Already have virus, will bitdefender help?

A newbie question. If I already have a virus, will installing bitdefender or any anti virus help as it is already in the system? I understood that if you already had a virus, the anti virus installed afterwards would not pick it up, would consider it part of the usual working of the computer? Thanks so much for your time!

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Accepted answers

Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/102838/already-have-virus-will-bitdefender-help

Any antimalware product can detect preinstalled malware on a system, provided the malware is listed in its detection database.

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Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/102838/already-have-virus-will-bitdefender-help

Any antimalware product can detect preinstalled malware on a system, provided the malware is listed in its detection database.

Regards

yasdaz

Thanks, very reassuring! Yasmine

Flexx

https://community.bitdefender.com/en/discussion/comment/348793#Comment_348793

Kindly let us know if you require any further assistance before this post is closed to additional comments.

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Alexandru_BD

I confirm this as well, installing a security solution after a virus is already present in your system can help detect and remove the threat. This works because the antivirus maintains a comprehensive database of virus signatures. Even if a virus/malware was present before you installed protection, the software can scan your entire system, recognize the malicious files, and remove or quarantine them. Also, since it uses heuristics to identify suspicious behaviors or unknown threats, it can help detect malware that may not match a known signature.
Upon installation, Bitdefender performs an initial full system scan to detect and eliminate any existing threats.

I hereby declare this thread closed. 🙂

Regards