How to Delete Infected Computer Files

By eHow Computers Editor

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Infected files damage your computer, ruin your files and make software hard to run. System updates and careful use of the Internet prevent some computer file infections, but it's important to know how to recognize and delete computer files when malware infects them. Malware includes viruses, spyware, adware, data miners and Trojan horse programs.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

Memory storage device(s)
Antivirus and anti-spyware (anti-malware) software

Step1

Back up all essential files to another memory source, such as a portable hard drive, CD-ROM, memory card, thumb drive or floppy disk. Backup copies of the files you want to keep are important in case malware infects the files at a later date.

Step2

Download and run a good antivirus program and a good anti-spyware program. For example, AVG offers good-quality, free antivirus and anti-spyware programs. Lavasoft's Ad-Aware and Trend Micro's HijackThis are also great programs for detecting malware. Make note of any infected files.

Step3

Reboot your computer in Safe Mode and run the scan programs again to ensure that you have uncovered as many infected files as possible. Write down the names of the infected files and quarantine them until you're sure you can safely delete them.

Step4

Delete infected files using your antivirus and anti-spyware programs. Search your computer's memory to ensure that all of the infected files you can safely delete from your computer are gone.

Tips & Warnings

Consult a computer professional if you discover infected files in your operating system or any programs that you can't reinstall on your computer yourself.
Some programs may state that a file is infected or malware when it's really harmless. Use Google or another reliable search engine to make sure that a file is really corrupt before deleting it.