What is the Mailruupdater.exe & Should I Remove it?

Mail.ru is a Russian email service so if you find the mailruupdater.exe file with an error message such as This program is not responding or Application Error. The application failed to initialize properly it may have found its way to your device in an unofficial way.

Mail.ru is not a critical Windows file unless you’re using the email service as your primary email client. You can verify its digital signature and location which should be: c:\users\%USERNAME%\appdata\local\mail.ru\

If the file doesn’t meet these prerequisites, it might be malware masquerading as a legitimate file and should be removed.

How do I remove the mailruupdater.exe file from Windows 11?

1. Remove mail.ru from your account

1. Launch your Outlook app then click on the File tab.
2. Then click Info.
3. Click the Account Settings drop-down menu.
   
4. Select Account Settings to open the list of accounts.
5. Find the account related to the Mail.ru email service, click on it and hit the Remove button.
6. Click Close to exit the window.

2. Run DISM and SFC scans

1. Hit the Start Menu icon, type cmd in the search bar, and click Run as administrator.
2. Type the following commands and press Enter after each one: DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-Image /Restorehealth sfc /scannow

3. Scan for viruses

1. Press the Windows key, search Windows Security, and click Open.
2. Select Virus & threat protection.
3. Next, press Quick scan under Current threats.
4. If you don’t find any threats, proceed to perform a full scan by clicking on Scan options just below Quick scan.
5. Click on Full scan, then Scan now to perform a deep scan of your PC.
6. Wait for the process to finish and restart your system.

If Windows does not quarantine the mailruupdater.exe file, try running the scan but this time with a comprehensive antivirus.

4. Uninstall the associated program

1. Click on the Start Menu icon, type Control Panel on the search bar, and click Open.
2. Select Uninstall a Program under Programs.
3. Find the problematic app, in this case the Mail.ru app, click on it, and select Uninstall.
4. Confirm uninstallation in the next pop-up. Also, remove software leftovers to ensure no traces are left behind.

5. Perform a System Restore

1. Press the Windows key, type Control Panel, and click Open.
2. Select Large icons as View by and click Recovery.
3. Click Open System Restore.
4. Select Choose a different restore point and click Next.
5. Now select the restore point and click Next. 
6. Click Finish to restore the previous settings, and Windows will restart.

Finally, Mail.ru is not a bad service. It just doesn’t make sense to use it if you don’t speak Russian since you’ll have to translate the page’s content and this may interrupt your workflow. However, if you’d like to stay on top of your tasks, we have a great list of email clients to boost your productivity.

Most of these PUPs find their way to your device when you download apps from unofficial sites and they come bundled up with malware. You can avoid this by sticking to official sources and having strong security settings that scan all installed apps.

If you’ve come across the mairuupdater.exe file, did you verify its source? What other ways did you use to get rid of it? Let us know in the comment section below.