What should I do after accidentally installing malware on my Windows PC?

While the affected PC is offline, use a different trusted device—such as your phone or another computer—to change passwords for email, banking, shopping, and other important accounts. Enable or refresh multifactor authentication, sign out of all active sessions where possible, and contact your bank if you notice anything suspicious. Assume that passwords saved or entered on the infected machine may have been exposed.

Treat the computer as compromised and take it offline immediately. The safest approach is a clean Windows installation, not just deleting visible processes or using the built-in reset option. From a separate, trusted computer, create Windows installation media on a USB drive, boot the affected PC from it, delete all partitions on the system drive, and reinstall Windows. This will erase everything, so copy only essential personal files if absolutely necessary—and avoid transferring executable files or programs.

Avoid relying on the local recovery image or simply deleting the scheduled task, since malware can leave behind startup mechanisms or tamper with recovery files. Create the installer using a known-clean computer and use the boot menu or BIOS to start from the USB. After reinstalling, fully update Windows and your security software before restoring files. If you have irreplaceable documents, copy only ordinary data such as photos or PDFs and scan them carefully; don’t restore unknown installers, scripts, or cracked software.