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It’s important that you act quickly as soon as you see signs that your computer has been infected with a virus to limit damage and protect your identity.
It’s important that you act quickly as soon as you see signs that your computer has been infected with a virus to limit damage and protect your identity.
In this article:
In this article:
Malware attacks continue to rise year after year. In 2023 alone, cybersecurity experts logged six billion new malware attacks — making the chance of your device being infected higher than ever [*].
While some computer viruses are easier to get rid of, others require specialized knowledge and a few tricks to completely remove them from your device.
In this guide, we’ll explain how to remove malicious software from your PC or Mac, the warning signs to look out for, and how to protect yourself in the future by using antivirus software and other tools.
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Cybercriminals hide viruses in unsuspecting places — such as compromised apps or browser extensions, malicious email attachments and downloads, and legitimate-looking files that embed themselves into computer operating systems.
Once infected, hackers can potentially access your computer, steal your private data, spy on you, or use up your computer’s resources. If you see any of the warning signs of a hack or virus, it’s important to act quickly to minimize the damage.
Follow these steps to clear your PC of viruses and malware:
Keeping your operating system up to date is a crucial part of effective security hygiene. That’s because Microsoft includes important security patches with its updates in order to protect your device from the latest viruses and malware.
It’s also possible that your device doesn’t have a virus at all. Using outdated software can cause some of the strange behavior that people normally associate with malware. Installing the latest version of Windows 11 can help you troubleshoot the issues and know whether or not you need to take more drastic measures.
You can perform a software update by clicking on Start > Settings > Windows Update or by downloading the latest version of Windows.
Pro tip: Some computer viruses prevent you from updating your device’s operating system. If this happens, consider it a sure sign that your computer is infected.
Antivirus and antimalware programs protect your computer by deleting malicious code after it starts running on your device. Modern antivirus products run in the background, providing round-the-clock protection against computer viruses, trojans, ransomware, and other threats.
However, not all antivirus programs produce the same results. Even worse, some “free antivirus” or “computer clean up tools” are really viruses in disguise [*].
Your computer may have built-in antivirus software, as well. For example, Microsoft Windows PCs come with Microsoft Defender already installed. Make sure to verify whether your device’s built-in antivirus is installed and working properly before downloading a new one.
💡 Related: Do You Need Antivirus Software in 2024? →
Disconnecting your computer from the internet may prevent viruses from working properly and sending your sensitive data back to hackers. For example, some viruses require direct commands before they start encrypting personal files or capturing login credentials.
When you disconnect your device from the internet, you disrupt that line of communication. This helps reduce the risk of the virus infection spreading to other devices or accounts.
After you’ve disconnected your device from the internet, try rebooting it in Safe Mode. This will make your computer run in a limited state, with fewer applications and capabilities. It may also disable the virus, allowing you to isolate it and remove it from your system.
Every device manufacturer has a different method for booting into Safe Mode — for example, from either your Windows 10 or 11 sign-in screen, you can enter Safe Mode by pressing and holding the Shift key while selecting Power > Restart. You’ll then be presented with an option screen to boot in.
Next, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart. Once your device boots up, select “Safe Mode” (not “Safe Mode With Networking” as that will enable internet access).
The next few steps all take place in Safe Mode. You’ll know your device is in Safe Mode because it will display the words on all four corners of the screen.
Since viruses typically come from the internet, many disguise themselves as temporary files or embed themselves in the web browser cache. Deleting temporary files and clearing your cache can help with virus removal.
In Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox, you can access the Recent History window by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Del. From here, you can choose to clear your entire history or specify a period of time to delete.
If your computer began behaving strangely at an exact time or date, you can try deleting files downloaded during that time. If you don’t know exactly when your device caught a computer virus, you can safely move your entire history to the trash.
Open the antivirus program you downloaded in Step 2. If you are using Microsoft’s built-in Windows Defender antivirus, that will work too.
Every antivirus works by scanning your entire computer for indicators of compromise. Once you click on the Scan button, your device will become unresponsive while it verifies every file and application it contains.
