Malware infection is one common issue almost all cyber users face once in a while. Here, malware may infect your device via various mediums and may cause serious damage. If you have found that your system is under malware infection then you can follow below-mentioned steps to recover and quarantine it.
Enter into Safe Mode: Safe Mode on Windows 10 helps you run an operating system with a minimal user interface where it only loads the essential drivers & services needed for basic function. To run your system into safe mode on Windows 10, you need to follow certain steps. Here, pressing F8 or Shift+f8 keys may not work properly when you are on modern PC with a UEFI BIOS and a Solid-State-Drive (SSD). Hence, this command works when you are on older PC with classic BIOS and no SSD drive. Now to run Windows 10 into Safe Mode, follow below-mentioned steps.
- Open the Start menu and click on the Power button.
- Press the Shift key and then click on Restart option.
- Note: Alternatively, you can run Shift + Restart combination from your system Sign In screen. To do this, press Power > press and hold the Shift key and then press Restart option.
- Now Windows 10 will reboot and give you some options to select from.
- Here, select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings.
- Now you can reboot your system to change advanced boot options, including enabling Safe Mode. Press Restart here.
- Once Windows 10 reboots, you can select boot option from given options. To boot your system into Safe Mode, you will find three options to select from.
- Here, you can press F4 key to enable Safe mode. Press F5 key to enable “Safe mode with networking” and F6 to enable “Safe mode with command prompt”.
Delete Temporary Files:
Now when you are in Safe Mode, you can start working on fixing the issue. Here, before you move further, you need to delete all temporary files on your system. It will help you free up disk space and boost virus scanning. It may even delete some malicious content effortlessly. To clean temporary files, you can use built-in Disk Cleanup utility on your Windows 10 system. To use this utility, search and select “disk cleanup” in the search box on the taskbar. Next is to select the drive you want to clean. Now on Disk Cleanup window, select all unnecessary files & folders including temporary files and press Ok to delete them instantly.
Run Anti-Malware:
When you are in Safe Mode and you have deleted temporary files, next you can do is to run best anti-malware program on your system. In case you already have real-time antivirus for Windows installed on your system then it is time to use another on-demand anti-malware program to find the infection. As your existing anti-malware program could not stop the malware from infecting your device then it is a good practice to use another best anti-malware program for Windows to scan and quarantine your system.
Fix your Web Browser:
When malware infects your system, it tries to change your system settings and files on it. One common malware trait is that it tries to modify your system web browser’s homepage, prevent browsing, display adware, or perform similar annoying actions. If you find such changes on a web browser then you need to fix it instantly. To do this, you can visit your browser’s settings to make changes or you can reinstall browser.
Data Backup:
In case you have lost some data due to malware infection then you can recover it from restore points on your system or through other mediums. Here, you can look for backup files you have on external drives or on cloud servers as well. This simple step will help you access all important data and make your system run smooth.
Conclusion:
It requires certain knowledge about the functioning of malware and viruses to deal with it efficiently. If your system is under malware infection then we suggest you follow above-mentioned steps to keep your system security & privacy intact. Further, it will help you recover and quarantine your system effectively.