Best Methods to Recover the PC after Malware Infection [step by step]

Computers are prone to virus or malware attacks. It is important to protect your device from such malware attacks otherwise you may experience a different kind of problem. One of the major consequences of malware attacks on your PC is the corruption and/or deletion of data from it. The data files on your system get infected by a virus and get deleted automatically.

Some malware affects your system performance by causing frequent system crashes, or BSOD errors that also cause data loss. If you ever experience such a situation, it is important to apply the best data recovery methods to recover deleted data. Here, in this article, we have provided some methods to answer how to recover My PC after Malware infection on Windows 11/10 computer.

Is it Possible to Recover Deleted Files after Malware Attack?

Nowadays, with the advancement in technology, Malware or Virus attacks are increasing, especially in Windows devices. Despite taking the necessary precautions, instances may occur when any malicious program in your system can affect the stored files. There are several types of viruses or malware available on the internet that can suddenly harm your computer and delete the files.

The Malware can cause a huge data loss in the computer/PC that they affect. If your device gets affected by the Malware, you may lose your important files. In such cases, you can use professional data recovery software and methods available online to recover lost files. As you read ahead, we have provided the most common My PC recovery methods for Malware attacks.

How Your Computer Gets Attacked by Malware Infection?

In an ideal world, you might not be worried about a virus or malware attack. But it is important to find the root cause of such issues on your device. Given below are some potential causes of a Malware attack:

Installing an Unsafe Program

Pirated copies of software that are available on the internet are full of viruses and malware programs. The provider of such websites does not guarantee to provide you with security.  If something is free, then it might have its own risk. So, while downloading the software from the internet, make sure it is authorized. Otherwise, it may affect your device’s OS.

Opening the Insecure Website in Browser

Not every site available on your browser is safe. There are some unfamiliar websites that are mainly designed to harm your device. Such harmful websites and unknown emails can harm your System’s integrity. Therefore, it is important to open and go through the website before clicking any link on it.

Your External Device Might Have Malware

Whether you are connecting a CD/DVD or any pen drive, make sure it does not have any malicious software. Thus, it is important to be careful while connecting external devices. Usually, the process of Malware Transfer using this method is two-way; so it is important to protect both your computer and your external devices.

Effective Methods to Recover PC Data after Malware Infection

Once you are familiar with the common causes of Malware infection on your device, it’s time to learn about free data recovery software and methods to get the deleted files back. Given below are some quick methods that you can apply to recover Malware infected files:

Method 01: Scan your PC for malware

It is very important to run the anti-malware tool to perform a detailed scan for any virus/malware in your device. The latest Windows OS version comes with a built-in anti-malware program, Windows Defender Antivirus. You can use this software to thoroughly scan your PC and protect all the saved files from unauthorized access. You need to apply the following steps in order to run a malware scan on your device:

• Press Windows + I key at the same time to open the Settings app.
• Now, click on the “Update & Security” button, and then select “Windows Security”.
• After that, navigate to Virus & threat protection and go through the instructions that you get on the screen.
• If any malware is detected in your system, the software will display it on the screen. You need to go through the on-screen instructions to complete the process to recover the PC.

Method 02: Enter Safe Mode

Entering Safe Mode is one of the easiest data recovery methods to recover your PC files. This allows you to run your PC with minimum programs and services needed. If any malware loads automatically on your system, you can enter SAFE MODE to prevent such a situation. All you have to do is:

• Firstly, go to the Start menu. Press the Power button and hold the Shift key on your keyboard and select the “Restart” option.
• Next, go through Troubleshooting > Advanced Options > Startup Settings.

• Select Restart, and after successfully restarting the system, press F4 to Enable Safe Mode.

• Once you are done with the above steps, your system gets restarted with the basic applications and services.

Method 03: Delete Temporary Files

When your system is booted into Safe Mode, you may perform a malware scan. However, before proceeding further, your need to delete all the temporary files on your system. This process will create some free space on your system and boost its speed to run a malware scan. Go through the following steps to delete temporary files on your device:

• Press Windows + E keys simultaneously to open Windows Explorer.  Then, go to “This PC”.
• Then right-click on the drive from where you want to delete temporary files. Navigate to Properties > General > Disk Cleanup.

• Now, tap on the “Clean up system files” button and select all the temporary files that you want to remove and click OK.
• After completing the above steps, start scanning your system for Malware.

Method 04: Check your Web Browser

Malware can change the homepage or connection settings of your web browser and thus can infect your system. You may also get multiple pop-ups and advertisements through Malware programs, which starts causing problems in browsing. To avoid such a situation, you need to check the home page and connection settings of your Web browser before launching it. All you have to do is:

• Launch the Google Chrome browser and go to Menu, then Settings.

• Now, scroll down to Search Engine, and tap the “Manage search engines” button.

• You will get all the searches in the result. If any suspicious entry is found, select and click the ‘Remove from list’ button.

After completing these steps, restart your browser, and check if the problem is fixed.

Method 05: Uninstall Malicious Application from PC

It is also better practice to uninstall the suspicious program or software installed on your system to recover your PC. For this:

• Open System Settings and go to Apps > Apps & Features.

• Choose all the suspicious programs, right-click on them and tap the “Uninstall” button.

That’s it! After completing the above steps, all the selected files will get deleted from your system. Even if these methods fail to recover My PC data after malware infection, you need to reset Windows OS in your system.

How to Reset Windows OS?

As mentioned, resetting the Windows OS in your device can also help you to recover data after a malware attack. You can perform the below-mentioned steps to reset Windows 10:

• Open the Settings app on your Windows device and go to Update & Security > Recovery Reset this PC > Get Started.

• Choose “Remove everything” or “Keep my files” as per your convenience. Usually, you should select “Remove everything” to remove all faulty or corrupt system settings, drivers, software programs, etc.

• Select Just remove your files, and go to Next > Reset > Continue.
• After completing the above steps, reboot your PC, and check if everything is working fine.

How to Avoid Malware Attack on Your PC?

There are certain points that you can keep in mind to avoid the risk of malware attacks on your device. So, the below-given activities can help you to reduce the chance of such infection:

• You can turn ON the ‘Real-Time Scan’ option in Firewall.
• Always install Anti-virus software to prevent your files from cyber threats.
• Try to visit HTTPS sites as they are secure. Also, avoid browsing unknown sites in your browser.
• If you do not need rooting or jailbreaking, avoid playing with the device’s OS.

Wrapping Up

A malware infection can put you in great trouble. It can cause several issues, like system malfunctioning, freezing, or even blue screen errors. Whatever problem you are getting, go through the steps mentioned above to fix the malware attacks on your device. However, if nothing works, you can reset Windows OS on your device. Then use software like Stellar Data Recovery Professional to get all the deleted files back.