Delete, Restore, or Download Quarantined Files (2024)

FAQs

What will happen if I delete quarantined files? ›

Deleting the items permanently removes them from your device.

If you are certain a quarantined file is not a threat, you can restore it. Open Windows Security. Select Virus & threat protection and then click Protection history. In the list of all recent items, filter on Quarantined Items.

Threats quarantined can either be deleted permanently or restored to their original locations. Items restored may be detected again in future scans. The program Settings allows you to choose whether and when quarantined items should be automatically deleted.

While it's not dangerous to keep files in quarantine – many people choose to simply leave them there indefinitely – it's always better to delete a risky file completely if you can. Quarantined files cannot harm your computer but they do still take up valuable space on your hard drive.

After performing a quarantine query, you can delete, restore, or download the file as required. However, to protect your system, virus infected files cannot be downloaded.

No, since some malware can hide in files that System Restore does not modify.

Although users can delete the recovery partition, once it's removed, Windows RE and the factory default settings are inaccessible. Thus, it is unsafe to delete the recovery partition, unless you make a recovery disk with your USB drive lest you need it after you removed the recovery partition.

Files tagged for quarantine are encrypted and moved to a protected folder, preventing further execution and potential harm to the user's system. Each product has a Quarantine Manager where users can permanently delete or restore files from quarantine.

Clean: Removes the infection from the file but does not actually delete the file itself. This is the best option if you need to keep the file. Quarantine: Moves the virus to a safe location that the antivirus software manages. This option does not delete or clean the file.

Quarantine is a technique used by anti-virus and anti-malware software to isolate infected files on a computer. Files identified by this software can include viruses and worms, as well as system files that have been infected.

What happens to quarantined files if I uninstall Malwarebytes? ›

The Antivirus Program and its quarantined files get deleted and removed from the system when you attempted the process of uninstallation. You can able to get those quarantined files back only when you installed the same AV Program in the system.

When malicious files are detected and quarantined, the files and registry settings are copied and encrypted into a quarantine folder on the endpoint. The Quarantine page in Malwarebytes OneView is an index for each item on the endpoint and allows you to restore or delete detected files.

Manual malware removal guide

We recommend manually deleting an infected file only if you are sure the file isn't an important operating system file. Deleting a system file may result in the malfunction of your operating system.

When suspected malicious files are quarantined, they remain isolated to prevent your computer becoming infected. The suspected malicious file is not deleted but instead moved from its original location to a safe place on your computer where it is unable to run as a program.

Once the virus or file has been quarantined, it cannot interact with the system. It is advisable to delete suspected quarantined files as soon as possible. There are anti-virus programs that automatically send a sample of the quarantined file through the Internet to be analyzed.

The main function of the quarantine is to safely store infected files. Files should be quarantined if they cannot be cleaned, if it is not safe or advisable to delete them, or if they are being falsely detected by ESET File Security.

If a virus is found, it may affect multiple files. Select 'Delete' or 'Quarantine' to remove the file(s) and get rid of the virus. Rescan your computer to check there's no further threats. If threats are found, quarantine or delete the files.

Running a factory reset, also referred to as a Windows Reset or reformat and reinstall, will destroy all data stored on the computer's hard drive and all but the most complex viruses with it. Viruses can't damage the computer itself and factory resets clear out where viruses hide.

Files tagged for quarantine are encrypted and moved to a protected folder, preventing further execution and potential harm to the user's system. Each product has a Quarantine Manager where users can permanently delete or restore files from quarantine.