Chapter 15
IN THIS CHAPTER
Discovering two major types of device resets
Figuring out when you should use each type to reset your device
Resetting your device accordingly
Chapter 14 talks about backing up and why backing up is a critical component of any and every cybersecurity plan. The odds are close to 100 percent that, at some point, you will lose access to some file to which you still need access, and restoring from a backup will be a “lifesaver.” In this chapter, I discuss resetting your computer and teach you what you need to know to successfully reset your device so that it’s (almost) as good as new.
Sometimes, the easiest way to restore — and to help ensure that none of the problems that forced you to restore in the first place remain — is to start over by resetting your device to factory settings and reinstalling your apps and copying your data files from a backup.
However, even resets that are called “factory resets” often do not really set the device back to an identical state as that in which it came; some significant changes that have been made in the ensuing time will not be undone. For example, in many cases, if the BIOS of a device was updated since the device was acquired, a “factory reset” will not reset the BIOS back to its original state. And, as is discussed later, if any updates that were downloaded also updated the “factory image” used for restoration to factory settings, the restored computer will have those updates as well.
From a security perspective, this is important to understand, for at least two important reasons:
In addition, there will likely be times when your device crashes — that is, it becomes unresponsive and stops functioning normally. Such occasions can be scary for many nontechnical users, who assume that they may lose their data. Performing the proper type of reset in such occasions, however, is quite simple and will almost always preserve the user’s files (although files currently being worked on may be preserved as they were last saved).
Resets come in two major flavors — soft and hard. It is critical to know the difference between them before you use either type.
A soft reset is the equivalent of physically turning a device off and then turning it back on. A soft reset does not wipe programs, data, or malware, and does not reset most previously set configuration elements.
Most modern computing devices have a soft reset capability, but some older devices do not. In such devices, however, the battery is often removable, so removing the battery and cutting off all power to the device (in other words, make sure to unplug it from the “mains”) achieves the same desired effect.
Most Windows computers can be soft reset by holding down the Power button (for ten seconds or so) to do a shutdown. Holding down the button cuts off power to the computer from both the battery and any connected AC adapters/mains (even if the battery is connected and fully charged) and shuts it down.
Various models of Mac computers can be soft reset through different means:
The way to soft reset an Android device varies between manufacturers. One of the following methods is likely to work:
The way to soft reset an iPhone varies based on the model. In general, one of the following methods will work:
Press and hold the Power button, and, while still doing so, press and hold the Volume Down button. Continue to hold both buttons as the iPhone powers off and back on. Release both buttons when the Apple logo appears on the screen and wait for the device to reboot.
If you are using some versions of the iPhone X, following this option for performing a soft reset could end up calling emergency services (911 in the United States) because holding these particular buttons for longer than five seconds may be preprogrammed to issue an SOS signal from the device.
Hard resets reset a device to its factory image or to something similar. (For more on factory image, see Chapter 14.)
If you want to recover to the original factory image — to effectively reset your device to the way it was when it was new — you need to follow the instructions for your particular device.
Also keep in mind the following:
Your modern Windows device likely offers one or more ways to reset it. The following sections describe three major ways.
In Windows Settings, click on Update and Security.
The Windows Update screen appears.
Click on the Get Started button in the Reset this PC section at the top of the window.
At this point, you may be prompted to install the original installation CD on which you received Windows 10. If you receive that message, do so. If you do not receive it — and most users don’t — just continue.
Windows then offers you two choices. Both remove programs and apps and reset settings to their defaults:
Select either reset option.
If you’re performing a full reset because your system was infected by malware or your data files may otherwise have been corrupted, ideally select Remove everything and restore your data files from a clean backup.
If you select to remove your files along with everything else, Windows presents you with two choices:
If you are resetting the system so that you can use a clean system after recovering from a malware infection, there is no reason to clean the drive. If you are wiping it before giving it to someone else, fully cleaning the drive is a good idea. (In fact, some would argue that you should wipe the entire drive with even better wiping technology than is provided through the reset option discussed in this chapter.)
At this point, you may receive a warning message. If your computer originally had a different operating system and was upgraded to Window 10, resetting the system will remove the recovery files created during the upgrade that allow you to downgrade back to the previously running operating system — meaning that if you reset the system you will have a Windows 10 computer that cannot be easily downgraded to another operating system. In most cases, this warning is not a significant issue — Windows 10 is relatively mature, and few people who upgrade to Windows 10 as of the data of this book’s publishing choose to downgrade.
Of course, if you are resetting the system because it is not working properly after you performed an upgrade to Windows 10, do not proceed with the reset. Downgrade it to the older version of Windows using the relevant tool.
You then will see a final warning message that tells you that the computer is ready to reset — and which communicates what that means. Read what it says. If you do not want any of the things that it says will happen to happen, do not proceed.
When you are ready to proceed, click on the Reset button.
You can probably go out for coffee. A reset takes quite some time, especially if you chose to clean your drive.
If you’re locked out of your computer, meaning that it boots to a login screen, but you cannot log in — for example, if a hacker changed your password — you can still factory reset the machine:
When the login screen appears, click on the Power icon in the bottom right-hand corner.
You are prompted with several choices. Do not click on them yet.
Without clicking any choices, first hold down the Shift key and then click on Restart.
A special menu appears.
This method may vary a bit between various computer manufacturers.
To reset your device:
Turn on your computer and boot into Windows 10.
If you have more than one operating system installed on your computer, select the Windows 10 installation that you want to reset. If all you have is one operating system — as is the case for most people — you won’t have to select it because it will boot automatically.
From the System Recovery Options menu that appears, click on the System Image Recovery link and follow the onscreen prompts to do a factory reset.
If your menus appear differently after pressing F8 in the last step, look through them for a Factory Reset option.
Modern Android devices come equipped with a Factory Reset feature, although the exact location of the activation option for it varies based on the device’s manufacturer and operating system version.
I show you several examples of how to activate a hard reset on several popular devices. Other devices are likely to have similar options.
On popular Samsung Galaxy phones running Android version 11 (the latest version of Android as of this writing), you can access the factory reset option by following these instructions:
The popular Samsung series of tablets have menu structures for hard-resetting that are similar to those used for the Galaxy series, although with a different look and feel.
Huawei phones, which are popular throughout Asia, but discouraged from use by Americans due to questions about Chinese government influence in the manufacturer, can be reset using the following steps (or similar steps, in case of operating system version differences):
Before you hard reset a Mac, you should perform the following steps:
De-authorize any apps that are locked to your Mac.
Sign out of them so that you can relog-in from the newly restored device, which those systems may see as if it were a different device.
Sign out of iCloud.
You can do this in the System Preferences app. You will need to put in your password.
While a hard reset will work without the preceding three steps, performing the steps can prevent various problems when you restore.
After you’re signed out of iTunes, Messages, and iCloud:
Restart your Mac in Recovery Mode by restarting your Mac and holding down the Command and R keys while it reboots.
You may be presented with a screen asking you in what language you want to continue. If you are, select your preferred language — for the sake of this book, I assume that you have selected English.
To hard reset a modern iPhone:
After you hard reset a device, you should