Follow the same blue start-up steps above to restart in safe mode. Repeat this twice more, then wait for the ‘Preparing Automatic Repair’ prompt on the next restart. Power back on, then hold down the power button once you see something on the main screen. If a virus has locked you out of your Windows PC, hold down the power button to turn it off.On the blue Windows start-up screen, select ‘Troubleshoot’, ‘Startup Settings’, then ‘Enable Safe Mode’. On recent versions of Windows, hold Shift while selecting ‘Restart’ to enter safe mode. For Mac, press and hold the Shift key during restart until you see the login screen. Restart your computer and enter ‘safe mode’.Disconnect from the internet, either by temporarily disabling WiFi or disconnecting an Ethernet cable from your device.Depending on the severity of the virus, you may not be able to access your device at all.įollow these steps for the most thorough virus removal: You’ll know you have a virus if computer performance noticeably slows, you have pop-ups prompting you to install software or even to clean your computer (that aren’t from your antivirus provider), or programs you didn’t install are running in the foreground or background. While malware might not have a noticeable impact on your computer, viruses tend to be more severe. They may not find any additional malware, which is a good sign you’re using great antivirus, but they do offer additional features like registry cleaning (CCleaner) and immunisation (SpyBot). If you have additional anti-malware installed alongside your antivirus software-including popular options like Malwarebytes, CCleaner, and SpyBot (all of which have free versions)-we advise running them after an antivirus deep scan. After the scan completes, follows the cleansing steps recommended by the antivirus software. We recommend a deep scan over a quick scan (the latter is more useful for upkeep than infections). Manually update the antivirus software (if available).Download and install antivirus from a reputable provider.If you suspect your device is infected with malware, follow these steps: While it’s advised that you only have one kind of antivirus software installed-after all, a good one should get rid of malware and protect from viruses-you can optionally install anti-malware software outside of your main antivirus program. You may not know your computer is infected with malware, which is why regular scans are important. Regular backup of critical files is also recommended, including work documents, personal files, and photographs. Additionally, keep your computer’s operating system and software up to date, as patches tend to include security updates. You should also scan any files you download, particularly email attachments. Get into the habit of running regular manual scans for threats and, where possible, set antivirus and anti-malware software to automatically update and run regular automatic scans. It’s important to have antivirus and anti-malware software installed on a computer-particularly PCs which tend to be targeted more than Macs-and to keep them up-to-date. You can even take advantage of viable real-time threat protection from some of the best free antivirus and anti-malware programs. These days, there are a range of reliable software choices for some of the best antivirus and anti-malware software including two of our best picks, Bitdefender and Norton. But if you’re not, or you’ve followed the steps below to cleanse an infected device, it’s important to understand that the best defence against viruses and malware comes before infection. If you’re reading this page, you’re likely dealing with an infected device.
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