How to Repair Virus Infected Video Files

‘I had several videos in MP4, MOV, and other formats on my PC. Recently, when my system was infected by a virus, these files probably got corrupted. Now my system is virus-free, but videos don’t open. How can I recover virus-infected videos? ‘

Video file corruption caused due to virus attacks can damage videos making them unplayable, and eventually leading to video loss.

However, you can repair and recover infected video files using file repair software.

Signs & symptoms of virus-infected video file

If suddenly your PC gets slow, the drive runs out of space, strange pop-up windows appear from nowhere, or you face other issues, it indicates a virus attack. The virus may affect your video files also in many ways.

It can corrupt the file header, frames, video slider movement, sound section, or data. As a result, your video may develop audio lag, distortions, black screen, freeze, or other problems. You may face video errors, such as ‘error 0xc00d36c4, ‘loading media file could not be played’, etc. The infected files may not open or play properly. Sometimes the videos go missing too.

To check whether there is a virus infection, you can use an antivirus solution or anti-malware software to scan the video files and remove the viruses from your device.

Best methods to repair infected MP4, AVI, WEBM, MOV, FLV, and other video files

As mentioned above, a virus attack can corrupt video file data, making your videos unplayable or distorted. Antivirus usually only removes the virus from the system but does not repair such corrupted files. The best way is to choose video repair software that can fix various file corruption issues in a virus-infected video.

Method 1: Fix virus-infected files with Stellar Repair for Video

Stellar Repair for Video has advanced algorithms that repairs file corruption caused due to virus or malware attack. It quickly repairs multiple broken videos in just three steps – ‘Add file’, ‘Repair,’ and ‘Save.’

The software can repair infected MP4, AVI, FLV, MOV, MKV, AVCHD, WEBM, ASF, WMV, DIVX, MTS, 3GP, and many other video file formats.

Steps to repair videos corrupted due to virus attack:

1. Download and launch Stellar Repair for Video on your PC or Mac.
2. Click Add file to upload the infected videos.
3. Click Repair.

4. Preview the repaired videos and click Save Repaired Files.

Your videos should now play perfectly.

Method 2: VLC Media Player to repair infected videos

In case the virus has corrupted the index of a video file, it can be fixed using the free VLC Media Player.

Primarily, VLC Media Player can repair corrupted AVI files. So you can fix infected MP4, MOV, FLV, or other formats on VLC by converting them to AVI.

Steps to repair damaged videos in VLC Media Player:

1. Rename the infected file to .AVI extension.
2. Open this .AVI file in the VLC Media Player.
3. In the top menu bar, click Tools > Preferences > Input or Codecs.

4. Across Damaged or incomplete AVI Files, select Always Fix.

5. Click Save.

Now play the repaired video file. If the video problem is not fixed, use professional repair software, i.e., Stellar Repair for Video to repair virus-infected files.

Tips to Protect Videos from Virus

1. Install a secure antivirus program on your computer.
2. Regularly run virus scans to detect any threat.
3. Always download video files from a trusted source.
4. Don’t open MP4 attachments in emails from unknown sources. The MP4 file may contain viruses.
5. Regularly back up video files in the cloud or external drive.
6. Keep your Windows PC updated.

Conclusion

A virus not only affects the system but also destroys its data. The infected videos may get broken, truncated, show a black screen, or won’t open.

Nevertheless, you can repair video files corrupted due to virus infection. Use the advanced Stellar Repair for Video tool, which can easily repair infected videos and play them perfectly again.

Try the free demo of the software, which shows the video preview after repair.

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About The Author

Nishat Paiker

Nishat Paiker is an expert technical writer and editor with over 8 years of experience. She has deep knowledge about data recovery and loves to explore new technology and DIY tools. Nishat has keen interest in photography. You will often find her giving photography tips and hacks.