This process may take minutes or hours. The length of time depends on your device’s computing power and the volume of files stored on your hard drive. When it’s finished, you will see a window displaying information about all of the suspicious files that the antivirus detected.
💡 Related: How To Protect Yourself From Hackers →
Review the information your antivirus shows you about potentially malicious programs and files on your device.
You may also see files and applications that don’t correlate to a specific threat. The antivirus may simply tag them as suspicious files that you need to review. Unless you are 100% sure that a file is not a virus, you should probably delete it.
With viruses and malicious files removed, it’s most likely safe to reboot your computer by turning it off and back on again.
You may see a window or dialogue box asking if you want to boot into Safe Mode or normal mode. Select normal mode and let your computer boot itself up like it usually does.
If your device doesn’t boot up properly at this point, something else may be wrong. A hardware issue or some other kind of damage may be preventing it from booting up normally.
As a final precaution, download and run the Microsoft Safety Scanner application on your device. This is a specialized antivirus that will help you identify persistent threats on your computer. It can also reverse the changes made by certain types of malware and prevent future attempts to reinstall infected files.
This step is important, even if you deleted the original virus already. That’s because viruses work by making changes to your device. They may encrypt data, change file permissions, or store copies of sensitive data in unsecured places. Deleting the virus doesn’t reverse those changes, especially if other malware or rootkits are present on your device.
Microsoft Safety Scanner enhances your antivirus by reverting your computer to its original state before it was infected. This works best with highly visible viruses that it has encountered many times before. If your device was infected by a new or unknown virus, it may not produce the same results.
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Many viruses look for password data and share it with hackers, allowing them to steal their victims’ identities. Deleting the virus and reversing the changes it made to your system won’t help if hackers learned how to log in to your accounts.
Assume that all of your account passwords have been compromised. You will have to set new passwords and enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for every account that supports it.
Choose strong passwords that are unique for each of your accounts. Consider using a password manager to securely create and store all of those passwords through a single service, ensuring that you don’t forget them in the future.
Despite what you may have heard, Apple computers are just as vulnerable to viruses as Windows, Android, iPhones, and other iOS devices. Macs share many of the same vulnerabilities, and require a similar approach to installing security software, virus scanners, and virus removal tools.
The process for removing a malware infection from these devices is broadly similar to the one described above, but with some minor adjustments:
💡 Related: How To Check For Viruses on An iPhone →
Hackers can use a variety of methods to infect your device with malware — from phishing attacks that trick victims into downloading malicious files to fake apps disguised as legitimate ones found in app stores.
Once embedded in your system, viruses can be very hard to detect. Some types of malware loudly announce themselves — like ransomware attacks that tell you your device has been infected — but many hide in the background without making themselves known.
Here are some of the most common warning signs indicating that your device may be infected with a computer virus:
You may be tempted to download and run a free antivirus tool instead of paying for a premium service; however, this can potentially leave your device open to even more hacking. While there are some legitimate free antivirus programs, many are either poorly made (and can cause performance issues on your device) or could even be viruses in disguise.
When you’re looking for an antivirus software, always keep in mind the following:
💡 Related: Is Avast Antivirus Safe To Use? What To Know Before You Buy →
Malware is a constant threat, but it’s one you can defend yourself against. If you install trustworthy digital security tools and practice good cyber hygiene, you make it much harder for hackers to take control of your devices.
For stronger security, consider using an all-in-one digital safety solution like Aura. With Aura, you get a full suite of digital security tools — including antivirus, a virtual private network (VPN), phishing protection, a password manager, and more — along with optional award-winning identity theft and fraud protection, dedicated 24/7 U.S.-based White Glove Fraud Resolution support, and up to $1 million in identity theft insurance.
Editorial note: Our articles provide educational information for you to increase awareness about digital safety. Aura’s services may not provide the exact features we write about, nor may cover or protect against every type of crime, fraud, or threat discussed in our articles. Please review our Terms during enrollment or setup for more information. Remember that no one can prevent all identity theft or cybercrime.