Does Factory Reset Help To Remove Viruses?

Factory resets are great if you’ve had your device fall victim to a virus or malware infection. However, there are still some viruses out there that can survive a factory reboot.

Factory resets are great if you’ve had a virus or any type of malware problem. It is like a nuclear option for users to do it with their gadgets. However, there are some exceptions where it won’t work. A factory reset doesn’t necessarily mean that your device is free of viruses or malware. It is notable to mention here that some viruses and malware can survive a factory reset.

For instance, xHelper emerged in 2019. It had targeted only Android phones and was clearly the winner of surviving a factory reset. Fortunately, Malwarebytes was able to find a way around it.

So, if you suspect that your device might still have a virus after a factory reset, try downloading antivirus software. If you do decide to perform a factory reset, make sure to back up your data beforehand. Otherwise, you’ll lose all of your personal information.

What Is Factory Reset?

Factory reset is the process of removing all of the data stored on your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer by bringing the device back to its original software that is installed by its manufacturers. All of your apps, documents, pictures, music, etc. will be erased. You’ll lose any personal information that you’ve saved on those devices.

Your smartphone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer may come with a factory reset option built right in. However, if yours doesn’t, there are several methods you can try to remove all of the data on your device.

You can simply delete all of the data on the device using the operating system’s file manager app. Then, restart the device and reinstall the operating system.

Another method involves connecting the device to a PC or Mac via USB cable and running a program called CCleaner. CCleaner removes temporary internet files, cookies, browsing history, cache, and other items that can cause problems after a factory reset.

Finally, you can perform a hard drive wipe. A hard drive wipe deletes all of the data on a storage device, including the operating system itself. After performing a hard drive wipe, you’ll need to install the operating system and restore any applications that were installed previously.

Why Would You Perform A Factory Reset?

Giving Or Selling Your Device To Another Person:

You’ll want to perform a factory reset if you’re giving your device to another person. That way, they won’t have access to any of your personal data. However, if you’re selling your device, you should leave your personal data intact. That way, the buyer can easily restore your account settings and apps.

To Improve Its performance:

A factory reset is a great way to improve the performance of your computer. You should do a data factory reset If your device has become slow or frozen on you or just isn’t performing well.

However, we’d only recommend this as a final choice of doing a factory reset that may fix the issue from your hardware, such as your hard drive or operating software.

Before you perform a factory reset, make sure you back up any data you value. Also, keep in mind that a factory reset wipes all user files, apps, and personal data of your device. So, if you plan to reinstall Windows 10, you’ll need to download the latest version of Windows 10.

Virus:

A virus is any program that replicates itself without permission. Viruses can cause problems on computers, phones, tablets, and other electronic devices. Some viruses are harmless, but others can damage files, delete data, slow down your computer and even steal personal information.

To prevent viruses from infecting your device, you should install antivirus software on your computer. Antivirus programs scan your hard drive for suspicious code and alert you if anything pops up. They also provide protection against malware, spyware, rootkits, and worms.

A factory reset is a process that completely erases all of your personal information from your device. It’s similar to formatting your hard drive, except instead of deleting all of your files, it just clears out all of your personal information.

What Makes Some Viruses Resistant To Factory Resets?

In most cases, a factory reset will remove viruses. But how exactly do some manage to survive it?

Your backup is infected

You should never move any of your backup files to your computer without scanning them for malware first. Malware can infect your backups, making them unusable. You may not realize it at first, but if you restore your backup file to your device, it will automatically install malware onto your device.

That’s why you should only ever move your backup files to your device after scanning them for malware. Scanning your backup files for malware is simple and free. Just download the ESET Smart Security app and run a quick scan. Once you find no infections, you can safely move your backup files to the device where you store them.

The malware is on your recovery partition

A factory reset removes all traces of malware from your device. However, it doesn’t remove the malware that was already installed on your recovery partition. So, if you ever find yourself locked out of your device, try performing a factory reset instead of paying the ransom.

You might have rootkit malware

Malicious software programs known as rootkits are used to hide files and prevent antivirus programs from detecting them. Rootkits are usually installed without user consent, and they can cause serious problems if not removed quickly.

