Additional Microsoft Defender tools and services that provide security across various platforms and environments
Run a full Microsoft Safety Scanner scan as the next distinct remediation step, because Defender’s built-in scan options have already failed to stop the repeated detection.
1. Run Microsoft Safety Scanner
- Download the current 64-bit or 32-bit Microsoft Safety Scanner matching Windows.
- Open the downloaded
msert.exeas administrator. - Select Full scan.
- Let it finish and apply every recommended removal action.
- Restart Windows.
- Review the detailed result in:
C:\Windows\debug\msert.log
Safety Scanner is designed to find and remove Windows malware and attempt to reverse changes made by detected threats. It expires ten days after download, so use a newly downloaded copy.^1^ A closely matching case—repeated detections after full and offline Defender scans—also resolved toward using this scanner.^2^
2. Remove the program triggering the detection
The screenshot identifies:
Behavior:Win32/MaleficAms.I3
C:\Users\<account>\Downloads\tcblaunch.exe
State: Removed
Do not choose Allow on device or restore that file.
After the Safety Scanner finishes:
- Open Settings → Apps → Installed apps.
- Uninstall the application associated with
tcblaunch.exe, if listed and not intentionally trusted. - Open Downloads and delete the original installer/archive that supplied it.
- Empty the Recycle Bin.
- Avoid downloading it again from the same website, email, or other source. Malware can return through repeated downloads or through another hidden component that reinstalls it.^3^
3. Determine whether it is a new detection or only history
Open Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Protection history, then expand the newest entry and compare its date and time after restarting.
- Threat blocked / State: Removed: Defender blocked and removed that instance; no additional action is required for that specific event.
- Threat quarantined: Select Remove.
- Threat found – action needed: Select Quarantine or Remove.
- Remediation incomplete: Expand the card and complete the displayed action.
Several cards with the same timestamp can be records from the same incident rather than proof that the file still exists. A genuinely recurring infection produces a new event with a new time or recreates the file. Administrator privileges are required to inspect full threat details.^4^
If it returns after Safety Scanner
If tcblaunch.exe or the same detection reappears with a new timestamp:
- Stop using the associated download or application.
- Back up personal documents, but do not back up the suspicious executable, installers, scripts, or archives.
- Consider Reset this PC or a clean Windows reinstall. Microsoft recommends reset, restore, or reinstall when malware has caused changes that cannot be reliably reversed; restore files from a backup created before the infection where possible.^3^
Only treat it as a false positive if the file came from a publisher and source that can be independently trusted. Do not allow it merely to suppress the warnings—Allow lets the program run and removes future alerts.^5^
References
- Microsoft Safety Scanner Download
- Windows Defender flags and blocks a random .dll file upon startup, possible malware? - Microsoft Q&A
- Troubleshoot problems with detecting and removing malware | Microsoft Support
- Protection History in the Windows Security App | Microsoft Support
- Antivirus and antimalware software: FAQ | Microsoft Support