Getting infected with a virus is one of the most dangerous things that can happen to a computer and the user. Viruses can steal your personal information, run malicious programs to harm your computer, and infect other computers all while remaining undetected. Knowing how to get rid of a virus and scan for malware is an essential skill that every computer user should learn. This article will teach you how to delete viruses in Windows 10 and 11 using Microsoft Defender.
How to delete viruses using Microsoft Defender
Microsoft Defender, previously known as Windows defender, is one of the best-rated anti-virus tools that you can use to protect your computer. Microsoft Defender is a free real-time malware removal and protection tool built into all versions of Windows 10 and 11. To access Microsoft Defender and remove a virus from your computer:
- Open your Windows Security settings.
- Select Virus & threat protection > Scan options.
- Select Microsoft Defender Offline scan, and then select Scan now.
Microsoft Defender will take approximately 15 minutes to scan your computer thoroughly, and after that, your PC will restart. Once the scan is finished, any threats to your computer will be placed into quarantine in your computer. Quarantined items are safely moved to a location on a disk where it cannot be executed, thus preventing further harming your computer.
After the scan, the perceived threats will show up in your Protection history as quarantined. To permanently delete the virus, you will need to:
- Open your Windows Security settings.
- Select Virus & threat protection > Protection history.
- Select the virus and click Delete.
Note: Microsoft Defender may recognize user-installed third-party software as viruses, so to prevent the removal of important software Windows Defender will quarantine the virus instead of deleting it.