How To Recover Files Deleted By Virus Attacks

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Virus attacks and malware programs are common culprits for data loss. You can use the Advanced Disk Recovery tool to retrieve data lost due to a virus attack. The data recovery tool restores deleted files, which is what the article is about.

Tip : According to AV-Test, over 350,000 new malware are created daily. This means the chances of you being the lucky one are very slim.

Therefore, if you think you can ditch the virus attack, chances are not that great. Whatever the case, if you lose data and are panicking over how to get it back – Advanced Disk Recovery is here to rescue you.

However, before we get into details and learn how to use the recovery software, let’s know about different viruses.

All Viruses Aren’t the Same

File-Infector Viruses

These viruses target executable files, such as .exe, .com, etc. These infected executables make the operating system unstable and are the reason for the BSOD error. In some cases, the file infecting virus can make accessing saved data impossible.

What to Do: When you suspect your system is infected by a file infecting virus, detach the virus-infected storage drive and connect it to a remote PC as a drive that does not have the operating system installed. After that, you can try recovering data using recovery software.

Macro Viruses

Found embedded in documents & spreadsheets, micro viruses spread when the user accesses the infected document.

What to do: To get rid of micro viruses, disable Visual Basic support in Office applications. However, using recovery software, you can fix the corrupted files.

Web Scripting Viruses

These viruses have the capacity to bypass browser security. They get installed on the system through a downloaded infected file or a malicious website. Moreover, web scripting viruses can upload data to a remote server.

What to do: To stop the infection caused by web scripting viruses, disconnect the PC from the network. Now, to restore the data, use a recovery tool. Also, format the infected drive before using the drive again.

Resident Viruses

This type of virus hides in RAM, allowing them to spread to other parts of the PC and infect data.

What to do: Data lost due to a resident virus is not always recoverable. However, if the resident virus has only blocked logical access to files by changing them, you can recover them.

Encrypt Viruses

This family of viruses consists of ransomware, which aims to encrypt data and block access.

What to do: Some encrypted viruses use weak algorithms, making decrypting and recovering data possible. However, if the encryption is flawless, you cannot decrypt it, meaning data recovery won’t be possible.

Must Read: How to Recover Data from a Wiped Hard Drive on Windows 

How To Recover Deleted Files Lost Due to Virus Infection – Advanced Disk Recovery?

As explained above, all viruses are different. Therefore, using a recovery tool, you can try restoring virus-infected files.

In this part, we will learn how you can do that and recover the deleted files.

Step 1: Install Advanced Disk Recovery, the data recovery software.

Different recovery software is available on the market, but we recommend Advanced Disk Recovery.

Why? Because Advanced Disk Recovery is a simple and powerful tool using which you can recover different file formats. To use it, install Advanced Disk Recovery on a drive separate from the one from which you want to recover data.

Step 2: Scan the infected drive

advanced disk recovery

Now that Advanced Disk Recovery is installed on your Windows PC select the infected drive and the scanning mode. After that, run the scan to search for the data lost due to a virus attack. Advanced Disk Recovery will run the recovery algorithms to detect recoverable data.

Step 3: Recover files

advanced disk recovery scan result

Depending on drive size, Advanced Disk Recovery might take a while to finish scanning, so be patient and wait for the scan to complete. Once done, select the files you want to restore and click the Recovery button.

Step 4: Save selected files

advanced disk recovery scan file save

Next, Advanced Disk Recovery will ask you to select the location to restore files. You must choose an alternate location to save the files. This is done to avoid overwriting the data you can recover.

Tip : After recovering data from the infected drive to avoid spreading the virus, format the drive; even if you have scanned the device for infection, you should format it.

Related: How to Recover Files from a Corrupt USB Flash Drive

How to Prevent Files From Being Infected by Viruses?

  • Be watchful of your online activities and the sites you visit.
  • Create a backup of essential data.
  • Keep Windows up to date and run antivirus software.
  • Create strong passwords.
  • Use firewalls

Conclusion

There are multiple types of viruses; some are more dangerous than others. In this post, we tried to explain them and how you can recover data. The best way to recover data is to use a data recovery tool like Advanced Disk Recovery. We hope you performed file recovery after a virus attack. Please share your thoughts in the comments section.

Related :

How to Recover Deleted Folders in Windows 10 Easily
Recovering Data After Accidentally Initializing A Drive

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About The Author

Preeti Seth
Preeti Seth

A UX writer who loves explaining technical details in a clear, crisp, and concise manner. She loves writing about technical troubleshooting, How-To's, product reviews, etc. In her free time, she loves reading, meditating, and traveling.

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