Removing malware with Windows Defender is a relatively straightforward process. The first step is to ensure that Windows Defender is running and up-to-date. To do this, open the Start menu and type ‘Windows Defender’. Select ‘Windows Defender Security Center’ from the results, which will launch the main Windows Defender interface.
From the Windows Defender security center you can view the current status of your system and run a scan. If the status is not ‘Protected’ then click on the ‘Virus & threat protection’ link. This will open a new interface where you can update Windows Defender, schedule a scan and remove detected viruses and other malicious software.
In order to remove any specific malware, select the ‘Virus & threat protection’ option and click the ‘Scan now’ button. If a virus or other malicious software is detected, click the ‘Threats found’ link to view the list of threats. To remove any threat that is found, click the ‘Remove selected’ button next to it.
You can also perform a more thorough scan by using the ‘Advanced scan’ option. This allows you to customize the scan by selecting which areas you want to examine (e.g. memory, startup items, external devices, etc.). When you are happy with the scan settings, click the ‘Scan now’ button to start the scan.
If any malicious software is detected, you will be prompted to remove it. Again, you can select the ‘Remove selected’ option to start the removal process. Windows Defender will then automatically clean the affected files, registry entries and other components of the malicious software. Once the removal process is complete, the threat should no longer be present on your system.
It is important to remember that removing a threat with Windows Defender does not necessarily mean that the threat has been completely eradicated from your system. It is possible that remnants of the malicious software may still be present, which can cause further problems in the future. As such, it is recommended that you periodically run full system scans in order to check for any potential malware that may have gone undetected.
In summary, removing malware with Windows Defender is relatively straightforward. Just ensure that Windows Defender is running and up-to-date, then use the ‘Scan Now’ option in order to detect any malicious software. Once detected, use the ‘Remove Selected’ option to begin the removal process. It is also important to follow-up with periodic scans to check for any potential threats that may still be present.