Identifying and Resolving Virus Infections

A.

The FIRST troubleshooting step when dealing with a virus infection on a Windows computer would be to identify malware symptoms. This involves verifying that the reported issue is indeed a virus infection and not something else.

To identify malware symptoms, the technician can perform a visual inspection of the system to look for any signs of malware activity, such as unusual pop-up windows, slow system performance, and unexpected error messages. They can also run a malware scan using an up-to-date antivirus program to confirm the presence of a virus.

Once the presence of a virus has been confirmed, the technician can then proceed with the appropriate steps to remove the malware from the system. These steps may include running a full system scan, isolating and deleting infected files, and ensuring that the system has the latest security updates and patches installed.

Disabling System Restore may be necessary in some cases, but this should be done only after the virus has been removed, as disabling System Restore can result in the loss of important system restore points.

Running Windows Update is also important for ensuring that the system has the latest security patches and updates, but this should also be done after the virus has been removed, as the virus may have exploited vulnerabilities that need to be patched.

Educating the end user is also important, but this should be done after the virus has been removed and the system has been secured. The technician can provide guidance on safe browsing habits, avoiding suspicious emails and attachments, and keeping antivirus software up-to-date to prevent future infections.