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- Windows has its own particular inherent antivirus program called Windows Defender, which kinda seems like a sweet arcade diversion, however it really makes a.
- However, malware can also make its way onto your system if you plug in an infected external drive or USB key. Prevent such situations from occurring by using Windows Defender to scan external.
- Page 1 of 2 - External Hard Drive Infected - posted in Virus, Trojan, Spyware, and Malware Removal Help: Hi, I have an external hard drive which is very frequently passed around among friends.
An Anti-Virus that includes detections for spyware would probably be quicker and more effective, since it can scan for a range of malware all at the same time. Online scanners like the Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner and s few others can do this and perform other duties like cleaning temporary files, etc.
Q. I understand that scanning my system for malware and viruses is good for my main hard drive and operating system, but how do I scan external hard drives? I want to make sure that I am not rising infection from a thumb drive or other external storage.
A. It's true that antivirus and antimalware apps typically scan your primary hard drive as part of their protection. This is because harmful software generally finds its way on to a computer through downloading if from email or a website and installing it, even though that's often done inadvertently.
And while that is the most common vector, virus and other malware can come from external drives.
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There are malicious programs that will attach themselves to a USB drive and will jump from that drive to any system it is attached to.
In many cases, a good antivirus program will detect this and block it. But not always.
If you are uncertain about the safety of an external storage device, you can force a scan of the drive and all of the files it contains.
To do this, open up Windows Explorer and right click the device. If you have a good antivirus application installed, it should give you the option to scan it.
If you do not have that option, most antivirus and antimalware applications have advanced scanning options that will allow you to kick off a manual scan. Check your application documentation for details.
As an example, Malwarebytes offers the option of right clicking a drive, folder or file in File Explorer and scanning it. The app also has custom scanning options in the app itself.
Q. I use Microsoft Office apps like Word and Excel all of the time. Both applications have been freezing and crashing with greater. Is there anything I can do to make the programs run more reliably?
A. Generally speaking, when an application starts to misbehave, one of the most effective options for resolution is to just uninstall the program, reboot and then reinstall. This fix has been a real lifesaver for me on more occasions than I can count.
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How Do I Scan My External Hard Drive For Viruses
But with Office there's another option to try before taking this route and that is to use the built-in repair tool.
To access this, close any open Microsoft Office applications and then open the Control Panel.
Look for Add/Remove Programs and open that up and find Microsoft Office and highlight it.
When you do that, you will see an option at the top of the window that says Repair. Click on that to start the process. This tool can really work wonders on a problematic install of Microsoft Office.
How To Scan External Hard Drive For Virus
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