file virus scanner can do a lot of damage to your computer system – damaging files, stealing your personal information and even using your computer to attack other systems. It’s therefore important to know how to check if a file has a virus before downloading it. There are several tools you can use to scan a file for viruses, both directly on your computer and online.
Securing Your Files: The Importance of File Virus Scanners
A virus scanner looks for a file’s code sequence that is typical of malware and then identifies it by matching the sequence against known patterns of malicious code. This is called signature detection and many antivirus vendors have their own database of known threats. They also use other scanning technologies such as heuristics which look at the behaviour of applications / software to identify potentially harmful activity.
Once a threat is detected the scanner then takes action on the file – either disinfecting it or quarantining it. If the file is quarantined it cannot be read or executed but it can be deleted. The scanner will also log a notification about the detected object.
There are many free online virus scanners available but they do have a snag – you need to upload your data to a third party server in order to use them. This is a potential security risk so it’s worth researching any free tool before you use it. Another option is to use an in-built feature on your antivirus software. Most modern antivirus programs have a context menu option that allows you to scan a file for viruses. This is a much quicker option and will be more reliable than online tools.
