How to manually remove viruses from my computer

And, yes, being well-known does not always mean the best. There are many harmful and malicious sites on the internet. Very helpful steps. I am blessed to have a computer junkie son, much like yourself, who meticulously goes about defeating every virus that has managed to infiltrate my computer. But not everyone out there is so fortunate, and that is why your sharing of this information is so helpful.

Great hub. Thanks receivetipstricks for your great comment on how you use linux to delet the viruses infecting your computer, and for checking out this hub. Hope you have a blessed day! I have to agree Gameccrasher, as some computer viruses are quite tricky, moving files around and labeling them as hidden files, which if that is the case you should go to the options for the folder containing the hidden files, click on the view tab at the top of the window that opens, then look for and select the option to show hidden files, folders, and drives, and finally apply your changes, so that any hidden files can be seen and removed , but manual virus removal can be done if you have no other options.

Thanks for your comment. Thanks Keith for checking out this guide to remove computer viruses, I much appreciate your feedback, and I'm glad it helped you get rid of the virus infecting your computer. Glad you found this virus removal guide helpful, and that it makes it easier to know if you have a virus, tlpoague, thanks for checking it out.

I too, have to share my computer, because of which, I go through these easy steps to remove computer viruses pretty much on a monthly basis since I have experienced a virus getting past my anti-virus.

It also helps me keep my computer running fast and smooth. Thanks for sharing it, I much appreciate it, hope you have a blessed day! Thank you point2make for checking out this virus removal guide, I'm glad you bookmarked it in case you ever need it, though I hope you won't have to use it, as manual virus removal is not on the top of the list of the most fun and exciting things to do.

Thanks for the vote up, I much appreciate it, and have a blessed day! What a great guide to remove computer viruses and malicious software, the symptoms of a computer virus you mentioned and how to find a virus on my computer was really helpful, I don't think I could have gotten rid my computer virus without this.

An excellent and comprehensive hub that will come in very handy. I am certainly going to bookmark this hub for future reference.

Thank- you very much for the information and your effort. Voted this hub up. I seem to attract these little suckers since my computer seems to be the community one here at home.

It drives me nuts to sit down ready to work on HP, or do a little surfing, and I find changes that have been made or programs added that I haven't done. This will make it easier to see if it is a virus, or a little helper wanting to play my comp. Thanks for this helpful information. I will be sure to pass it on. Social Networking. Internet Culture. Internet Entertainment. Internet Security. Internet Browsers. Computer Repairs. Cell Phones. Consumer Electronics.

Home Theater Equipment Information. Industrial Technology. How to Computer has an associate degree in interactive media as well as graphic design. Actually, these files were not lost but hidden on your PC. Therefore, you can also try to run the following CMD command to unhide files that were hidden by the virus:. Replace "F" with the drive letter of your virus-infected hard disk or USB.

Type del autorun. In addition to offering reliable solutions to remove viruses from your computer and restoring lost files, you may also have some other concerns about virus prevention and data protection.

There are many symptoms and signs that may show your computer or laptop is infected by a virus. For example, the computer suddenly stops working, hard drive gets encrypted or files turn into shortcuts. How to check a virus? Next, you can save a copy of all your valuable files to an external hard drive as a backup. By doing so, you can always survive whenever your computer gets infected by a virus or malware. Here, you may use reliable file backup software to selectively back up all desired files to an external hard drive at one time:.

Click the " Select backup contents " button to start backup. Both local and network files will be listed on the left. You can expand the directory to select the files to be backed up. Follow the on-screen guide, select the destination where you want to save the backup. Click " Options " to encrypt the backup with password in " Backup Options ", set the backup schedule and choose to start back up at certain event in " Backup Scheme ".

There are also many other options you can explore, customize the backup task according to your need. Step 5. Step 6. EaseUS Todo Backup enables users to back up data to both third-party cloud drive and its own cloud drive. If you want to back up data to third-party cloud drive, choose Local Drive, scroll down to add Cloud Device, add and login your account. You can also choose EaseUS's own cloud drive. Step 7. Click " Backup Now " to start backup.

