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Definition: quarantine


To take a spyware or virus-infected file out of harm's way by stripping its rights or by moving it to a folder that cannot be easily accessible by regular file management utilities. For example, if an antivirus program cannot remove the virus from an executable file, it generally quarantines it.

The quarantine function may be an option in antivirus software so that companies can keep a record of which users have been infected, where the file came from as well as to send the virus to the antivirus vendor for inspection. Spyware blockers quarantine files so that they can be restored if required. See antivirus program, disinfect and spyware blocker.