The Malicious Software Removal Tool from Microsoft, helps detect and remove specific malicious software from Windows computers. It does not replace an antivirus product. It is strictly a post-infection removal tool.
Antivirus products block malicious software from running on a computer. MSRT removes only specific prevalent malicious software and focuses on the detection and removal of active running malicious software.
Microsoft has now added the capability of detecting removing the password-stealing trojan called Win32/Simda. Simda is a multi-component malware family that includes trojan, backdoor, password-stealing, downloader and file-infector variations.
“Simda is a multi-component malware family that includes trojan, backdoor, password-stealing, downloader and file-infector variants. It is very rare for a single malware family to possess all of these characteristics; Alureon and Sirefef are among the few families also in this category,” writes Microsoft.
It allows a remote user to connect to an infected machine and carry out malicious actions, such as stealing user credentials, taking screen images and even target banks.
Russia tops the chart of infected countries, followed by the United States, Brazil, Turkey, and Canada.
Microsoft suggests that you run Malicious Software Removal Tool regularly even if your computer appears to be fine. It is offered via Windows Update too.
