How to Make Sure a File Is Safe Before Downloading It

How to Make Sure a File Is Safe Before Downloading It

If you’re apprehensive a box file force be malicious, you don’t need to download it and rely on your antivirus. You can scan the box file for malware with over 60 antivirus engines in the past you download it—all with one record tool.
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This is no alternate for basic online in safe handsty measures practices that can keep you in safe hands from phishing and additional threats, but it’s a way to do a more in-depth test if you’re apprehensive concerning a box file.
Scan a Link For Malware with VirusTotal
To do this, you’ll need to locate a box file’s download relationship. That’s the nonstop relationship to download the box file, not just the speak to of the box file’s download side. For model, if you want to scan a .exe box file, you’ll need the nonstop relationship to the .exe box file. If you want to scan a .doc box file, you’ll need the nonstop relationship to the .doc box file. You can spot this by mousing over the relationship and looking at the speak to in your browser.

Right-click the relationship and decide on “Copy relationship speak to” in Chrome, “Copy Link Location” in Firefox, or “Copy relationship” in Edge.

Next, head to VirusTotal.com in your web browser. This tool has been owned by Google because 2012.
Click the “URL” tab on the side and then paste the relationship you commonplace into the box. Click the hunt button or force down Enter to scan the box file.

VirusTotal will download the box file you individual to its servers and scan it with a bulky numeral of discrete antivirus engines. If additional nation have topically scanned the box file, VirusTotal will show you the topical scan outcome.
If you see “No engines senseed this URL”, that wealth that none of VirusTotal’s antivirus engines said in attendance was a glitch with the box file.
The “0/65” wealth the box file was senseed as malicious by 0 of VirusTotal’s 65 antivirus engines. This wealth it must be scour. Of way, it’s possible that new and exotic malware may not be senseed by any antivirus programs yet, so it’s forever a good idea to be particular and only get software from sources you custody. (In fact, not two days following publishing this editorial, our model box file—CCleaner 5.33—was bring into being to contain malware. A just the thing model of how VirusTotal, although useful, isn’t just the thing!)

If one of the antivirus engines senses a glitch with a box file, you’ll see a note motto that a numeral of antivirus engines senseed the URL as a glitch.

In some gear, the opinion may be near undivided. In additional gear, only a few antivirus tools may have a glitch with the box file. This is time and again a false affirmative, though in positive circumstances it may possibly be that some antivirus tools have dappled new malware in the past additionals. You can scroll down to see which antivirus tools had a glitch with the box file, view more niceties concerning the box file, and see neighborhood comments concerning whether the URL is in safe hands or not. (In some gear, for model, it may just be flagged for counting bundled crapware, which is with no trouble bypassable.)

If you end up scanning a box file download side as an alternative of the downloaded box file itself, you’ll see a “Downloaded box file” relationship on the VirusTotal side. Click the icon to the proper of “Downloaded box file” to see more psychoanalysis concerning the box file that web side downloads.

Integrate VirusTotal Into Your Browser
To make this deal with easier, the VirusTotal assignment offers browser extensions. These will integrate VirusTotal into your browser, allowing you to proper-click a relationship on any web side and decide on a “Scan with VirusTotal” opportunity. You won’t have to holiday at the VirusTotal website and copy-paste a relationship.
Extensions are presented for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Internet traveler. Download the suitable extension and you can proper-click a relationship and decide on the VirusTotal opportunity to suddenly scan it and see the outcome.

If VirusTotal is undivided that a box file is perilous, you must stay gone. If the outcome are mixed, you must be particular, but you may want to study the more exhaustive antivirus outcome to see why they say the box file is perilous.
If a box file is scour, that wealth it’s not senseed by any antiviruses as malware. That doesn’t mean it’s in safe hands, of way—antivirus software isn’t just the thing and may not sense new malware, so make certain you’re getting your programs from a custodyed source.