To avoid being infected by a virus that resists factory resets, you should perform regular scans using an anti-malware program. You can also download a free version of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware to scan your PC for any remaining threats.

Other devices, like your printer, are infected

Malware can infect your secondary devices, like your printer. Once infected, your printer can reinfect your computer when connected again. You may not realize that your printer is infected until you try to print something, only to find that nothing comes out of it.

To prevent this problem, you should perform a factory reset on your printer whenever you think it might be infected. A factory reset removes any malicious software that was installed on your printer. After performing a factory reset, you’ll no longer be able to reinfect your computer with malware using your printer.

How To Perform A Factory Reset?

Factory resets will erase everything on your device, including any personal information, so be sure that you’re comfortable before performing one!

Steps To Factory Reset An iPhone And Mac

Apple iPhones and iPads come preinstalled with iOS software. You cannot access any data stored on the phone without using iTunes. Therefore, if you suspect your iPhone or iPad has been infected by a virus or malware, you’ll need to restore it to its original state using iTunes.

You can download iTunes from the App Store. Once installed, open iTunes and connect your iPhone or iPad to your computer. Click on the Apps tab at the bottom of the window and select Restore Backup. Select the backup file you created earlier and click OK.

Your iPhone or iPad will now be restored to its original settings. All apps and data will be removed and replaced with those found on your backup file.

To prevent further issues, we recommend backing up your iPhone or iPad regularly. If you ever lose your data, you can easily re-install it using iTunes.

Steps To Factory Reset Windows

Factory resets are great for getting rid of viruses and malware. However, there are several reasons why you might need to perform a factory reset. Some of those reasons include:

• You accidentally installed software that was not intended for your operating system.
• You accidentally downloaded malicious software onto your computer.
• You received a notification that your computer was infected with malware.
• You want to completely remove all traces of previous versions of Windows.

To perform a factory reset, you must first follow the steps outlined above. Then, you’ll need to select the appropriate option depending on whether you want to keep your infected files and settings or delete all of your data.

Once you’ve performed a factory reset, you should run a scan to verify that your computer is free of any infections. If you find anything suspicious, you may need to reinstall your operating system.

Steps To Factory Reset Android

Some problems occur after updating software or performing certain actions on your device. These issues include slow performance, freezing, crashing, etc. A factory reset will clear out any previous updates and fix the problem on your infected device.

To perform a factory reset on an android device, follow these simple steps:

• Turn off your device.
• Press and hold the power button to use as a reset button until the screen turns off completely.
• While holding down the power button, press and release the volume down key.
• After releasing the volume down key, wait for the device to enter recovery mode.
• Once the device enters recovery mode, select “wipe cache partition”.
• Select “factory data reset”, which will erase all user data including contacts, messages, call logs, browser history, bookmarks, and installed applications.
• Follow the onscreen prompts to confirm the action.
• Wait until the process finishes.

Once the factory reset is completed, and complete software restore again you should now be able to access your data again.

On a Samsung Galaxy:

1. Go to Settings
2. Tap General management
3. Tap Reset
4. Tap Factory data reset
5. Then tap Reset device

On a Huawei:

1. Go to Settings
2. Tap System
3. Tap Reset
4. Tap Factory data reset
5. Then tap Reset Phone

On a Google Pixel:

1. Go to Settings
2. Tap System
3. Tap Advanced
4. Tap Reset options
5. Tap Erase all data (factory reset)
6. Then tap Reset phone

How Can I Avoid Viruses In The Future?

As the saying goes; prevention is better than cure. Keeping your smartphone or tablet updated with the latest operating system and application updates is essential to prevent types of malware infections. You should also avoid installing apps from unknown sources, especially those that prompt you to download updates from external sources.

You can also install Malwarebytes to complement your OS’s built-in anti-malware program. It’s available on most major platforms.

Finally, don’t click on suspicious links or open unsolicited attachments in chats or emails.

Keep your phone safe from viruses by updating its operating system and apps regularly!

I