What is the difference between quarantine and deleting

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List of Partners vendors. Mary Landesman. Mary Landesman is a former freelance contributor to Lifewire and a security expert. She was named as one of the women to watch in IT security. Updated on November 18, Michael Barton Heine Jr. Lifewire Technology Review Board Member. Article reviewed on Mar 14, Tweet Share Email. A probably infected file can be detected and moved to Quarantine by File Anti-Virus , as well as while running virus scan tasks.

When Kaspersky Internet Security moves a probably infected file to Quarantine, it deletes the object from the current folder and saves it in Quarantine. View quarantined objects. Quarantined objects are displayed in the Quarantine section. You can restore backup copies of files from Quarantine or delete them. Important: We do not recommend that you restore backup copies of files unless absolutely necessary, because this could lead to an infection of your computer.

Delete all backup copies of files. By default, files are stored in Quarantine for 30 days. After 30 days, the files are deleted.

Then it makes changes to the file so that it cannot run as a program, and puts it in a hidden folder that other programs cannot see or access. It's in a hidden, high-security jail. You can simply ignore quarantined files. For most people, this is uncomfortable.

However, if you're not sure how to proceed, it's a safe option while you find out more. Most modern viruses make their own files, which contain nothing but the virus waiting for an opportunity to infect your computer. If all your programs are running fine, and your system isn't crashing, you can happily delete those files.

You may find files in quarantine that surprise you: files that have been on your computer a long time, or files that a program needs in order to run. These may be the victims of a false alarm. If a program won't run because a file is in quarantine, use your discretion before restoring it or adding it to exceptions. Read up about the suspected virus and see if it makes sense. The answer is much more complicated.

But, both security functions are essential. Initially, you can leave the quarantine files as you find out more about it. Most security programs can identify where the infected files came from. You can investigate more about it especially if you are unsure how to proceed. Most security programs keep infected files under quarantine for a certain period of time. Then, it will delete the said infected files.

You can leave the infected files in quarantine for that period of time. Observe the programs that you use if they are working properly. Additionally, most modern viruses make their own files. Security programs can easily identify and neutralize these infections. At this point, you can easily delete the infections during security scans.