When you install a program on your computer, it is normal to think that along with that program the installation of a virus could also come. After all, you are "putting" something into the PC that you don't know exactly what it is. In fact, many programs sneak in, sometimes asking for your consent, additional software that you did not ask for during installation, even if it is not necessarily a virus. But what happens if you are "removing" something from your computer or uninstalling. You probably think that since you are deleting something that was on the PC, it is not possible that during this process they are doing the opposite, that is, introducing malware. Mistake..
The simplest explanation for this scenario is that the process of uninstalling a program generally requires running the program's "uninstaller . " The uninstaller is also a program, which could perfectly be designed so that during the process of uninstalling the software you are removing, at the same time another program or a virus is installed on your computer . At the end of the day, you don't see what happens during that supposed file deletion process that an uninstaller should do. Many viruses or malware disguised as innocent files or apps work like this. They are programmed to reinstall automatically upon removal .
ed hardie / unsplash In any case, it is difficult to know when a virus has entered your PC. You could have installed a free photo editing program, which during its installation already snuck a virus into your computer without you knowing it. If after using the program for a while, you decide to uninstall it, the uninstaller will remove the original program, but perhaps not the malware it hosted when it was installed . Keep in mind that uninstalling a program does not always eliminate all the software that was installed with it and not necessarily because it is leaving a virus installed, but because that is how the uninstallers of many programs work, in order to leave files or files saved. directories for quick and easy future reinstallation and reuse..
How to remove malware left by an uninstall?
If you suspect your computer has malware, before taking extreme measures such as formatting your hard drive, you can use an antivirus program to scan your computer and remove any malware it finds. The same Windows Defender that comes preinstalled on Windows will do (as long as it's up to date). Additionally, you can use MalwareBytes , which is free for personal use and can be downloaded from its official website . If that's not enough for you, you can use AV-TEST to find the best antivirus right now .
Likewise, it is vital that you be careful when downloading programs from the Internet. Make sure you only download them from trusted websites and check that there are no additional programs included in the download. If you have doubts about the status of the program you downloaded, upload it to the virustotal.com website before running the installer..
Source : Reddit
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