How to Remove Virus Without Antivirus: Manual Steps

 

Computer viruses continue to be a large problem in the digital age, where data gets hacked and devices run slower than normal. Antivirus is usually the first thing that comes to mind, but you may not always have it available. This article helps you remove virus from your computer without antivirus via several manual steps.. These methods are simple and if you follow them with care, you will be able to clean your device really well. But you need to be very careful — sometimes the wrong move can result in losing data or breaking something in the system. Here’s how to get started.

Enter Safe Mode

The initial response for dealing with potentially infected systems is to isolate it by restricting functionalities which will limit the ability of the virus itself to work.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

Restart your computer.

As soon as it starts booting information, press/delete/esc/F8 (or Shift + F8, for a few structures) until the Advanced Boot Options menu pops up.

Select Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking if you need the internet to continue steps.

It runs only the most basic system files and prevents most malware from launching as it requires other system resources to run.

Detect and Kill Malicious Processes

Safe Mode enables you to find and, if necessary, kill shady processes that are taking up resource. This is where Task Manager is your best friend.

How to Do It:

Open Task Manager (press Ctrl + Shift + Esc)

Processes Tab: Check for any processes that look suspicious (these usually have unusually named processes or processes that use an inordinate amount of resources, etc.).

Highlight the suspicious process and click on End Task.

If you suspect a process, look the name up online. Avoid killing the process from the system in use, this will crash your system.

Disable Startup Programs

Certain viruses reboot with your computer. If you can prevent these from launching, you can minimize their effects on your system.

Steps:

Now open Task Manager again and open the Startup tab.

Click on any program you do not recognize or that does not need to run at startup and right-click on it.

Select Disable.

Restricting the startup items will also help your computer to run faster and more responsive and your computer might already be slow due to malware etc.

Delete Temporary Files

Temporary files are favourite hiding places for malware. This not only gets rid of the clutter, but also enables you to remove any malicious files that may be sitting there.

Steps:

Open Run by pressing Windows + R

Open Run and type temp, then press Enter and the Temp folder will get opened.

Now press Ctrl + A to select all files in this folder and delete them.

Then repeat these steps with %temp% and prefetch to access other temp driver cabinets. It may not delete all the files but the most of it will help.

Go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features > check if there are incompatible programs and remove any suspicious software.

Software may also disguise itself as malicious. Look through your installed programs list and remove any unknown or suspicious applications that you find.

How to Do This:

Click Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features.

Search for programs that you did not install or seem unfamiliar.

Fix 4: Uninstall App (In case of uninstalling an installed app) Right-click, select Uninstall

To avoid eliminating useful software programs, it is always best to verify the legitimacy of programs prior to uninstalling them.

Registry Editor — This one is quite useful in case any unknown files or entries were inserted in your registry.

The Windows Registry is a configuration settings database. This is a common entry within malware, as they will place entries here so they will activate automatically. WARNING: Improper changes made to Windows Registry could make your system unusable!

Editing Steps:

Open Registry Editor: Press Windows + R, in Run, write regedit and press the Enter key.

You will need to go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software.

Examine newest registered program items for any strange or dubious entries.

You can right-click and delete any of the entries you are aware are malware-related.

Select File > Export and backup your registry before doing any changes. Doing so will allow you to restate it, when anything goes wrong.

Scanning for Hidden Malware with Command Prompt

You can use the the Command Prompt to verify your operating system to catch malicious characteristics and remove particular files.

Using Command Prompt:

Go to the Windows search bar and type CMD →Then right-click on Command Prompt → Run as administrator.

Execute sfc /scannow and hit Enter to check for damaged system files.

Alternatively, : attrib -r -a -s -h /s /d *. * on such folders to delete hidden, read-only, or system flags that malware may be leveraging

These 2 steps can show you some hiding malwares,and sometimes delete it.

Reset All Settings of Your Browser by Clearing Your Browser Cache

Certain viruses can also penetrate directly into your browser and modify its setting and steal your data. It is advisable to clear cache and reset settings as a precautionary measure.

How to Clear and Reset:

Open your browser settings then navigate to History > Clear Browsing Data. Check Cookies, Cache and other data.

Open your browser Settings and search for Reset Settings.

This will delete caches and it will stop any extension or virus that is trying to run.

Last few words for removing virus without the help of antivirus

Backup Your Important Files: Be sure to have backup of your important files prior to performing any major changes.

Exploite Inbuilt Security Features: Windows Defender can be a very effective security provided to you if your using Windows.

Routine Maintenance: Run regular checks on startup programs, temporary files, and installed software to ensure that everything is optimized for the largest gains and free of any malware.

Conclusion

It's possible to do so without antivirus software, but this is a manual process and requires extreme caution, focus and effort. Doing the above steps will at times allow you resolve the infections yourself. As always, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure: Be careful with downloads, stranger emails and dangerous links so you know you won't get infected in the future. You may remove them manually but, antivirus stays one of the best tools to provide real-time and automatic system protection.

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