A virus is software that attaches itself to other software (just as a biological virus attaches itself to a cell) and runs when that software runs. For example, if you have a virus that attaches itself to the calculator on your computer, every time you use the calculator the virus activates and runs in the background, usually doing significant damage to your computer quickly. Viruses are designed by real people to cause the destruction they ultimately wreak. Viruses can also find their way into the memory system for your computer and will run whenever your machine is on.
Generally, people are more aware about getting a
virus nowadays, but it’s still a threat that your computer could get
infected. Although antivirus software is improving, it still doesn’t
make you invulnerable from attacks.
If you have a virus, you may be able to recover all or at least some of
your data. The first step in recovering data after infection with a
computer virus is getting rid of the virus. Run your anti-virus software
to locate, isolate, and clean the virus from your computer. If you don’t
have anti-virus software, download some. There are many free options
online that offer reliable protection, such as AVG or Microsoft Security
Essentials. If your anti-virus software successfully removes the
infection, then try restarting your computer and running the program
again just to make sure the virus is really gone. If it is, you can move
on to data recovery. If it isn’t, you may need to contact a professional
IT company (advisable if you’re not sure what you’re doing) or do a
system recovery.
There may be times when it is necessary to wipe your whole computer and
restore it to factory settings. If the virus infection is so severe that
your data is being deleted then you should perform a reset as soon as
possible. You’ll need to back up your essential files before doing this,
since your computer will revert back to the state it came in off the
manufacturing line. It’s important to ensure that the files you’re
backing up are not ones that are hosting any sort of virus. If a virus
is still lingering then you have not solved the problem and could lose
further data.
You may also find that while your computer was infected, or in the virus
removal process, you deleted or damaged some of your files. To be
cautious, it’s a good idea to create an image of your disk at this point
to prevent further file loss or damage. This will mean that whatever you
do to your drive from this point on is not irreversible, since you’ll
have a copy of the original.
If the files don’t seem to exist anymore, it’s time perform data
recovery. First, download recovery software. There are many options
available free or for a price. A good free version is
Recuva, which is
easy to download and use. However, paying for software like R-Studio has
benefits like more comprehensive file searching and an easier to use
interface. If you choose
R-Studio, you can download the demo version
free to find out if the files you are looking for can be recovered. You
only need to purchase the software to recover the files once you know
that the files are available for recovery. Again, check the files you
are restoring for any viruses since you don’t want to bring back the
problem.
Good recovery software is easy to use and will lead you step-by-step
through the process of recovering damaged or deleted files. Make sure
that you’re restoring or backing everything up to a separate disk. Just
remember that a virus attack does not need to be a devastating
experience. With the right tools and some patience, you can fully
recover from most viruses and other malware. If in doubt, contact the
professionals.