Free PC Scanner and Cleaner: Remove Virus and Malware

Are you looking for a free PC scanner and cleaner to remove virus and malware from your computer? This article will show you three practical ways in Windows and a reliable way without Windows to keep virus and malware away.

Hedy

By Hedy / Updated on May 12, 2023

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Is there a free virus scan for PC?

Virus infection and malware attacks can severely impact your computer. For example, it may lead to various problems such as SSD not showing up, PC runs slow, EFI partition is RAW, no EFI partition was found, Windows 11 white screen of death, etc. 

One of the available solutions to these problems is to remove virus and malware. That's why so many users are looking for a free PC scanner and cleaner. But is there a free virus scan for PC or any malware removal tool? The answer is absolutely yes! The following content will show you how to remove virus and malware with Windows built-in free scanner and cleaner and how to clean your PC to avoid future occurrences.

How to remove virus and malware with free PC scanner and cleaner?

In this part, you will learn three different ways to clean out viruses for free as well as fix malware problems. Keep reading to get the step-by-step guide.

☛ Way 1. Run virus scan

Windows 10 and 11 comes with Windows Security which provides continuous antivirus protection from the moment when you start your PC. It constantly scans for malware, virus, and security threats. With this free computer virus scan tool, you can effectively find and remove malware from your PC. Here is how to use it in Windows 10 to scan your PC.

Step 1. Press "Windows + I" at the same time to open Settings window and click "Update & Security".

update-security

Step 2. Select "Windows Security" on the left panel and choose "Open Windows Security".

open-windows-security

Step 3. In Windows Security window, go to "Virus & threat protection" > "Scan options".

virus-threat-protect

Step 4. Select "Microsoft Defender Offline scan", and then click "Scan now".

scan-now

The Microsoft Defender Offline scan takes about 15 minutes to run, and then your PC will restart.

☛ Way 2. Reboot computer into safe mode

Safe Mode is a special way to narrow down the source of a problem. When you restart your PC into safe mode, only a limited set of files and drivers will be loaded normally. Thus, this is a good way to keep away from virus and malware. To know how to get into safe mode, please read on:

Step 1. Press "Windows + I" keys on your keyboard to open Settings or click the Start button and then select Settings. Next, select "Update & Security".

update-security

Step 2. On the left column, choose "Recovery". Under Advanced startup tab, select "Restart now".

restart-now

Step 3. After your PC restarts to the Choose an option screen window, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings.

startup-settings

Step 4. In the next screen, click "Restart". Then, a menu will appear with numbered startup options. Select number 4 or press F4 to start your PC in Safe Mode. If you need to use the internet, select 5 or press F5 for Safe Mode with Networking.

reboot-into-safe-mode

☛ Way 3. Delete temporary files

The temporary files can be a carrier of virus or malicious files. If you delete all the temporary files and folders regularly, you are likely to erase the potential of being infected by viruses and malware. Also, removing these files would free up space from your hard drives.

Step 1. Open start menu and go to "Settings" > "System" > "Storage" > "Temporary files".

delete-temporary-files

Step 2. All files will be automatically listed in the new window, click on "Remove files" to delete these Temporary files.

delete-temporary-files-2

How to clean up computer to keep virus and malware away?

From what we have talked above, it's available for you to remove virus and malware with Windows built-in free computer scanner and cleaner. In order to find and clean malware and virus better, we recommend you to clean up your PC thoroughly and completely at a regular time so that you can clear the suspicious files in time.

A professional and free PC scanner and cleaner called AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard should be your first choice. It’s designed for all editions of Windows 11/10/8/7 to scan and clean all kinds of junk files on your computer. With this software, you can easily get rid of system junk files or registry junk files to keep virus and malware away. Download the freeware, follow the simple stepwise and have a try by yourself.

Download FreewareWin 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP
Secure Download

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard, and then click "Free up" > "PC Cleaner".

pc-cleaner

Step 2. In the pop-up window, click "Start Scan" to scan for junk files.

start-scan

Step 3. Wait until the scanning process completes. If you want to stop, just click "Cancel Scan".

scanning

Step 4. After the scan is completed, all kinds of available junk files will be listed. Then, tick the options you want to clean, then click "Clean All" to begin the cleaning process.

after-scanning

Step 5. When you see a correct symbol displayed in the interface, you can click "Back" to exit the Window.

cleanup-finish

Conclusion

In this article, you have known how to remove virus and malware with a Windows free PC scanner and cleaner by scanning and deleting temporary files. To avoid the future appearance of virus and malware, using a third-party PC cleaner to remove junk files regularly is highly recommended.

With AOMEI Partition Assistant, you can not only cleanup your PC, but also use many useful features to manage your disks better. For instance, you can clone disk without rebooting, convert MBR to GPT, wipe hard drive clean, and so on. If you want to enjoy more functions, you can upgrade to Professional edition.

Hedy
Hedy · Staff Editor
Hedy is an editor of AOMEI Technology. She is very good at solving problems of partition management, and she wants to share all the problems she had already solved to users who met the same questions.