Even after we have got rid of malware on our PC, we keep using our computer unbeknownst to the fact that the outdated software or Windows security settings might be making our computer easy target for future malware attacks. The free Malware Scene Investigator is a software that can analyze your computer settings and tell you if it has security issues that can lead to malware attacks. It can also detect the common symptoms indicating the presence of unknown malware.
You can download the Malware Scene Investigator from the Malware Scene website. The download is a portable application packed inside a ZIP archive file. The application has been designed using the Microsoft .NET framework 4.0, so it must be installed before you can run the Malware Scene Investigator. The software works in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows. The application requires to be run as administrator. So just extract the files from the downloaded ZIP archive, right-click on MSI.exe and select Run as administrator to run it.
Before you start the scanning, make sure you have closed all the open windows and saved any work. To start the scanning, click on the big Start Scan button. The scanning would take some time to finish and check various areas on your system. It checks for the malicious proxy settings, rogue entries in the HOSTS file, unknown partitions (like the one used by TDL4 rootkit), suspicious files, whether connection to security sites is blocked (malware like Conficker block access to security sites) etc. Your computer might freeze during the scan, but when scan is finished it will become normal. At the end of the scanning, you would see a report of results under the Report tab.
Malware Scene Investigator does not give any options to remove or fix the detected problems, it just shows you the alerts and you have to work on them yourself. If you see any serious problems (other than outdated plugins or software), then you should consult a security expert. A much more detailed log of the scanning results is available in the Detailed Log section.
Malware Scene Investigator does not rely on any virus definitions, it just looks your system for common symptoms often associated with malware infection e.g., entries in the HOSTS file, blocking of antivirus sites, presence of small partitions. It can be very useful for advanced users who can pin-point the malware problems with a little help from the Malware Scene Investigator.
You can download Malware Scene Investigator from http://www.malwarescene.eu.pn/.