How To Get Rid Of Viruses
How to Remove a Virus and Other Malware from your PC?
If a computer virus is ruining your day (or life), and you feel like you’ve lost control, we’re here to help you get back on track. Here is what you’re going to learn from this article:
• How can you tell if your computer is infected?
• 8 steps for removing a virus from your system
• How to manually remove a virus
• How to prevent a future computer infection?
• How to get rid of a virus on a Mac
Even 20-year-old computer viruses can resurface and infect multiple machines (well, 50 million of them). It happens to the best of us, so you’re not alone. Let’s work together to serve justice and restore peace on your computer. Just to be clear - we’ll mostly focus on PC owners, as Windows is the platform of choice among hackers and the like.
How can I tell if my computer is infected
First things first - before we “strike down upon [the virus] with great vengeance and furious anger”, it’s good to be sure what we’re dealing with.
Here is a list of tells that your system has been infected with malware.
You can’t start or update your antivirus software
This is a very serious sign that something is wrong with your system. Unless you’ve just installed an antivirus solution from a new vendor, and it’s fighting over world dominance with the old one, it’s probably a virus blocking its adversary.
You’ve lost access to admin privileges or other system settings
Many viruses like to tie the users’ hands by locking them out of administrative tools or restricting access to things like Task Manager. Untamed and on the loose, the virus roams freely, causing more damage to your system every minute.
Apps crash, or your computer freezes unexpectedly
A classic sign of an acute viral infection, this one is a little tricky, as the root cause might be related to other software or hardware issues. Still, if this symptom appears out of the blue, and you haven’t installed new hardware or software recently, it’s likely the doing of a virus.
Your computer uses a lot of resources when it shouldn’t
This happens with many types of viruses and other malware that run their evil processes in the background. If you notice unusually high CPU, memory, or disk usage when your computer should be idle — that’s a red flag. Fans whirring at higher speeds would be one of the clues to look for.
Multiple windows start popping up
If your PC starts spewing out new windows or weird-looking pop-ups uncontrollably (especially with offers of freebies and prizes), it clearly needs your help.
You notice software that you did not download or install
One of the classic modus operandi of hackers is injecting legitimate installation packages with malicious code and distributing them through free software websites. Download from reputable sources only, for you might be inviting a wolf in sheep’s clothing into your home.
Other valid concerns may include:
• a new homepage or a toolbar in your browser
• a sharp decrease in disk space
• an increase in internet traffic
In general, look out for irregular behavior of your computer and remember: it’s better to be safe than sorry. If there’s no virus on your machine, a prophylactic scan/cleanup will do no harm. But since you’re likely in a critical situation already, it’s time to show you how to get rid of a virus.
Computer virus removal: 8 essential steps
Yes, your computer is probably infected by a virus, but don’t give in to panic or despair. Instead, follow these steps to remove the virus:
