How to clean an infected computer virus

In this part, we'll show you the complete process of cleaning the virus from Windows computers and laptops without using antivirus software or tools.

Follow the below steps one by one to fully protect your computer:. This process will end with running virus-related programs on your PC, stopping the virus from spreading over your device. Step 2.

On the Processes tab, check each running process listed in the window and select any unfamiliar processing programs, search online to confirm. Once confirmed it's a virus-related program, click "End Task" to stop it from infecting your PC and device. This is an effective action to block strange malware or virus to take over your computer from the startup. Scroll down to select all programs with unknown manufacturers and click "Disable".

Step 1. Follow-through below steps to enable this feature on your PC and remove the virus immediately:. Step 3. Step 4. Turn on these three options: Real-time protection, Cloud-delivered protection, and Automatic sample submission.

Usually, once you enabled this feature, Windows Defender will automatically scan all drives and files to detect and check virus on your computer. If it finds a virus, do as requested to remove the virus.

Sometimes, you may also manually run this feature to scan and remove viruses from Windows computers. In the "Threat history" section, click "Scan now" to scan for viruses on your computer. As you know, some computer viruses use the internet connection to spread.

Therefore, it's a good idea to disconnect from the internet to prevent further damage. In the Network Connections screen, right-click or tap-and-hold the connection you want to disable, then select Disable. The icon for the connection turns grey to show that it's disabled. These steps should work no matter what kind of malware you have on your PC or laptop. This procedure is as effective for Trojans as it is for a run-of-the-mill virus. This solution is to reboot your PC in Safe Mode.

Restart the Windows 10 PC. When you see the Sign-in screen, press the "Shift" key and don't release, and click the Power icon at the bottom-right and choose "Restart".

Windows 10 restarts and asks you to select an option. If your computer is infected by some specific virus, such as write-protection or shortcut virus. You may need other solutions. As the above-provided methods are provided for removing viruses from your PC. Here are some relative tutorials that may help you remove some specific viruses from your PC and storage devices:. After removing the virus from your Windows computer, you can then check and continue using your device and files again.

If some files are missing on your computer due to a virus infection, don't worry. Go back to follow Part 1 to remove the virus from your computer first. Then you can follow provided data recovery methods here in this part to fully bring lost or missing files back immediately. No matter how you end up killing the computer virus, you should always check your storage device for data loss afterward. Except for the virus itself may delete or hide files, the removal of virus files can also inadvertently delete non-virus files.

Reliable data recovery software such as EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard can scan your entire storage device for any lost files due to false operation or virus removal. I also ran Malwarebytes.

Malwarebytes found something files that I placed in quarantine, but the notifications still happen. Was this reply helpful? Yes No. Sorry this didn't help. Thanks for your feedback. I have been receiving rectangular notification popups in the lower right corner of my screen in Windows 10 that contain the square white Windows logo and say: PC is infected Click to remove viruses sarpolitex.

Is this legit, and should I click as prompted or not? Next, click the Recover button to recover the selected files. Finally, you should format the infected drive to prevent the spread of the virus. There were many high-profile instances where infected individuals and organizations alike decided to pay a hefty ransom just to regain access to their lost files.

Instead, you should attempt to decrypt your files and, if that fails, recover them from a backup. Are you unable to find a suitable decryptor for the specific strain of ransomware that has encrypted your files? In that case, your only salvation is an existing backup local or cloud. Before you recover lost files from a backup, make sure that the ransomware responsible for their loss has been completely removed from your system.

The actual steps you need to take to recover your data depend entirely on your data backup method of choice. On the other hand, most cloud backup solutions come with a backup tool to help you synchronize local and remote files. There are countless different types of viruses, some more dangerous than others. In this article, we described several recovery methods to help you regain access to files that have been hidden, deleted, and encrypted.

Hopefully, this will be your last encounter with a virus—or at least virus-caused data loss. There are many different Trojans that can infect your files, but you can deal with most of them by following the same steps:. To remove a virus from an external hard drive without losing data, you need to avoid formatting and follow the instructions below instead:. David Morelo is a professional content writer in the technology niche, covering everything from consumer products to emerging technologies and their cross-industry application.

His interest in technology started at an Updated on July 8, Written by. David Morelo. Approved by. Brett Johnson.

Part 1. Solution : You should start by disconnecting the infected drive and connecting it as a non-system drive to an isolated computer. Then, you can attempt to perform data recovery using readily available data recovery software. Solution : Problems with macro viruses can be avoided by disabling Visual Basic support in Office applications. Already infected documents that have been corrupted can often be reconstructed using data recovery software.

Solution : To stop web scripting viruses, you should disconnect your PC from the internet by unplugging the network cable. Then, scan the drive for deleted data using data recovery software and save all recovered files. If you want to be extra safe, you can format the infected drive and reinstall your entire operating system.