Uninstall/removal of MRT (Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool)

The MRT FAQ says that you cannot uninstall the tool via add/remove
software in control panel. This is true, however no mention of the
files involved are mentioned.

What files and registry entries does this tool install ??

No registry entries at all that I'm aware of. It is a single .exe file. Some
information about it...

It's just a stand-alone executable from what I'm aware of. To remove it
you'd just delete it and save 10 MB or so in current incarnation. It will
happily download again tomorrow if you have it enabled.

The MRT is an On Demand anti virus scanneer with a very limited impact on the PC or
resources. there are NO reasons to remove it.

The utility is...
%windir%\system32\MRT.exe

Command line switches...

/? or /HELP = displays the command line switches
/Q = quiet
/N = detect only
/F = force extended scan
/F:Y = force extended scan and automatically clean infected files

The following is the resultant log file...

%windir%\Debug\mrt.log

Why delete it? Well for starters I didn't ask for it. Secondly it
creates large CPU usage and installed into a long numbered file name
folder till one gets the update.

I have a great AV program, Trend Micro, a great Anti-Spyware program,
Counter-Spy, so I do NOT want this on my machine. Low impact or not, I
didn't ask for it, especially when it consumes 50+% of my CPU upon boot
up.

Till I read these postings and others on the Internet about how the MRT
is causing problems I didn't even know about it existed per se, as it
is installed automatically by Updates.

So need a reason? Big One - get off my computer!

Why delete it? Well for starters I didn't ask for it. Secondly it
creates large CPU usage and installed into a long numbered file name
folder till one gets the update.

I have a great AV program, Trend Micro, a great Anti-Spyware program,
Counter-Spy, so I do NOT want this on my machine. Low impact or not, I
didn't ask for it, especially when it consumes 50+% of my CPU upon boot
up.

Till I read these postings and others on the Internet about how the MRT
is causing problems I didn't even know about it existed per se, as it
is installed automatically by Updates.

So need a reason? Big One - get off my computer!

It isn't on your computer. The tool does not install or update files on a
computer. Therefore the tool does not use an installer, such as Windows
Installer or Update.exe. It is packaged within a self-extracting CAB
executable to reduce the size of the package. New versions become available
on the second Tuesday of every month. It is run once automatically if you
decide to accept it when performing an update. If you have already accepted
the EULA and would prefer not to install the tool through Windows Update,
click to clear the check box that corresponds to the tool in the Windows
Update UI.
See the FAQ.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/890830/

Yes, it does install and stay esident on your computer. It just doesn't use a "formal"
installation process that has a line item in the Control Panel applet, "Add/Remove
Programs".

The utility is...
%windir%\system32\MRT.exe

Command line switches...

/? or /HELP = displays the command line switches
/Q = quiet
/N = detect only
/F = force extended scan
/F:Y = force extended scan and automatically clean infected files

The following is the resultant log file...

%windir%\Debug\mrt.log

I confess to being a little confused because the Microsoft
Help & Support article (dated November 14th, 2006) seems to be quite
unequivocal.

Q2: What installer does this tool use?
A2: The tool does not install or update files on a computer. Therefore the
tool does not use an installer, such as Windows Installer or Update.exe. It
is packaged within a self-extracting CAB executable to reduce the size of
the package.

Q3: How do I uninstall the tool?
A3:The tool is not installed on the computer. No Program folder entry or Add
/ Remove Programs entry is created when the tool is run.

No matter which of you is correct, it seems to me that even if tool has been
downloaded in the past, this document suggests that: it was not forced on
the user; it should have no lasting or repetative effect on the performance
of a computer; nor is the user forced to run it again.

David, are you referring to the user initiated download of the MSRT? or the
Windows Update - Critical Updates version? If so I think I understand the
confusion. According to MS, the Automatic Update version does not install
itself, but the user initiated version does. The Help and Support document
describes the difference in activities carried out by each version.

The person complaining said that he didn't ask for it. Therefore I assumed
he didn't initiate a download and install, but has run the Windows Update
version, which should mean that the MSRT does not reside on his system.

It may not have resided on the system when Microsoft first started using
MRT, but it does so now. As I recall, the download first left MRT on the
system when it was no longer beta software. That change took place over a
year ago.

I have run it myself, but it has never found malware. In fact, the only
such stuff I have ever found with any of the various tools was some malware
which claimed to be from WildTangent (a game site). The malware existed on
a laptop as near as I can tell when it arrived here.

As for excessive system usage, I haven't seen that.

It is provided as a Critical Update via Windows Update.

[heinis3]

It's Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool - Uninstaller made by myself.

So when we choose not to download this intrusion as a recommended critical update, and untick it... it keeps showing up as updates are ready for your computer in the task bar. Why can't we turn this thing off for things we don't want. I don't mind critical updates, but this is not one.

[JAMES_911]

The Malicious Software Removal Tool does not use an installer. Typically, when you run the Malicious Software Removal Tool, it creates a randomly named temporary directory on the root drive of the computer. This directory contains several files, and it includes the 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 always be automatically deleted. In these cases, you can manually delete this folder, and this has no adverse effect on the computer.

[mtw999]

Or, instead of a huge bunch of rampant speculation:

Go to %windir%\system32\

If you see a file named MRT.exe:

Delete it if you don't want it.
Leave it if you do want it or don't care.

EOT.

[ikicksnails]

Everyone should remove this useless "tool". It has been confirmed (M$ let it slip) that this is nothing more than a Government backdoor (trojan). **** the Government and their control grid/NWO.

[Buffhere]

Although it is said this tool only runs once a month, it would start up and run continuously for four to eight days on my 7 year-old, still high performing desktop. MTR.EXE would slow it to a crawl. I asked more than one tech expert from the various websites and retail stores what was happening that caused the hd to run 24 hours per day. No one could help. I even bought a new laptop because this old desktop would hardly run with MRT.EXE running 24/7. Found this forum and deleleted MRT.EXE after researching further on other forums. Computer hard drive is finally quieted. It is a wonder the hard drive still works after spinning 2000 to 3000 hours per year for 3/4 years. Speed back to normal. YAY!! Since I set MS updates to ask for permission to download, will deny it from now on. Now I need to fix on my new computer and my wife's new computer.