How to get rid of Virus and Malware on your Computer

This article is going to be concise and to the point in explaining how to get rid of viruses and malware. Computer viruses create a lot of trouble for many, and getting rid of them is easy most of the time. You might have seen many antivirus advertisements, but most of the time, you wouldn’t need it. Here are the things you are going to learn from this article:

How to tell if your computer has a virus?

Most of the time, your default antivirus will inform you of any viruses from your computer. If you think it has missed something then you can also run a scan manually. Some modern cryptominers, spyware, adware, trojans, and other malware are hard to detect, but a few ways to tell if you have any of these are:

• High GPU, Memory, Disk, or CPU usage.
• Losing access to admin privileges and other system settings.
• Computer crashing or freezing after running a certain program or after startup.
• Multiple ads, popups, and different windows popping up.
• A lot of programs running in the background that you don’t recognize.
• Unidentified software installed on your system.

These are some of the main predicaments one faces if there is a virus inside their computer. All of these are a grave indication to fix your computer as soon as possible before the virus starts harming your PC and data.

How to get rid of virus in Windows 10?

Getting rid of a virus in Windows 10 is easy as it has the recommended software already installed that anyone should use. Windows 10 has Windows Defender or Microsoft Defender Antivirus as its antivirus and antimalware program. Why is Windows Defender so great:

• It is completely free, unlike downloadable antiviruses.
• It does and can keep you safe from viruses.
• You are in control, your Windows Defender will allow you to make exceptions for many alerts.
• No hidden paywalls or software will be installed, unlike other antiviruses. 

Your Windows Defender automatically notifies you of any virus that has been downloaded or if it finds them inside your disks. Here are the steps to remove viruses using Windows Defender:

Step 1: Open Windows Security Settings and check if all Protection Areas are shown green.

Search for “Windows Security Settings” in the search box and this should open all the security settings that you need to manage. All these options should be shown with a green tick at their bottom. What do different colors mean:

• Green means that all the recommended actions are being taken, and you are well-protected.
• Yellow means that some recommended actions should be set up.
• Red means there are critical issues that need immediate action.

You can click on each of the settings here to set them up properly and secure your data and computer.

Step 2: Select Virus & Threat Protection.

Virus & Threat Protection is important as it detects all the malware and viruses and gets rid of them, so make sure to never turn it off! Windows Defender is equipped with this neat feature as it lets you run three different types of scans on your device, see the history of viruses and threats found on your computer.

Step 3: Make sure that all the options shown in the new window are green. 

All the options shown under Virus & Threat Protection should be green. If all those are green, then that means:

• You have installed the latest update of, Virus & threat protection settings.
• There are no current threats and you do not need to get rid of viruses.
• All types of protections are enabled.

Step 4: Select the type of Scan shown under Current Threats.

Under the Current Threats, you will find the Scan option. This option enables you to do three types of scans:

1. Quick Scan: Scans the folders where threats are usually found, like your downloads folder. (Time to complete 1-5 Mins)
2. Full Scan: This is an in-depth scan of all your files and running programs. (Time to complete 1-3 Hours)
3. Custom Scan: This option allows you to choose the files, folders, and locations, where you want to scan. (Time to complete depends on selected files.)
4. Windows Defender Offline Scan: This scan is particularly useful as some viruses use your internet, but this Scan restarts your PC into Offline mode and checks for advanced viruses and malware.

Step 5: Removing the malware and virus.

If the scans are completed successfully, you will see a list of files that contain different viruses. If you select them, the Windows Defender will show you what the file name is, what particular hacking virus it is, and if you can select the Allow, Quarantine, or Remove option to get rid of the virus. The defender will also get rid of viruses automatically if they are critical. You can also restore those automatically deleted files if you think it was a false alarm because the Windows Defender does not get rid of viruses permanently at the start. The virus is still saved for some time but it can not function until you restore it,

Additional options

How to use Task Manager to get rid of virus and malware software?

Task Manager is an amazing tool that lets you know why your computer is slow and which programs are running in the background. If you do not have Task Manager, you can download Process Hacker, which is a bit more advanced, completely free, and has tons of features. 

How to find malware and apps that are slowing down your PC

Once you have installed Process Hacker, you can remove unnecessary programs and increase your computer’s speed by:

1. Opening Process Hacker, by pressing CTRL + SHIFT + ESC.
2. It should open a Task Manager displaying many processes running.
3. To see why your computer is slow, take a good look at the percentages shown above CPU, Memory, Disk, and GPU.
4. If any percentage is above 50% when your PC is idle, and no programs have been opened by you, then that means there is an issue.
5. Select the high usage statistics in descending order. It will show you the processes that are using the most of your system and slowing it down.

Now you have found the program which is slowing your PC down. You right-click on it and select what you want to do with it. If you want to end it then, select “End Task,” and if you want to remove this malware, click on Open file location. From there, you can delete or uninstall it.

Note: You can also click on Startup options to see what apps and software are automatically started when you turn on your PC. A lot of apps opening at the same time can also slow down your system drastically. You can disable these annoying startup apps.

You might also want to read about the types of hackers that exist.