Microsoft Safety Scanner

Microsoft Safety Scanner is a free time-limited virus scan utility similar to the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool. It is used to scan a system for computer viruses and other forms of malware. It was released on 15 April 2011, following the discontinuation of the Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner.^[4]

Microsoft Safety Scanner

Original author(s)	Microsoft
Initial release	12 April 2011; 14 years ago (2011-04-12)
Operating system	Windows 11; Windows 10; Windows 8; Windows 8.1; Windows 7; Windows Server 2003; Windows Vista; Windows XP[1]
Platform	IA-32 and x86-64[2]
Size	158 MiB (32-bit); 164 MiB (64-bit)[2]
Available in	56[2] languages
Type	Virus scanner
License	Freeware for development and test purposes[3]
Website	learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-endpoint/safety-scanner-download

It is used as a more rigorous second opinion in cases where daily-use programs are suspected to have missed an infection. It is not intended to be used as a replacement for these tools, as it does not provide real-time protection, cannot update its malware definitions, and expires after ten days.^[5] It uses the same detection engine and malware definitions as Microsoft Security Essentials and Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection.^[6][7]

License restriction

As of 24 July 2011^[update], Microsoft Safety Scanner's end-user license agreement permits personal usage of one copy for the development and testing of user programs.^[3]