How to Remove Malware or Viruses From a Windows 10 PC
Most Windows 10 computers come with Windows Defender installed and operating in the background. This keeps most of the malware or viruses from ever having a chance to infect your PC. It is possible, however, that the PC may not have been updated correctly or may have insufficient protection installed. Whatever the reason, you still have a few options to scan your PC cleaning Windows 10 PC manually.
You Need Antivirus Software to Remove Malware or Viruses
To clean your PC, you need to install and run an antivirus program and perform a scan. For most people, having Windows Defender up and running an offline scan will take care of every threat. However, if you have a very stubborn infection, you may need to start your PC in safe mode. For most people, making sure Windows Defender is set to the default settings with automatic updates will suffice.
How to Scan Your Pc With Windows Defender?
Most of the time, Windows Defender will neutralize threats before they ever become problems. If so, you can view previous threat reports in the Windows security application.
Open Windows Security
- Open Windows Settings. The easiest way is to click on the Start button and then the Gear icon. Alternatively, you can press the Windows key + I on your keyboard.
- Click Update & Security
- From here, you can observe if your PC has any updates available under the Windows Update tab. This is also where you will see definition updates for Windows Defender when available.
- Select Windows Security and then click the button at the top of the page labelled open Windows Security.
- Select Virus & threat protection
If you want to save time or your Start menu isn’t working properly, you can use Windows Key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialogue box and type “ windows defender “ and then press Enter. And then pressing Enter.
From the Protection page & viruses, you can view some statistics on the most recent scans, including the most recent types of scans and if any threats were found. If there is a threat, you can select the Protection history link to see recent activity.
Select a Scan Type
If your malware or virus problem is not resolved, a more in-depth scan can be run.
- Select Scan options to start.
- Select the radio button (little circle) next to Windows Defender offline scan to scan. Keep in mind, this option will take about 15 minutes if not more, and will ask your PC to restart. Make sure to save work before continuing.
- Click Scan now.
The point of the offline scan is that your PC does not need to fully boot into Windows. If there is a problem with system files or files that cannot be quarantined or deleted while the system is running, it can be done in offline mode.
You can also run a full scan, which will check every file on your drive as well. However, this will take a while, depending on the speed of your machine. As before, check the Protection history page to see if any threats were revealed.
Conclusion
Windows Defender will work great for most people. However, if you want to add some features or want to try another program, Protegent Total Security is an excellent choice with a nice interface and a great track record. There is also a free version with fewer additional features but the same updates. There are several good options available if you want more than Windows Defender offers.
