Windows 10: MSERT finds about 40 infected files and then says there are zero infected files. Why does...

How do I know if these are really infected files?Why are they still there?Is it better to run the version from the command prompt in administer mode?I have been problems with hackers and spam emails. Is there any way to forward these to Microsoft to see if you can find anythingto help find out where they come from?

:)

 

Why is MSERT is not producing a report even when it finds infected files?

I ran the MSERT. It found infected files. No report was produced. Why? So are the files removed or not?

 

Microsoft Safety Scanner > Files Infected count

There's a bit of a UX problem with the scanner. As it is running it may encounter files that are suspected of being infected but indicate a count as: "Files Infected: XX"

This suggests the files are infected and apparently no list of these potentially infected files are provided.

1. Change the label to "Possible Infected Files"
   
2. Write to the msert log the list of possibly infected files for further review/action.
   

I say this as I let the tool run for over 3 hours, racking up over 20 "Files Infected". My computer was disconnected from the Internet during the scan. So I was surprised that the files in question were somehow "cleared" despite a lack of Internet connection.

From the log:

Results Summary:

----------------

No infection found.

Failed to submit MAPS report: 0x80072EE7

Failed to submit clean hearbeat MAPS report: 0x80072EE7

Microsoft Safety Scanner Finished On Sun Apr 30 13:20:56 2023

If the suspected files couldn't be submitted, then how were they cleared? Which files were suspected?

I appreciate the tool just cannot trust the results.

 

MSERT scanned 23 files infected, viruses/malware

If the Microsoft Safety Scanner shows clean (no detections found) when finished, then it's most likely that MSERT suspected a possible threat during the scan, displayed it as such (infected files) but determined the file(s) were not an actual confirmed threat(s) upon completion.

Keep in mind that Microsoft Safety Scanner (MSERT) is intended to be a supplement to an existing anti-virus program (not a replacement).