conclude that this is a kind of anti-virus scanner, which is designed to protect the system from all sorts of threats.
However, not all so simple. The main problem of this service is connected only with the fact that it is unable to detect threats at the entrance and protect the system in real time, but is used exclusively for scanning, detection and removal of viruses or malware in an already infected OS. This is the main task of the MRT.exe scanner. What is this in terms of overall security? Here you can draw the simplest analogy with portable anti-virus utilities like Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool or something similar. Only the functionality of this applet raises rather big doubts.
How to use this tool?
As for the performance of a routine check, it is enough to simply run the program as an EXE file or initially download the KB890830 package from the official website of Microsoft Corporation.
After starting, the application will offer several scanning options: fast, complete and selective. After selecting one of the options, a check starts. If any threats or suspicious elements are found, the program will notify the user of their presence and the location of infected or viral objects upon delivery of the result.
Process shutdown and deletion issues
But this is only part of the question regarding the MRT.exe service. What is it, sorted out. Now let's see if this component can be removed from the system.
Indeed, this applet is not required for Windows, so you can remove it without any problems. The process itself first ends in the "Task Manager", after which the installed update package is uninstalled in the installed updates section, which can be found in the list of installed updates in the programs and components section. You can also contact the "Update Center".
How to determine if it is a virus?
Unfortunately, despite all the efforts of Microsoft specialists to create a reliable means of detecting threats, modern viruses have learned to disguise themselves as a system scanner, which causes a lot of problems.
You can determine that a virus of the same name has wound up in the system, you can quite simply, using the "Task Manager" for this. In it, when RMB clicks on the name of the process, the item displays the location of the file and folder that is responsible for it.
The original service file is located on the path c: \ Windows \ System32 \ MRT.exe or on the same path, but in the MRT folder. If a different path is indicated for the detected process, you can rest assured that it is a virus. To neutralize it, if possible, you must immediately delete the main directory and all its components, as well as use a portable scanner to completely remove the threat from the system.
And remember that in matters of protection, relying only on this scanner does not make any sense. As already mentioned, it is based on the principle of operation exclusively aimed at searching for threats in already infected operating systems and is completely unsuitable for preventing their penetration into the system. Therefore, the presence of a full-time antivirus tool with proactive protection is required.