How to Recover Data Files Removed by Antivirus Software

"I scanned my USB pen drive with Avast and it detected some viruses. I initially selected the action 'Move to Chest' but it didn't work. Consequently, I opted for 'Delete'. However, now many files are missing. Is it possible to recover them?"

Suppose you contract a virus and subsequently attempt to eliminate it from your computer, USB drive, pen drive, SD card, or other devices using antivirus software. However, in the process, your files end up getting deleted. This is a frequent scenario for users who experience data loss post an antivirus scan. Fear not! It is possible to recover data deleted by the antivirus. There are two methods to accomplish this task.

Translation: Antivirus deleted my files

Method 1: Recover Files Deleted by Antivirus from Quarantine

Quarantine is a feature of antivirus software that automatically separates infected files on a computer's hard drive. Files placed in quarantine are rendered unable to infect the host system. When you move files to the Chest or Quarantine, you can still retrieve them easily. If you wish to restore a deleted file, follow these steps:

• Step 1: Open your Antivirus program
• Step 2: Click on "Menu"
• Step 3: Click on "Quarantine" or "Virus Chest." Locate the desired file and select it.

At the bottom of the antivirus interface, you should find a "Restore" button. Simply click on it, and your file will be restored to its previous state. Alternatively, you can right-click on the file and choose "Restore" from the context menu. For this demonstration, we are using Avast Antivirus as an example:

Method 2: Recover Data Using Data Recovery Software Tools

If Method 1 fails to perform Antivirus deleted files recovery, try the second approach - recover files deleted by using Data Recovery Wizard tools. This software can assist you in retrieving deleted files from a virus-infected hard drive, memory card, USB flash drive, SD card, or pen drive, etc. Furthermore, it can also help with the following tasks:

• Recover deleted, formatted, and inaccessible data in various data loss scenarios.
• Efficiently, safely, and completely restore photos, audio, music, and emails from any storage device.
• Retrieve data from the recycle bin, hard drive, memory card, flash drive, digital camera, and camcorder.

Download this Data Recovery Wizard tool to retrieve lost files as soon as possible.

Step 1. Select the disk drive where you lost files after using an antivirus program and click "Scan".

Step 2. Once the scanning process completes, all lost and deleted files from the selected drive should appear. You can attempt to locate the antivirus-deleted items from the tree-view panel on the left or utilize the "Filter" function to specify particular file formats, such as pictures, videos, emails, documents, and so on.

Step 3. Preview a file by double-clicking it. Then, select the file(s) and click "Recover".