How to restore computer after virus

By default, File History in Windows regularly saves backups for all files from the folders selected by the user, and for the files from OneDrive cloud storage which are available locally on this computer, and keeps their older copies for an unlimited period of time. Users can restore various versions of files that can be viewed and recovered with the help of navigation buttons on the timeline. You can open the File History tool in a number of ways: from the search panel, from the Settings or from the Control Panel.

However, the easiest way to access File History of a certain folder or partition is from the Windows File Explorer. Open the File Explorer and go to the necessary folder. In the Home tab, find the Open column and click on the History button fashioned like a clock on the background of a folder. The File History window for this folder will open to show you numerous temporary copies of its files saved at different times and dates.

Select the necessary copy of a file or choose all files and restore them by clicking on the round green button with a white arrow inside it — you can find this button between the other two buttons for switching between file versions.

A particular kind of Internet swindling that has become widespread recently is directly connected to encrypting user files by various malware and then demanding to pay a ransom for removing restrictions imposed on the use of the infected files and the operating system in general. This type of virus threats comes from malicious software classified as Ransomware.

Restrictions imposed on the operating system of a computer may vary by duration, have all kinds of additional requirements and is implemented in a number of ways. Based on the system restrictions that can be visually perceived we may recognize two types of malicious influence:.

There are many types of ransomware and unfortunately, there is no single methodology for recovering user data that would work each and every time.

The general algorithm to eliminate a virus infection for all cases can be formulated as a series of steps:. Some modern viruses may possess a combination of features that enable them to lock the computer and encrypt user data at the same time.

That is why it is necessary to bypass the screen lock before you try restoring the encrypted files , and you can do it by starting the operating system in safe mode before you begin the recovery process. This way, you can prevent the virus from launching protective mechanisms which are intended to remove user data after a certain period of time. Immediately after recovery, you should save the files to an external storage device and clean the operating system with an antivirus. In addition, it would be a good idea to format the disk that contained the virus.

In some cases, you may have to reinstall the operating system as the viruses can damage certain system files or registry keys which prevents the OS from working properly. The best protection against ransomware is to backup important user data regularly and quite often, and to prevent virus invasions of your devices by keeping your antivirus software and virus databases always up to date.

If the operating system is already infected, user data can be decrypted after malware effects with a special tool which tries to identify the virus family; if identification was successful, the tool provides the user with a special file that can decrypt the infected data. On the Internet, you can use a free-of-charge web service where you can upload an infected and encrypted file or the file containing the demand to pay ransom and let the service identify the ransomware family; in some cases, this service can also help you decrypt the files if the virus family was identified.

One of such services currently containing information on over ransomware products and updated regularly is ID Ransomware. When you upload an encrypted file or a file demanding to pay ransom, the service will compare certain patterns in the uploaded data against the ransomware database.

If the ransomware family is identified successfully, the web service will give you a link to a step-by-step instruction on decrypting your files. This is not the only service for such situation, and you can search specialized forums on the Internet for similar options.

Has Petya. A encrypted your files? How to recover computer files encrypted by ransomware. In spite of Windows operating systems having integrated tools for recovering user data, their functionality often turns out insufficient. The main reason is that the built-in mechanisms have several limitations and they are only useful in finding and restoring files under certain conditions for example, backup and restore options should be enabled.

That is why users need an effective tool to help them restore lost data when important files were damaged ot removed by a virus attack. Such applications can be found among third-party data recovery software.

Despite the abundance of different software available globally on the Internet and varying in functionality, it is worth having a closer look at the well-reputed leader in data recovery — Hetman Partition Recovery by Hetman Software. It was developed to recover data from hard drives, external disks, and any storage devices. The program combines a set of advanced algorithms which are capable of analyzing and searching for deleted information to enable its further recovery; also, they can restore data after system failures and various system errors, read information from damaged, inoperable, corrupt or inaccessible disks and provide access to lost or unreadable files.

Hetman Partition Recovery supports all file systems used by Windows operating systems and is able to correct any errors in the logical structure of a hard disk to ensure safe recovery of the lost files. A particular advantage is its ability to restore information damaged or locked by a virus attack. Due to having a perfect selection of innovative algorithms, the program is capable of recovering files after any kind of malicious influence meant to destroy user data or restrict access to it.

After configuring certain things, such as giving the installation path and deciding if you need a desktop shortcut, the step-by-step installation wizard will install the program to your computer quickly and successfully, so you are ready for action in a few minutes. When the installation is complete, start the program.

The program launches the file recovery wizard and it will suggest you to decide on the type of analysis you want to run now. If your files were lost after a virus attack, choose Full analysis to search and recover all available information from the selected disk by setting the point indicator next to the corresponding option Full analysis searching for any available information. When you have chosen the analysis type, click Next to begin the recovery process.

