A user has reported that their system has been running increasingly slower over the past week and now starting to experience frequent crashes. After your preliminary assessment, you suspect malware might be the cause of the issue. Before proceeding with a full virus scan, which is the FIRST action that should be taken to effectively troubleshoot and address the potential malware infection?
Update the anti-malware software to ensure the latest malware definitions are in place.
Uninstall and reinstall the anti-malware software to reset its configuration.
Immediately run a full virus scan with the currently installed anti-malware version.
Disconnect the system from the network and remove any unnecessary external devices.
Updating anti-malware software is crucial before proceeding with a scan because malware definitions are constantly being updated. Running a scan without the latest updates might not detect the most recent threats. New malware signatures and heuristics are added continuously by security vendors to detect and remove the newest threats. Without these updates, the anti-malware program might miss the latest malware or fail to fully remove it.
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Why is it important to update anti-malware software before scanning?
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What are malware definitions and how do they work?
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What could happen if I run a virus scan without updating the anti-malware software?