KB Article: Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool Errors
Posted by Steven Parker on 13 January 2005 - 14:47 · 45 comments & 5166 views
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Full name: Steven Parker
Forum name: Neobond
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Full name: Steven Parker
Forum name: Neobond
Contact: via forum PM
Submissions: Normal · Headline
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#1 Posted by forster on 13 Jan 2005 - 15:03
- So the error message that the software referred to didnt exist when the software was released ?
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#2 Posted by Solarix on 13 Jan 2005 - 15:06
- get your act together
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(7 replies)
#3 Posted by SniperX on 13 Jan 2005 - 15:07
- For goodness sakes, could they really get any less professional lately?
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#3.1 Posted by Jon on 13 Jan 2005 - 15:20
- Oh right, so you'd rather the app just crashed when it encountered an error...?
This is nothing simpler than error handling, the app can't possibly perform the operation so produces an error code and shows you where to get more info.
What is wrong with that? You sound like you are going to enlighten us all. -
#3.2 Posted by SniperX on 13 Jan 2005 - 15:25
- I've used Giant for at least a year and have yet to see it error. It lands in the hands of MS and straight away we get this.
Though I'm curious, how did you read my question as an indication of the prelude to enlighten you? Was it the formation of the latters, the punctuation? Really, I'm curious. lol -
#3.3 Posted by RangerLG on 13 Jan 2005 - 15:51
- This isn't Giant. This is the virus removal tool which checks your memory for known viruses running and removes them from memory.
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#3.4 Posted by TheSarge on 13 Jan 2005 - 22:22
- And M$ got that by buying out Giant. What, have you been living under a rock for the last six months or something?
So, no, it's not Giant; It's M$ re-hashing the Giant code and barfing out a mess.
I think Microsoft will not patch this. Either that or they'll ignore it for a really long time and THEN patch it. -
#3.5 Posted by Treefrog on 13 Jan 2005 - 22:59
- No, they didn't. This is not their full anti-spyware app which they aquired from Giant. This is a completely different app. It came, I think, from GeCad.. or something like that.
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#3.6 Posted by SquareSoft0 on 14 Jan 2005 - 02:56
- "M$" wrote this themselves, it's an extremely simple tool to get rid of the 8 or so most common virii. This has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with their spyware tool which they bought rights to from Giant.
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#3.7 Posted by Jon on 14 Jan 2005 - 09:41
QUOTE Though I'm curious, how did you read my question as an indication of the prelude to enlighten you? Was it the formation of the latters, the punctuation? Really, I'm curious. lol
Well obviously I was wrong, you couldn't. Bit confused aren't you.. wittering on about giant.
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#4 Posted by Treefrog on 13 Jan 2005 - 15:10
- You guys are actually surprised by this?
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(1 reply)
#5 Posted by scsgoal31 on 13 Jan 2005 - 15:13
- What is everyone's issue with this? It isn't an error with the program...it simply lets you know that it couldn't scan a recently started process or registry key. It is supposed to let you know this. Am I missing something here? THis is a KB article about the message given by the program.
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#5.1 Posted by Jugalator on 13 Jan 2005 - 16:06
- I think the problem is that these error messages makes the tool user unfriendly, having to look up a KB Article and a table of information on what procedure you should take. I mean, why does it say
"RegEnumValue failed"
When it could've just said
"Restart the computer, and then run the tool again."
Which is more informative?
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(3 replies)
#6 Posted by MadDog on 13 Jan 2005 - 15:15
- Ah, let the Microsoft bashing begin.
Everyone complains that Windows is easily infected with spyware, so they purchase an anti-spyware company as a stop gap measure while they work on securing their code. Then, when the software has an issue of telling users too much information everyone whines about it. It isn't even their code apart from the branding. Not to mention it's a freaking beta. Sheesh, give it a rest already. -
#6.1 Posted by scsgoal31 on 13 Jan 2005 - 15:24
- You're on the wrong software...this is the malware reporter (trojan/virus) not the Anti-Spyware BETA...but still, people need to calm down.
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#6.2 Posted by Treefrog on 13 Jan 2005 - 15:30
- Actually it went more like, Bill Gates finds spyware on his machine, therefor M$ is directed to do something about it.
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#6.3 Posted by MadDog on 13 Jan 2005 - 22:09
QUOTE You're on the wrong software...this is the malware reporter (trojan/virus) not the Anti-Spyware BETA...but still, people need to calm down.
Ah, that's what I get for posting before my morning coffee.
But my main point still stands, people need to calm down.
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(1 reply)
#7 Posted by w00t on 13 Jan 2005 - 15:21
- Will M$ ever get it right?
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#7.1 Posted by TheSarge on 13 Jan 2005 - 22:26
- Mr Peabody keeps telling me that sometime in the 3050s Microsoft owns the whole world and that in that time, nothing works as it's supposed to.
