After downloading a file from the Internet or from email, the first thing to do is check the file’s cleanliness before using to avoid the computer being infected with dangerous malicious viruses. So How to check the safety level of files and know whether the file just downloaded from the Internet is safe or not?
By default, security software installed on the computer always has the function Real-time automatic protection helps prevent and delete files containing malicious code before users can open the file.
However, the software does not always react promptly. In this case, protecting yourself is the simplest and most effective measure.
Scan files with existing security software on your computer
With Windows 10 version, Microsoft has built-in Microsoft Defender security software to protect users’ computers without having to install other security software. But in general, all security software (. antivirus internet security total security…) after installed on the computer, has the function of scanning and checking files integrated into the right-click menu on Windows so users can scan to check the “cleanliness” of folder files easily. quickly.
For example, after downloading a file from the Internet or receiving a file sent from email… before opening the file to view the content, right-click on the file and select the “Scan” function. of security software installed on the computer.
In case you need to check multiple files at the same time, press the Ctrl key on the keyboard, then click to select multiple files at the same time, then right-click and select the “Scan” function similar to above.
Or more simply, put all the files you need to check together in one folder folder and then perform a quick scan of the folder from the right-click menu on Windows. If viruses are found on these files, security software will automatically delete them to protect the system, helping users avoid the risk of infection with malicious code.
Specialized tools application to help check the “cleanliness” of the file
If you only use a security software already on your computer to check the “cleanliness” of the file, it is not enough to do the job. You can rest assured because it is possible that new types of malicious code have appeared that the security software on your computer has not yet detected. In this case, you can use 41 different security software simultaneously to check the safety of the file thanks to a tool called VirusTotal.
VirusTotal is an online security service. Online and free allows users to simultaneously use 69 of the world’s leading security software today such as BitDefender AVG Kaspersky Avira… to scan and check files. It can be said that with VirusTotal, it is almost impossible to miss files containing malicious code.
To use this tool, visit http://www.virustotal.com/ press the “Choose file” button to select the file to check. Click the “Confirm Upload” button to confirm and start the process of uploading files to check with VirusTotal.
Note: VirusTotal supports checking files with a maximum capacity of 650MB. The larger the file size, the longer the scanning and checking process will take.
After the file upload and checking process is finished, VirusTotal will display information about the “cleanness” level of the file. If the result displayed is “No security vendors flagged this file as malicious”, it means that no security software detected suspicious signs of the file you checked, which means this file is “clean” and you can can be used with peace of mind.
Remaining In case VirusTotal displays the message “xx security vendors flagged this file as malicious” it means that one of the security software has detected suspicious signs of the file when checking, the user needs to consider before deciding. intend to use this file.
In this case, it is better to immediately delete the file that has just been checked from your computer to avoid the risk of virus and malware infection on your computer.
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In case If you want to use VirusTotal to quickly check files on your computer instead of having to go through many steps as above, you can use free software called VirusTotal Uploader.
Download version for Windows free here and free Mac version here. Usage of the two versions of Windows and Mac is quite similar.
After installing and running the software from the main interface, select “Select file(s) and upload” then find and select the file to check “cleanliness”. You can select multiple files at the same time to check these files in bulk with VirusTotal.
The software will automatically upload the file you have selected to VirusTotal and display the scan results of security software instead of having to go through many steps to access the website like Normal. In addition to the ability to check the “cleanliness” of software files, it also helps users check processes running on Windows to see if any processes are created by malicious software.
Hopefully, with the above simple tips, you will have a simple but effective way to protect your computer from infection by viruses and other types of dangerous malware on your computer.
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