How to Delete All Viruses

By Helen Jain

i virus alert image by Pontus Edenberg from Fotolia.com

Viruses damage and ruin a computer so that it is no longer useable. Browsing the web, downloading music and pictures or even just writing a research paper sometimes results in viruses. When a computer is full of viruses, cleaning the system and getting rid of the viruses is vital to avoiding problems with the computer later where the entire system crashes. There is anti-virus software that finds and deletes viruses.

Install and update anti-virus software. Any anti-virus software is appropriate. Norton Antivirus or McAfee are good options. Some anti-virus software will require money while others are available free. Update the software so that it has the most up to date information about various viruses.

Run a virus scan. Scan the entire computer, including documents, temporary folders and system hard drives. Depending on the speed of the computer, the amount of memory and various other factors, it can take anywhere from half an hour to a few hours until the scan is complete.

Select "remove all" or "delete all" in the anti-virus window. The anti-virus will wipe out all of the viruses on the computer and delete them.

Run a second scan to ensure the viruses are all deleted. If more viruses show up, reformat the computer and wipe the hard drive clean. A reformat will remove everything on the computer and make it as it was when bought, so only use a reformat when the viruses will not delete.

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