After the backup task is completed, it will be displayed in the form of a card on the left side of the panel. Right-click the backup task to further manage it.

If your PC or laptop has a virus, follow the following simple steps to remove the virus from the laptop. He mainly writes articles about data recovery tutorials on PC and Mac and how-to tips for partition management. He always keeps an eye on new releases and likes various electronic products. When you are prompted, press a key to select an option to use to start your computer, such as F12, F5, or F8, depending on the kind of computer that you are using.

Use the arrow key to scroll to the drive where you installed Microsoft Defender Offline file. Microsoft Defender Offline starts and immediately scans for malware. Confirm that the Windows firewall is turned on.

See Turn Microsoft Defender Firewall on or off for instructions on how to do that on modern versions of Windows. In the Search box, type firewall, and then click Windows Firewall.

In the left pane, click Turn Windows Firewall on or off you may be prompted to enter your administrator password. Only download programs from sites that you trust. If you're not sure whether to trust a program that you want to download, enter the name of the program into your favorite search engine to see whether anyone else has reported that it contains spyware.

Read all security warnings, license agreements, and privacy statements that are associated with any software that you download. Never click "Agree" or "OK" to close a window that you suspect might be spyware. Be wary of popular "free" music and movie file-sharing programs, and make sure that you understand all the software packaged with those programs.

Use a standard user account instead of an administrator account. An administrator account can access anything on the system, and any malware run with an administrator account can use the administrator permissions to potentially infect or damage any files on the system.

For more information about how to protect a computer against viruses, see Protect my PC from viruses.

Want to chat with a live person? Our Answer Tech trained professionals are ready to help: Answer Desk. Security information and training. For computer virus and security-related support for locations outside North America, go to the Microsoft Support website. This computer is infected by spyware and adware. Click Start , and then type Windows Update in the search box. In the results area, click Windows Update. Click Check for Updates. Follow the instructions to download and install the latest Windows Updates.

Restart your computer. When you see the computer's manufacturer's logo, repeatedly press the F8 key. Click the Shortcut tab. Click Open File Location. Right-click the folder, and then click Delete. Keep in mind that not all viruses will be removable, meaning you may have to reinstall your computer's operating system from scratch to get rid of a virus. Open the Windows Security panel.

Click Scan options. Click Microsoft Defender Offline scan. Click Scan now. Click Protection history to view results. Did this summary help you? Yes No. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers.

Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. To open it, press the Windows key on your keyboard, type security , and click Windows Security in the search results.

As long as you keep Microsoft Defender running, it will catch most viruses and malware before they can be installed on your PC. If you have any other apps open on your PC, you should close them now. It's in the left panel. It's in the right panel. Select Microsoft Defender Offline scan. It's the final option in the list. This option is the most reliable for finding and removing viruses and requires you to restart your computer.

This reboots your PC into a safer offline mode so it can fully scan for viruses and malware. Go to source The scan will take about 15 minutes and your PC will automatically restart when finished. If viruses or malware are found, Defender will immediately remove them. You'll want to do this as soon as your PC restarts after the scan. Click Protection history to view the results.

If any viruses or malware were found during the scan, you'll see the actions taken by Microsoft Defender. Restart your computer in Safe Mode. Safe Mode is a version of your computer's operating system that loads only the necessary files and services, making it impossible for most viruses to run. Open Disk Cleanup. Delete your temporary files and system information. Do the following: Click Clean up system files in the lower-left corner of the window.

Check every box in the middle of the window you will have to scroll down to see the last few boxes. Click OK , then click Delete Files when prompted. Download and extract Autoruns. Autoruns is a Microsoft tool that shows you the various programs that started up with your current session. Click the Download Autoruns and Autorunsc link near the top of the page.

Double-click the downloaded ZIP folder. Click Extract all , then click Extract when prompted. Open the extracted folder, then double-click the Autoruns file to open Autoruns.