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My personal computer has been infected by a virus. What should I do?

If you suspect that your computer may have been infected with a virus, follow the guidelines below:

  • Do as little as possible on that machine, because every click could spread the infected program
  • Run a complete scan of your system using your anti-virus software
  • Your anti-virus software, after having identified an infected file, may ask you if you’d like to attempt to clean it. Proceed with the clean. If your anti-virus software is unable to clean the file, it may prompt you to delete the file entirely. If the file is a Windows system file, you may need to reinstall Windows. If the file is associated with a program or application, you may need to reinstall the program in order to replace any deleted files.
  • Check for any virus removal utilities that are available on most anti-virus vendor websites. May need to download a supplementary tool from the vendor to successfully clean the file(s).

Anti-virus resources:  https://support.wcsu.edu/?ht_kb=what-are-some-helpful-anti-virus-resources

Malware removal resources:  https://support.wcsu.edu/?ht_kb=what-are-some-anti-spyware-resources

Updated on July 13, 2022

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