As a Windows user, you would do well to use programs against viruses and malware. The latter can be especially dangerous. Sometimes you don’t know you have malware on your PC. And if you already know it, it’s hard to figure out what kind. What can you do about it?
Malware comes in all shapes and sizes. Think of spyware, a trojan horse or ransomware. In many cases, they do cause the same symptoms on your computer. The device feels unwieldy or sluggish, pop-ups fill your screen when you use a browser or you suddenly see scary messages asking for money.
If you have the impression that your computer is infected with malware, then you would do well to take steps as soon as possible. But prevention is better than cure. We give you several tips.
Prevent malware on your PC
Always make sure you have a program that protects you against malware and viruses. Microsoft offers standard options with Defender and Virus & threat protection (type ‘virus’ or ‘defender’ after you press Start, the options will appear), which regularly scans your computer. Microsoft automatically maintains that software and associated database after you Windows Update have performed.
But if you use third-party applications such as Kaspersky, Avast, or Malwarebytes (just to name a few), you may need to update the application manually. Do that when you can; new threats appear regularly, which means that you are regularly in danger online without knowing it.
Do you want to know which antivirus program we recommend? Then read our recent article about the best antivirus software, in which we compare eight providers.
Do you already have malware on your PC or do you think it is? Then there are some more options. This way you can bring Windows back to an old restore point. Perhaps this will ensure that the malware is then removed. Otherwise you open the aforementioned Virus and threat protection†Run a scan by pressing Scan options to push. Select now Full scan and press Scan nowâ€
Give Windows a few moments to do the work. Then also check the settings of the virus and threat protection. Turn on real-time and cloud protection and check for updates just to be safe.
Offline scanning and safe mode
After this, it is also a good idea to use Microsoft Defender Offline scan. The computer will then restart and take 15 minutes to thoroughly scan everything. If you have a RAT on your computer, make sure that the computer does not have access to the internet. Turn off Wi-Fi completely and unplug the Ethernet cable.
RAT stands for remote access trojan and thus allows malicious parties to access your computer remotely. But without an internet connection, that doesn’t work and malicious software can’t update itself and protect itself from removal.
You can also start a computer in safe mode. Within that mode, you can also run a scan that scans for dangerous files. Within this environment, it is also a good idea to delete temporary files, which will remove any malware if it is stored between such files.
Finally – if nothing seems to work – there is the option to completely uninstall and reinstall Windows. You may have lost everything – provided you have a good backup – but you will also be cleared of malware.
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