For example, Microsoft Toasters require several software patches before they will actualy toast things without starting a fire, burning the toast, or exploding.
But then, Mr. Peabody is just a figment of my imagination, and I pay him way too much attention.
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(3 replies)
#8 Posted by THE_ROCK on 13 Jan 2005 - 15:25
- How the hell does The Rock run this thing? His Automatic Updates downloaded it but he cant see any entries in "All Programs"
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#8.1 Posted by TheSarge on 13 Jan 2005 - 22:28
- The Rock needs to go to MSDN and actualy download the thing, and not depend on WU so much.
Can you smell what your CPU is cooking? -
#8.2 Posted by SquareSoft0 on 14 Jan 2005 - 02:57
- WHAT?
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#9 Posted by iconboy on 13 Jan 2005 - 15:43
- I gotta tell you its becoming harder and harder to defend using winxp and a PC over a mac and OSX, Im hardcore win xp, but even this coupled with a lot of other things makes me wanna switch.
oh and off topic, Ive been hearing that a lot of new things that are implemented into longhorn have been in OSX for a while now... true?
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#10 Posted by McG on 13 Jan 2005 - 15:46
- this is blahhh
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(2 replies)
#11 Posted by RangerLG on 13 Jan 2005 - 15:55
- I personally would not want to use this anyway since it checks so little. I would rather use a full fledged anti-virus program like KAV or Panda which will acitvely check for memory resident programs as well as files. Some AVs are even incorporating malware in their testing. This tool the MS has released is near useless IMHO
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#11.1 Posted by TheSarge on 13 Jan 2005 - 22:31
- Yeah, it's able to scan for just a handfull of things. Whoop de doo.
Hey everybody: Get a clue and use AVG, AVAST or some other ACTUAL Avti-Virus program. This thing is, much like the Windows Firewall, a pathetic excuse for a joke of a badly flawed application. And that's me being nice about it.
Hey Microsoft: **** off and Die!
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#11.2 Posted by SquareSoft0 on 14 Jan 2005 - 02:59
- They try to help idiots that are too lazy to get an antivirus program and tell them to **** off? Brilliant I must say.
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#12 Posted by Jugalator on 13 Jan 2005 - 16:03
- Meh, first this tool, then an antivirus that wasn't a complete antivirus (scans for 8 viruses, and only memory, and only if you tell it to), then this tool has problems. I really recommend just using the combo Spybot & AdAware which are also both free for personal use, and then a real antivirus tool. Their tools aren't adequate anyway. Avast! Antivirus and AVG are both known to work well and free solutions.
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(2 replies)
#13 Posted by shichiroji4 on 13 Jan 2005 - 16:14
- Looks like M$ screws it up again, they couldn't even release a fix without causing more problems...
Speaks volume of those who steal swear by M$.
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#13.2 Posted by SquareSoft0 on 14 Jan 2005 - 03:00
- I steal by them, by illegally downloading..... ooooh, you must have meant still.
Either way, you're using Windows so until you stop using it, quit bitching about it, shichi.
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#14 Posted by prospero on 13 Jan 2005 - 16:35
- i thought i read that this is technology they aquired from GeCAD Software from Romania, not GIANT
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#15 Posted by Cyranthus on 13 Jan 2005 - 16:50
- i cant even figure out where to go to use this thing...
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#16 Posted by iconboy on 13 Jan 2005 - 16:55
- hahahah i know what u mean, automatic update told me about it, then installed and and i have no idea where to go to activate it, its not in IE for me
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#17 Posted by wildk on 13 Jan 2005 - 17:16
- Um.. it's not a problem with the fix they have released, all this KB article is doing is listing the errors that may occur and possible resolutions to the errors, I ran the tool on my PC and had no errors or infections. Did any of you guys trolling Microsoft actually read the KB article?? this news is written in a sensationalistic manor to make it seem that there is a fault with the tool.
QUOTE Just 2 days after the release of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool, Microsoft has posted a new KB article that explains a common error message that is displayed on computers after the scan is run.
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(1 reply)
#18 Posted by jivemastert on 13 Jan 2005 - 18:16
- so, uh, wheres the article on how to run the damn thing?
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#18.1 Posted by wildk on 13 Jan 2005 - 19:52
- To quote microsofts web site, When the tool is downloaded through windows update it is run in quiet mode so that user interaction is not required and i also found this.
QUOTE When you download the tool from Windows Update or from Automatic Updates, the tool always runs in quiet mode.
QUOTE
Q28: After I run the tool through Windows Update or Automatic Updates, where are the tool files stored? Can I rerun the tool?
A28: After the tool is run through Windows Update or Automatic Updates, it is automatically deleted from the computer. To run the tool without using Windows Update or Automatic Updates, run the tool from the Download Center or from the following Microsoft Web site:
I downloaded mine so i can re run it if i feel like it, but when you get the tool from windows update it will only run once then it is deleted.
If you want to download it manually and run as many times as you link go here.Microsoft Virus removal tool.
