Does a malware run in Windows Safe Mode also

[Oh Besnik]

I want to know that can a virus act in safe mode. I had seen number of sites providing virus removal methods. They prefer to boot in safe mode first. I had a virus in my system due to which my cpu usage goes to 100%. I have a Core i3 cpu and there are 4 cores shown in Task Manager. All of them go about 100%. When I boot in safe mode the same thing happens for a while.

[Leoniee]

I am not sure about that. In Safe Mode only minimum services are running. Safe mode even does not allow your video driver to load. So there are less chances that a virus can act in that state.

Scan your system in safe mode a number of times and then check back.

[Emily123]

There is not really a chance of virus working in safe mode unless you are using a pirated Windows. Safe mode is the diagnostic environment of windows to troubleshoot number of things. There are basic files and drivers only which work in it. You can find a associated program which can bring virus to your system. Run each application one by one and check your usage. If you find any application forcing your cpu to perform higher then remove it. I normally clean my computer through safe mode by uninstalling a number of software. It is the best way to do it and there are not errors also. That is why it is best recommended to scan your computer in this mode.

With minimum service running the virus file cannot multiply or communicate with internet to download more files. In Task Manager under Processes you can find the services which consumes a high amount of cpu. You just need to short your process list by usage and done. End task the application and delete all instances of the same. But if still you are facing that error then the last option that remains is formatting your computer completely and removing everything. Do not forget to take a clear backup of your all your files on a external storage. Next time when you are restoring your backup scan it properly.

[Laboni]

Safe mode is common in different operating system. In this mode there are number of functions which are reduced. The task does not work properly and there are tons of component which are disabled. So there are quiet less chances that malware would operate. I am sure if you boot in safe mode the virus will not work at all. There are minimum things needed here. You can run a antivirus or third part scanner through usb to find out the virus. It will be surely detected.

[Bhadrakapil]

There are chances of running malware in safe mode. There is a reason for that. When you boot in safe mode your Windows load with minimum functions. Now virus files are not easy to find. The best example I can give you is of a folder virus. A similar folder is created inside the same folder with .exe extension. When you check the same in detail view you can notice that folder is termed as application. If you double click that the virus runs and it work in safe mode also. It only needs a trigger. It is possible that the virus files can associate themselves with some Windows service which normally loads on boot. That make the virus to work automatically and generate more files.

A powerful antivirus scanner can help you here in many ways. It is possible to create CD scanners that scan your system without booting it. They are one of the best methods. There are number bootable antivirus available that operates through CD/DVD. It works quiet fine. I keep one of them with me always. There are pack of rescue cds that you can download from web and use it. One of them is Kaspersky Rescue Disk 10.

[Fernandoa]

I am using AVG 9.0 Rescue CD. I found it quiet helpful to locate and find a number of issues with my system. The download size is just 84mb. I had made a bootable usb drive out of it.

[ROCKING_Suhas]

One thing that I found complicated about using rescue disk is fresh antivirus updates. I found it a bit complicated to perform. I had made a disk of 259mb by download one from Kaspersky. It is quiet nice and powerful. It offers a complete antivirus package on a bootable usb drive. I was facing the same virus issue. I was not able to delete folders, nor task manager was working. I tried to do that in safe mode but nothing happens.

It looks Windows is quiet too vulnerable for virus. I had tried running Windows update and did a number of troubleshooting stuff through safe mode. But nothing worked out. Safe mode is good for finding infections but if the virus has infected to high levels you can do nothing in that. I found using a bootable antivirus as one of the best thing. If it is updated in proper way then your job becomes much easier. You must not all ignore the virus warning in your system. If there is major issue simply format your computer completely. It is not use of fighting with the virus as it will keep on spreading and will infect a number of folders in less time.

[Faint]

Safe mode blocks a number of loading points. Minimum process works. That is the reason the virus has less chances of operating. I am not able to figure out how you are getting a virus issue in safe mode also.

[Nilakshi]

To deal with the virus thing there are some more thing you can try. Other than safe mode, msconfig also provides you a manual way of loading your services. This thing offers you the service that you want to load. You can tick on Selective Startup and choose what you want and what you do not. Safe mode is mostly termed as Diagnostic Startup.

This loads basic drivers and services. So if a virus is associated with a service it can load in this mode also. While selective startup allows you to load Process system.ini file, process win.ini file, system services, startup items, etc. You can uncheck the one which is not needed. Other than there are specific tabs for everyone which which provides you detailed information on all the services associated with each category.

[Feng]

I had did the same. I made my system to load on minimum service and then scanned my system with different antivirus. It worked. Ample of infections are removed. My antivirus has a integrated register cleaner also that had helped a lot.