What is Malware and How to Get Rid of Malware
Some of us must be familiar with the term malware. However, what exactly is malware? We will discuss what malware is and how to deal with it in the following article.
Definition of Malware
Malware (malicious software) is a program designed with the aim of causing damage by infiltrating laptop systems. Malware can be defined as malicious programs designed to damage a system.
Apart from being destructive, the presence of malware also results in illegal hacking of data. Malware consists of viruses, worms, trojan horses, rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware, and other software that is harmful and unwanted by PC users.
Malware can cause damage to laptop systems and allow data or information theft to occur. Generally, the cause of malware is downloading software from illegal places that are inserted with malware.
How to Overcome Malware
Here's how to deal with malware that you can do yourself on your laptop:
Delete temporary files
This method is very easy to do. Usually when we use a software it will form a lot of temporary files on our laptop. Temporary files, including cache and cookies on browsers, are often a breeding ground for malware. The more temporary files, the slower the laptop's performance and the potential for malware to enter.
To delete temporary files, you can use additional software, namely CCleaner which you can download on the internet.
How to delete temporary files in windows, how to open RUN then type %temp% then delete all the contents of the temporary file. Next you delete the contents of the recycle bin by right-clicking on the recycle bin icon on the desktop and selecting empty recycle bin.
Meanwhile, to delete temporary files in the Chrome browser, you can do it by opening the history and then clicking the menu and then selecting the option to delete browsing data. Check all options to clear all data.
Delete/Reset System Restore
Windows also has a System Restore feature which is actually very useful if something goes wrong with the system. We can restore the system back to how it was when the restore points were saved with this system restore feature. Unfortunately system restore is also often used as a nesting place for malware.
To reset the system restore is quite easy. You just need to turn off system restore then turn off the laptop. After that, restart the system restore, then the system files that were previously stored have been deleted and replaced with the latest ones.
Thorough Scan with Antivirus
Scan regularly to detect any malware on your laptop. If you have an antivirus, then do a thorough scan of all hard drive partitions on your laptop.
Also install anti-malware software and do a scan if your antivirus does not have anti-malware features. Immediately quarantine or remove any detected malware.
Antivirus Update
Having an antivirus alone is not enough. You also have to regularly update the antivirus to the latest version so that its performance is more up-to-date. This antivirus update function so that your laptop recognizes if there is a new virus that enters.
Scan Via Save Mode
If scanning normally, the results are less than optimal. Do a scan via save mode. When save mode, windows will run in minimal conditions. Only important and certain drivers are active and additional software is also not active. Malware that cannot be removed normally may become inactive in save mode so that it can be removed.
Scan using Live CD
There are some malware that remains active even though windows is in save mode. To get rid of it, you can do a scan via a Live CD so that you scan even before entering Windows or at boot time. This should be able to deal with all malware that attacks unless the malware is not detected as malware.
Windows Defender
Windows defender is the default Windows security program. If you don't have an antivirus and can't install an antivirus on your laptop that has been infected with malware then you can use this program to remove viruses or other malware.
You can scan normally when the laptop is used or you can do it offline. Using windows defender offline is recommended because in this way, the scanning process will be carried out before entering Windows (when booting).
Remove Unknown or Strange Programs
Check the contents of the program files installed on your laptop. If you find a strange program that you do not recognize, immediately delete or uninstall it. Therefore, you must know what programs you are installing so that uninstall errors do not occur.
Reinstall Laptop
Last but not least, it's the most powerful way to remove malware from your laptop. With a note, other partitions besides the file system, you must immediately scan it first so as not to re-infect your laptop system. However, it is not recommended to reinstall the OS too often because it will have a bad impact.