Learn How to Remove Malware from your System

Often times it is found that your system gets attacked by malware and thereby causing a lot of issues with the system. Just like any virus, the malware is also undetectable by some antivirus software, thus resulting in passing to the system. However, malware can affect your system in many ways. A simple click on any website that contains malware can introduce your system with malware and spyware. 

So, if you are a victim of the malware issue in your system, then obviously you are looking for effective solutions to get rid of it. Here in this guide, we have provided all the instructions that will help you out in knowing how to remove malware from Mac and how to remove malware from Windows 10.

Symptoms for the Presence of Malware in the System:

Before hitting the solution to get rid of the malware, it is important to identify whether there is malware in the system. However, at times, a malware application will fool your system to believe that it is harmless. Therefore, it is important to recognize it with the symptoms that we have mentioned hereunder.

• Sudden slow down of the system, resulting in degrading the performance of the system.
• Frequently, the system gets freeze-up.
• Web pages that you have visited, all are now obscured with various ads.
• The system restarts suddenly.
• You find suspicious add ons or extensions in your browser.

All these are some of the common symptoms with which you can understand that your system is having malware in it. Not to worry, as here we have provided all the procedures that you can perform to remove malware from the system. Also, we have provided removal procedures for both Mac as well as Windows.

How to Remove Malware from Mac?

First of all, we will take a look at the solutions to remove malware from your Mac device. If you are a Mac user and want to remove the malicious malware from your Mac system, then you need to go through the instructions provided below. 

Solution 1: Remove the Malware from the Mac Manually 

In case, you are aware of the malicious application having the malware, then you can opt to remove it from the Mac device by following the below steps. 

• In the Launchpad, type the name Activity Monitor and then open it.
• Now, a list of applications will be shown to you. From there, you have to find the problematic application. 
• After that, click on the “x” to quit the process.
• Then right-click on the Application and select the Move to the Trash bin option.
• Now, exit the menu and go to the Trash bin. Then click on the Empty the Trash option to remove the application from the Mac.

This method is very simple but does not ensure the proper removal of the malware from the system. There can still be some pieces or parts of the malware left on the Mac. So, if you find any symptoms, then continue to move to the next solution.

Solution 2: Eliminate the Malware from the Login Items

Once the system encounters malware, this will result in the introduction of many adware as well as spyware in the system. Therefore, you need to remove it before it gets too late. You can opt to remove the malware from the Login items. Check out the below steps to know-how:

• When the Mac starts, click on the Apple Menu.
• From there, go to the System Preferences section.
• In the menu, you have to click on the Users & Groups section.
• Then check if your name is highlighted. After that, open the Login items.
• Once the menu opens, click on the “-” to disable the suspicious application.
• After the process is complete, restart the Mac and then check if you find any symptoms.

Solution 3: Remove the Malware by Using Third-Party Applications

If none of the solutions removes the malware, then you can use a third-party application for the removal process. You can download and install any Antivirus or Malware removal application and then scan the whole system to detect the presence of malware. Once the application finds any malware in the system, now you have to remove it from the system permanently. After the whole process is complete, reboot your Mac and scan your device. 

How to Remove Malware from Windows 10?

If you are a Windows 10 user and intended to remove the malware from the system then, you can go through the instructions provided in the section below.

Solution 1: Remove Suspicious Programs 

In case, you successfully identify the malicious application or program that is affecting your system, then you can remove the application from the Control Panel of your Windows 10 system.

• Click on the Cortona and then search for the Control Panel and open it.
• Now, you have to change the View option to Category, which is located on the top-right corner of the screen.
• Click on the Uninstall a Program which is under the Programs section.
• Then you have to find the malicious program and right-click on the application. After that,  click on the Uninstall button to remove the application from the system.
• Lastly, restart the PC.

Solution 2: Remove the Malware Using the Windows Defender

As you know that the Windows 10 comes preinstalled with the Windows Defender System, which actually works as a great defender system in the Windows system. So, you can use this tool to remove the malware effectively from your Windows 10 system.

• Launch the Windows Defender System, which you can find on the right bottom corner of the screen with a Shield logo.
• Once the Defender opens, click on the Virus & Threat Protection option.
• Then select the Scan option to start the scanning process of the files and folders.
• Wait until the scan is complete, then remove all the malicious files in the quarantine.
• After that, remove the malware from the quarantine permanently from the system.

Solution 3: Eliminate the Malware Using Third-Party Applications 

Lastly, if none of the above solutions removed the malware from the system, then you can download and install third-party antivirus on the system. There is a lot of antivirus software that you can find on the internet. Once you have installed the antivirus in the system, then you can scan all the files and the folder and remove the malware from your Windows system.

Effective Procedures to Get Rid of Malware from the Browser:

As we mentioned above, once your device gets affected with malware, you will get to see various types of ads on websites. Therefore, you can follow the instructions provided below to remove the adware or spyware from the browser. Here we have provided all the steps to remove malware for different browsers specified below.

• Block the Pop-ups

You can block the pop-up manually from the Settings menu of the browser. Go through the following instructions.

For Safari Browser

• Launch the Safari Browser.
• Then you have to open the Safari Preferences which is located on the top menu.
• From there, go to the Security Tab of the browser.
• In the menu, locate and mark the box next to the “Block pop-up windows” option.

For Google Chrome Browser

• Launch the Google Chrome browser.
• Then click on the three dots on the right-top corner of the screen. Then open the Chrome Settings menu.
• From there, go to the Advanced option.
• Then click on the Privacy and Security option.
• Now, navigate to the Popups tab and there you have to tick the box next to the “Block” option.
• Apart from that, make sure that the search engine of the browser is set to Google.

• Reset the Browser

At times, resetting the browser removes the adware or the spyware from the browser. Here we have provided the procedures for some of the most used browsers.

For Safari Browser

• Launch the Safari Browser.
• Now, you have to open the Safari Preferences which you can find on the top menu.
• From there, go to the Security Tab of the browser.
• Under the Advanced option, you can see the Reset Browser option, click on it.
• Wait until the process is complete and then restart the browser.

For Google Chrome Browser

• Launch the Google Chrome browser.
• Then click on the three dots on the right-top corner of the screen. This will open the Chrome Settings menu.
• From there, go to the Advanced option, scroll down and you will find the Reset the Browser option. Click on it and continue.
• Once the process is completed, restart the Chrome browser.

For Firefox Browser:

• Open the Mozilla Firefox browser.
• Then you have to click on the three lines and from there, select the Help option.
• Now, select the Troubleshooting Information.
• After that, click on the Refresh Firefox.
• Lastly, restart the browser.

• Remove Suspicious Add-ons or Extensions from the Browser

You can see a number of extensions that actually slows down the performance of the browser. In addition to that, these extensions are also often responsible for provoking different types of ads.

For Safari Browser

• Launch the Safari browser.
• Open the Safari Preferences which you can find on the top menu.
• Then click on the Add-ons options.
• Locate all the suspicious extensions and add-ons and then click on the Erase button to remove them.

For Google Chrome Browser

• Launch the Google Chrome browser.
• Click on the three dots from the upper-right corner.
• Select the Extension section, then locate all the suspicious extensions.
• Click on the Remove button next to the Extension to delete it from the browser.

For Firefox Browser

• Run the Mozilla Firefox browser.
• Then you have to click on the three lines. From there, you have to click on the Add-ons options.
• Select all the malicious or unknown extensions and then remove it from the browser.

These are the most effective ways that you can implement on your Mac system, Windows 10 system or on your browser to get rid of malware and some additional adware or spyware. Hopefully, now your system will be free of any sort of suspicious malware and you can use your system hassle-free.