Depending on whether the files are more or less damaged, the size of the disk, its file system and a number of other additional settings, the recovery process may vary in duration from a few minutes to several hours. The line-type progress bar will show you the process of recovery in real time and in percentage, and will additionally show estimated time left until the operation is completed.

By clicking on every file you can see their contents in the preview window. Having selected the necessary files and placed them onto the Recovery List by dragging and dropping, click on the Recovery button fashioned like a life ring which you can find in the main menu ribbon to save the selected data.

The Hetman Partition Recovery wizard will suggest choosing from the four possible ways of saving the selected elements: save them to a hard disk or any other stationary or removable medium, burn them to an optical disk, create an ISO image of the saved files or upload data by FTP protocol.

Having chosen a few necessary options, for example, paths to save files, you can save your data according to the settings you have applied. Nowadays information technologies are developing rapidly, so almost every user is well aware of the virus danger, the importance of eliminating it at once and giving proper attention to system safety. However, there are tricky aspects to keep in mind when it comes to when the computer has to be cleaned from viruses.

When a computer is infected, the virus begins to reproduce itself and damage the user data and the operating system thus affecting its reliability. Hence the best solution is to keep viruses away from your machine and use a good antivirus offering powerful protection against malware infiltration. However, if the computer is already infected, the natural desire to clean the operating system from viruses may have its negative consequences as well.

When removing a virus, the antivirus program may also delete some useful files too just because of the algorithm it is using. As a result, you can get more files in your computer damaged or deleted, and some data can be lost forever.

So it would be better to complete the data recovery process first, and only them move on to cleaning the disk from malware.

The widespread application of computer devices, their ease of use and impressive functionality ensure their leading position in the field of processing and storing data. Enter Recovery in the Control Panel search box, and then tap or click Recovery. If you need additional help refreshing, resetting, or restoring your PC, check out the Repair and Recovery community pages in the Windows forum for solutions that other people have found for problems they've experienced.

Windows 8. Need more help? Join the discussion. A subscription to make the most of your time. Try 1 month free. Was this information helpful? Yes No. Thank you! Any more feedback? The more you tell us the more we can help.

Can you help us improve? Resolved my issue. Clear instructions. Easy to follow. No jargon. Pictures helped. Didn't match my screen. Incorrect instructions. With this method, you do not need any additional lost file recovery software. You can use this method to recover files from the Trojan virus in any external hard disk or memory device as well.

It may take a while to repair. Once done, you can open the drive to see all the files affected by the virus. This is not the most sophisticated of techniques- and may not work in every case. If the files you were looking for did not appear with this method- then do not worry- for the next solution is just what you need.

Recoverit data recovery is the most trusted lost file recovery software in the market, used by over , users worldwide. With Recoverit, you get the choice of recovering the files that you need — and no other useless data.

You can search for specific files and memory areas, save your search results to resume recovery at your convenience, and do a lot more with this lost file recovery software. You can use this tool to recover files from the Trojan virus in just a few simple steps as highlighted below:. To recover files from the Trojan virus, you have to select the disk or logical partition that is affected by the Trojan.

At first, Recoverit will start a quick scan to search files from disk. If you cannot find your lost files after the scan, you can try the "All-Around Recovery" mode to deep scan and search for more files. While it will take more time. The time that the scan takes varies on your hard disk size.

Larger memory means that it will take more time. After it is done, all the lost files that can be recovered will be shown. The preview feature lets you check the files before you recover them. Select the useful files, choose the location to recover them to and then click on recover to get your lost files.

It is easy to Recover Files from Trojan Virus with Recoverit data recovery, but if you take care of a few additional things, then you can get better results and even prevent such situations from occurring again.

These simple yet highly effective tips will help you ensure better data security for your PC. Recoverit is available for Mac users as well- and offers equally stunning results. With this highly versatile lost file recovery software, you do not have to lose your data to Trojan and other virus attacks ever again! Your device OS comes with Backup-based Toolbox. But you can use them by customising the settings.

You can decide which files and folders to include. Every backup option enables you to choose them, as per your needs. You can try to detect the data loss. And select a suitable backup to recover your files. Yet, this approach works only if Backup Settings are active on your computer. So, you have the Backup Setup active on your PC. Wise choice. Now, you can restore your data objects with the default toolbox.

It comes built-in with Windows Operating System. This menu supports scrolling. And when you click it, you will see the available System Apps. After that, you can explore the new window options. Locate and click the Restore My File button or option. Thus, you will find the default tools. You can tweak the Recovery and Backup preferences here. By using the Search, you can browse the directories. Your files and folders are visible.