Most of the users in the world had to go through a computer virus and malware over time. The issues are not everybody can understand computer behavior and actually ignores certain unusual stuff which isn’t supposed to happen while the PC is in great condition.
Did you Notice?
Your computer starts slowing down, random pop-ups appearing and starts behaving in an unusual manner. Every time this kind of activity takes place our speculations say it is probably a virus, but it is not. It is more likely a malware that affects your computer which causes bizarre behavior.
Cybercriminals all over the world have silently kept chaos within the Internet. These hijackers use tricks so that the malware can take control of certain activities like taking over your browser or the control of your PC.
There is nothing to worry about because you could use some tricks by yourself to manage all these issues and prevent your device from unwanted malware and evil programs.
There are different methods of eliminating all those malicious programs or malware from your computer and we will furnish the best and yet a simple way to accomplish this job.
Before rolling on How to remove malware from Windows 10 and take Preventive Measures, first, it’s better to back up all your important documents and data before doing it.
How to Back Up your data?
Despite being infected by malware, the first thing is to back up all your crucial files and documents. But for this, you will be in need of an external drive and that could be an external hard drive, DVD/CDs, a USB drive or even your free cloud storage.
When you have any of the above said external hard drive, you can manually shift all the data from your PC to your hard drive. And I would recommend you move only files that is hugely important for you. It is because your files already may have malware and secondly the less data you transfer the first you can start the process of removing the malware. Now go through the steps carefully and mindfully.
Step 1: Put your PC in Safe Mode with Networking
For Windows 7
- First Unplug any external hard drives that are attached to your PC like DVDs, USB stick or external hard disk and then shut down your PC.
- Now press on the F8 button to Restart your PC and keep pressing it till the moment it takes you to the Safe Mode with Networking.
- Doing this would prevent certain malware infections from starting up on its own and it will help your system boot only the important process.
For Windows 8 and Above
- Go to the Start-Up Settings from the Advanced Startup Options menu
- Once you get access to Advanced Startup Options just press on Troubleshoot > Advanced Options and then Startup Settings
- When Start-Up settings appear just choose one of the given options of Windows 10 or Windows 8 and change the setting as you require.
- You will get a list of choices, among which you have to select the Enable Safe Mode, the number 4 option
Now when Windows starts in Safe Mode you would be able to run additional diagnostics.
Step 2: How to remove malware with an Anti-malware software
You can use any free anti-malware tool or scanner available in the market and clean up unwanted malicious files.
Running a malware scanner would definitely eliminate most of the toxic malware from your PC.
There are 2 types of anti-virus programs and most of the users probably know about real-time antivirus programs which basically run in the backend and checks for malware.
There are several anti-malware softwares available in the market, few of which are free and few are premium. Take your pick, install the software on your PC and eliminate the malware living in your device. And do not forget to keep your anti-virus software up-to-date.
Step 3: Secure your Network & stop using open Wi-Fi
We, in general, connect our computer to the Internet of Things like printer, router, and other devices via Wi-Fi connection but we often forget to put a strong password due to lack of time.
WEP is not that active to prevent experts from hacking. Try using WPA or WPA2 connection and try sharing your net to strangers or lesser-known individuals.
Never use open connected Wi-Fi when you are in public places like coffee shop, library, hall or bus terminus until and unless it’s very important. It simply means that there is no password and zero encryption. If you can access it without hustling, a hacker can do much more.
Step 4: Use Endpoint Detection and Response to keep malware away
With the evolution of the Internet, hackers have also evolved and maybe more than a normal techie. So it’s better to use multi-layers of security to make sure malware can’t even reach your PC. A traffic filtering software will efficiently run a scan and catch the incoming traffic and when it detects incoming malwares it instantly blocks the malware from reaching your device.
Step 5: Keep your OS updated
Whether you are running Windows, Linux or Mac OS it doesn’t matter,what matters the most is to keep your operating system updated. Updated OS has new security patches that fix security issues. Patches and Security updates are rolled out for a reason and that is prevention from malicious files or viruses.
Also, keep your anti-virus software updated. It is because, virus and malware are always being made and Anti-virus companies have a database of known viruses and malware. Just keep your device updated as much as you can.
Winding Up
Our talk on How to remove malware in Windows 10: Preventive Measures ends here. You can use the collective tips discussed above to help remove malware in Windows and prevent your device.
As the risk of getting hacked and infected stuff is escalating, we should not only leave our privacy on anti-virus companies to look for our 6 instead, you take this responsibility and protect yourself from malware and other infected files.