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(2 replies)
#19 Posted by AvianFlux on 13 Jan 2005 - 21:56
- The tool worked great for me. The scan took around 1-second, with no errors or issues found.
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#19.1 Posted by TheSarge on 13 Jan 2005 - 22:37
- No ****, sherlock. It scans for a grand total of EIGHT trojans, and only if they are in memory at the time.
It's not an On-Access scanner.
It's not a Hard Drive scanner.
It's a useless peice of crap, but it's a fast usless peice of crap.
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#19.2 Posted by AvianFlux on 14 Jan 2005 - 16:28
- If it's a 'useless piece of crap' then explain why MS would even bother developing and releasing the tool, brightboy. The tool does exactly what it was designed to do, and does it very well. It specifically targets malware based upon its' prevalence thereby fixing a majority of the more common infection vectors in the wild.
Yeah, I know...TheSarge knows better than the legions of highly skilled MS software engineers do.
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(1 reply)
#20 Posted by MarkMS on 13 Jan 2005 - 23:11
- Seriously dudes, ease off. Flame me .. for what I'm about to say .. I don't care.
You have Microsoft apps? Then go uninstall it and use a 3rd party alternative.
You hate Windows? Then go to something else.
Hate Microsoft and anything they do? Just grab your PC and ram it into a ditch.
I'm really sick of people crying about stuff like this.
[sarcasim] oh my software isnt working, i think we should revolt because of this error .. boo hoo .. i'm going to linux heh heh -snort- [/sarcasim]
But seriously fellas, Microsoft is trying ... not its best ... but alteast they makes a honest effort.
Just imagine what the world might be like without them. Do you think we would have a Linux kernel? OSX? OS/2? If you think we would have them, do you think we would be as advanced in computer tech.
Directed to anyone who flames everything Microsoft makes ... just go and erase your HDD(s) and install something else. I just hate whiners! It's good to give out constructive criticism, but people are just going to far. -
#20.1 Posted by Treefrog on 14 Jan 2005 - 02:21
QUOTE Hate Microsoft and anything they do? Just grab your PC and ram it into a ditch.
Now why on earth would I do that? I've got a perfectly good running Debian system on here. M$ has absolutely nothing to do with my pc anymore as I've been able to wipe the virus "Windows" off of it with 100% success 
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QUOTE Microsoft is trying ... not its best ... but alteast they makes a honest effort. 
. They're making an effort because Billy boy found he had spyware on *his* machine and demanded something be done.
QUOTE Just imagine what the world might be like without them. Do you think we would have a Linux kernel? OSX? OS/2? If you think we would have them, do you think we would be as advanced in computer tech.
I imagine it all the time. Yes we would have a linux kernel. Yes we would have OSX. OS/2 was around before windows, and it would likely dominate, with healthy competition from Linux, OSX and likely more. I believe we would be much further advanced in computer tech if we did not have M$ playing their illegal monopoly games, allowing software to stagnate due to lack of competion (lack of competition and stagnation in the market being by-products of an illegal monopoly, and part of the reason there are laws.. albeit ones not being enforced atm.. against that kind of thing). Healthy competition leads to rapid growth and advancement, something we've only lately been seeing the slightest inkling of in the winduhs camp, due to OSS's increasing popularity (see Firefo
. Not seen this kind of action in 10 years guys. I'm all for competition.
Last edited by 58940 on 14 Jan 2005 - 02:26
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#21 Posted by blade707 on 14 Jan 2005 - 00:07
- how do i know if this software has even run for the first time??
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#22 Posted by Palleon on 17 Jan 2005 - 15:34
- Apperantly I missed the day where not being able to scan a service is a good thing; If it can't scan a service then i'd enjoy knowing about it.
And besides; this isn't designed for Joe User; this is designed for Joe User's geek friend who needs to get Joe on the internet but can't because he has the blaster worm. Take a look where you download the thing; MSDN - My 60 year old mother goes there all the time... she loves the horoscopes.
It never ceases to amaze me; Microsoft releases a small little application to find and fix holes in it's software that exploits peoples systems; and you all scream 'Death To Microsoft' because it sends you to a knowledgebase article when it finds something wrong? Norton does the same thing. Get you're collective heads out you're ass and look around; this isn't new, and this is good procedure. Whats next? The Gates hate site because he wore a blue sweater?
After you run the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool, you receive a message that states that errors were found during the scan, and you are directed to this article for more information.
So while your computer may pass the test on all counts of the trojans it scans for, it may fail to correctly scan a service that was started or recently created or on registry keys -but don't worry, the registry key issue is also noted as a 'typically minor issue'.Note Some of these errors are informational messages or minor issues and may not require additional action.
To find more information on the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Tool check here. Despite the fact that the tool isn't very helpful with its output, it remains useful to check on the fly for any trojans that may have infected your system.
Brad Wardell is an employee of Stardocks.