Than and how to check for viruses file?

As for viruses and anti-virus software designed to deal with them, a lot has been written on this topic. To check for viruses, the file can be quite simple, if you know the main points associated with the action of viruses, and the principles of the antivirus software products. Consider the situation with checking files for viruses in more detail.

Viruses and their effect

The emergence of viruses is associated with the emergence of the first Windows operating systems, in the executable environment of which these malicious programs felt like a fish in the water. And over time, not only the OS, but also the viruses themselves have undergone very strong changes.

If earlier their action was basically a failure of the computer system, a little later these pests began to destroy the user and system files (remember at least the notorious I Love You virus, which came to an email in the form of a love letter or a message).

Today, the range of malicious programs is very, very wide. It presents computer "worms", keyloggers, and indeed, any malicious code or executable macros. Note: if at the dawn of its occurrence the viruses were usually represented by executable .exe files, then later they began to be masked, say, for .dll dynamic libraries, .mp3 format music or even plain text files with the extension .txt. Moreover, now many viruses do not look like a separate program, but are embedded, for example, in Microsoft Office documents, so opening such a document can lead to the most negative consequences associated not only with crashing the operating system, but also with capturing the management Computer or the theft of confidential information and data.

Antivirus programs

If you ask yourself how to check a file for viruses, the answer to it is the simplest: use antivirus software. In the modern computer world, this method is the most effective, given that almost every day creates a huge number of new malicious programs.

If we consider all anti-virus programs in general terms, then we can say that you can check for viruses any of them, since they all work on the same principle, although they use different verification methods.

Naturally, it is better to choose software products in which there is a maximum functional set plus "proactive" protection. In this case, it will be very easy to check the file for viruses, because signature, heuristic and behavioral analysis will be applied, and in some cases, a comparison of the checksums (although many believe that this method is obsolete). But in the aggregate, you can get almost 100-percent result.

Methods for verifying files

To date, it is commonly believed that the most common ways to check a file for viruses are the two main ones: the use of special antivirus programs and online checking.

Naturally, in each verification method, there are positive aspects and disadvantages associated with the functional set of the antivirus or online services themselves. As they say, everything depends on the software developer or Internet resource.

Antivirus scan

As for the use of anti-virus programs, it is quite easy to check the file for viruses. The fact is that almost all known antiviruses after integration are integrated into the context menu of file managers and create their own quick access commands to this or that action. Thus, there is no need to call the antivirus manually.

For example, when using the Kaspersky Antivirus package, Kaspersky can scan the file for viruses when the "Scan for viruses" command is run, provided the Russian version of the program is run. Such a command is available in the drop-down menu that appears after the right click on the file to be checked.

Actually, the same Eset NOD32 works in a similar way. The context menu only changes the name of the called command. In this case, it is called "Scan by Eset NOD32" (or Eset Smart Security).

The question of how to check a file or a site for viruses is resolved by manually invoking such scanners. For example, in the NOD32 application, there is a special command "Send file for analysis" in the "Tools" menu. If you use this item, you will need to specify your email address and attach a questionable file, after which it will be sent for analysis to the laboratory of this IT corporation. Here we come close to solving the problem of how to scan for viruses a file using specialized Internet resources.

Online Check

For online scanning of files for the presence of viruses, there are many services. Almost all manufacturers of anti-virus software create them. You can use anything: Kaspersky Lab resources, Eset, Dr.Web, Norton, etc.

For example, one of the most simple and popular services is Virus Total. To use it, simply go to the official site, attach the desired file or url-link to the Internet resource (or a link to the file contained on the page) in the corresponding field and click the "Check" button. Actually, the problem is solved, how to check the site files for viruses, not to mention checking the files stored on the local computer terminal. True, there is a small snag. The fact is that on the verification site itself there is a restriction on the size of the files being scanned, which is 64 MB (previously - 32 MB).

The result

To summarize, it can be noted that all of the above methods are good. Nevertheless, if you need to scan for viruses a file or files stored on a hard drive or removable storage medium, it is better to use the anti-virus software that is installed on the computer. To check the resources on the network or files on sites, it is better to use the online check. So you make sure of the security of the selected source, before you visit the resource itself or download information from it.