How to Fix a Virus Infested Computer
Computer viruses are small programs that are designed for malicious purposes. For example, computer viruses may delete files, disable disk drives, slow your computer, change your Internet and desktop settings, cause your computer to crash, decrease available memory, extend boot times, and flood your computer with popup advertisements. Generally, computer viruses are spread through external hard drives, shareware, email attachments, and Internet downloads.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
Update Windows
-
1
Click on the "Start" button.
-
2
Click on "All Programs," and then click on "Windows Update."
-
-
3
Click on "Check for Updates," and then click on "Install Updates." This step will ensure that you are equipped with the latest Windows security updates, which help to prevent computer infections and fix the problems that computer infections create.
Run An Antivirus And Antispyware Program
-
4
Open your antivirus program. If you do not have an antivirus program, consider downloading a free program, such as Windows Defender, AVG, or Avast.
-
5
Update your antivirus program. Most antivirus programs include an "Update" or "Check for Updates" button. Updating the antivirus program is necessary to detect and remove the latest infections.
-
6
Run a full scan of your computer using your antivirus program. A full scan can take several hours, but it will search your entire computer for infections. In addition, you may want to consider running more than one antivirus program to improve your chances of detecting malicious software.
-
7
Open your antispyware program. If you do not have an antispyware program, consider downloading a free antispyware program, such as Ad-Aware or Spybot Search and Destroy.
-
8
Run a scan of your computer using your antispyware program. Antispyware programs can help detect and remove security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software that your antivirus program may have missed. In addition, you may want to consider running more than one antispyware program to improve your chances of detecting malicious software.
Turn On Windows Firewall
-
9
Click on the "Start" menu, and then click on "Control Panel."
-
10
Click "Turn Windows Firewall on or off."
-
11
Click "Turn on Windows Firewall," and then click "OK." Running Windows Firewall coupled with an up-to-date antivirus program will help prevent future infections.
-
1
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Mensch und Computer 4 image by Sven Rausch from Fotolia.com
