How to Recover Data that Mistakenly Deleted by Antivirus Tools

Last Updated on December 8, 2020 by Jason Ben

Viruses are programs that attach themselves to your computer and the files stored in it. A virus infection can corrupt your data files and make them inaccessible. This is why as a computer owner, you need reliable antivirus software to protect your computer from spyware, malware, and other nasty viruses. Antivirus programs such as McAfee, Norton, Kaspersky, Bitdefender, and Avast are the most commonly used. However, sometimes running an antivirus scan can delete, quarantine and render some essential files out of access. If you encounter this, then don’t worry. Below are steps on how to get back files deleted by a virus.

How to recover files deleted by Kaspersky antivirus

When restoring files deleted by Kaspersky, just click on the Quarantine button in your software. You will be directed to all files that have been isolated. Browse them then select the ones you need to restore. Click Restore to recover the files. You can also proceed to delete others if you no longer want them.

How to restore files deleted by Avast Antivirus

For Avast users, the process of recovering lost or deleted files is quite simple. The files aren’t actually deleted instead they are moved and stored in Virus Chest or Quarantine section. To restore them you can:

1. Open Avast UI page by right-clicking on the Avast icon on your computer.
2. The next step is to open the Maintenance option. Find the Virus Chest tab from the left panel of the program.
3. You’ll see a table on the right panel. Here, you can choose the desired file you want to recover or restore by right-clicking on it.
4. A box will pop up, and this is where you can choose the extract button.
5. Finally, choose the desired place to save the restored file then press OK.

How to recover McAfee deleted files recovery

If your saved files were deleted automatically by McAfee without your permission, then don’t worry as you can restore them. The problem is that the deleted files don’t go to the Recycle Bin. Apart from using a third-party data recovery program, you can also restore your lost files by following these steps:

1. Open the McAfee program
2. Choose the Navigation button. Alternatively, you can click on the cog option which is at the top right side of the product.
3. Choose trusted or quarantined items.
4. Open individual quarantined files. You can also select the quarantined programs.
5. You can select one by one or all files at once.
6. Click on the RESTORE option. You can permanently delete the files you don’t want from this point and recover the important ones.

How to retrieve Bitdefender deleted files

Suspicious files and those that contain viruses are automatically isolated by Bitdefender antivirus. To restore Bitdefender deleted files, follow the following steps.

1. Restart your computer normally then select CONTROL CENTER.
2. Choose SERVICE SELECTOR then proceed to QUARANTINE PAGE.
3. Go to VIRTUAL MACHINES which is available in the service selector page.
4. Choose the files or data you want to restore or recover.
5. Click on the DOWNLOAD option. This is found at the right-hand side of the Quarantine page.

It is possible to set prevent Bitdefender from isolating and deleting your files. You can do so by setting it to exclude certain files and folders. Just:

1. Launch the program then go to the settings page.
2. Choose Antivirus then Exclusions.
3. Select the files and folders you want to be excluded.
4. Click Add then OK.

How to recover Norton Deleted File Recovery

Just like other antivirus programs, Norton has a restore function for all the deleted files and data. All the deleted items in Norton are moved to Security History Quarantine. Below are the steps on how to retrieve deleted data.

1. Select the Advanced option from the Norton program.
2. In the Protection Section, click on the QUARANTINE button. This will direct you to the Security History. From here, you can view all the files and programs that have been quarantined.
3. Right-click on each of the items you want to restore.
4. Go ahead and click on options. It will open the Security detected page. You can now recover or exclude the files. The program will restore the mistakenly deleted files to their previous locations.

How to Recover Data that deleted by Antivirus Tool with Data Recovery Software

The other way to recover deleted files is to use a third-party file recovery program. The most recommended is DataKit Data Recovery. The software helps in retrieving deleted files by antivirus software such as Avast, Norton, and Kaspersky.

To recover the deleted data using this program, follow these steps:

Step 1. Choose the location where the data was initially stored before running the antivirus scan.

Step 2. Scan the deleted files. The scan will provide you with a Tree-view comprising of all the files that can be recovered.

Step 3. Proceed to recover the deleted files. After a preview of the list of deleted files, you can choose to recover them. Click the deleted files button then find your desired files. There’s a filter button that provides you with a quick way to restore your files. You can use the filter option in case you experience any problem finding the deleted files.

While antivirus programs have always ensured that we enjoy total security against malicious viruses, they sometimes pose a nuisance by deleting the critical files we need. However, most of these programs don’t delete instead they move and isolate the files. The process of restoring and recovering them is quite simple. Whether you’re using Norton, Bitdefender, McAfee, Avast or Kaspersky, the above are steps on how to recover mistakenly deleted files.

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