Home > Data Backup Questions > Is It Safe to Backup Data (Images, Documents, Videos, etc.) from A Possibly Infected Computer?

Is It Safe to Backup Data (Images, Documents, Videos, etc.) from A Possibly Infected Computer?

My computer may have been infected by a virus, and I want to save a copy of my data, including images, documents, videos, etc., so as not to cause data loss due to virus damage to the computer system. But I'm not sure if it's safe to back up this data directly from this virus-infected computer. Will the virus be backed up to the storage device? How can I save the data safely?

Best Answered by

Larissa· Answered on Jan 05, 2024

It is safe to back up data like images, videos, and documents (from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) from a possibly infected computer.

A computer virus can cause damage to your data only when it is executed and it has changed the boot sequence and disabled your antivirus software. Computer virus infection is different from biological infection, which can spread through air or contact. So, if your images, videos, and documents aren't infected or executed by the virus, you can back them up safely from the computer.

Be cautious that you can't directly connect the backup storage hard drive to the infected computer because the virus will try to infect the device too. You can try the following two ways to back up these images and videos.

Connect the infected computer to a network and share its data, then you can back up the shared data. But using this way also has the risk of being infected.

There is another solution:

Shut down the infected computer and take the hard drive out.
Connect the hard drive to a safe computer as an external drive, and then use antivirus software to scan the hard drive thoroughly.
Make sure there is no virus executed on them. You can perform the backup process now.

EaseUS Todo Backup is an excellent free backup and restore program that supports backing up files, including videos, photos, etc. You use it without worrying about data loss.

To ensure the safety of the videos, photos, and documents, you'd better perform an antivirus scan on the backup file after the backup is complete.

Download EaseUS Todo Backup to Protect Computer Data!

Find best solutions to computer backup, cloud storage, data security, and disk cloning with full guidance.

Free Download

People Also Ask

How Do I Back Up A PC Infected with A Virus?

All kinds of viruses may attack our computers anytime, causing problems such as computer crashes and program confusion. If you have not created a backup of your computer before, then the data on your computer will be at risk of loss. Can I back up the data on the computer if a virus has infected the computer? It is also a problem that many people face. Keep reading, and we'll show you the perfect solution in the following content.

Larissa

Jan 05, 2024

Do I Need to Backup Google Drive to iCloud?

Do I need to backup Google Drive to iCloud, and how to do that? If you want to achieve dual security protection for your data, you can read this post, and we will give you some great tips.

Rel

Dec 20, 2023

How to Backup Forza Horizon 5 Progress?

How to backup Forza Horizon 5 progress? Are there any good ways to keep the game saves? Fortunately, EaseUS can offer you the safest way to back up your Forza Horizon 5 game progress.

Rel

Dec 20, 2023

What Will Happen if I Reset my PC?

What will happen if I reset my PC? Do you want to know what will happen if you reset your computer? This short post will tell you what happens if you reset your PC.

Jerry

Jan 05, 2024

How Do You Backup your Computer to External Hard Drive?

How do you backup your computer to external hard drive? Do you want to know the answer? This short post will be your excellent helper. You can learn how to back up your computer to an external drive.

Jerry

Dec 20, 2023

How to Reinstall Steam Client Files without Losing Games?

How to reinstall Steam Client files without losing games? When you are wondering about this problem, this short post can help you figure it out. Here are 2 ways we provide for you to follow.

Rel

Dec 20, 2023

Browse All Questions