Scan file for virus before download

Step 6: If the file has already been tested by the service, a message is displayed. You can choose to view the immediate result of the analysis by clicking View last analysis. You can also choose to ask the department to reconsider the file note that this may be a bit long. Step 7: The download link which you previously added is sifted and the different analysis tools tells you if the site is reliable clean site or whether it offers generally malicious files.

In this case, you know you should not download the file to your computer. Step 8: Click on the link downloaded file analysis to see analysis of file you added. Step 9: After a few moments the analysis report is displayed. A line - in the Result field means that the virus found nothing suspicious.

You can download the file. Step If the scanners detect malicious content, it is shown in red. Do not download the file unless the majority of scanners say the file is safe this may be a false positive, for example. So, with that in mind, follow these steps to download safely:. So what if your download shows up as being infected? If you can, see if you can find the same download from another source — sometimes malware is present only in some of the downloads of a particular piece of software.

Subscribe to Confident Computing! Less frustration and more confidence, solutions, answers, and tips in your inbox every week. You CAN! Just Right CLick the link and wait for results. Avast Antivirus? Actually you can scan a file before downloading it. DrWeb is a program that scans the file at another location other than your PC.

Meaning, you never have to download the file to scan it. From your experience, have there been major complaints about bad viruses, malware etc regarding this software on piratebay? Can it really be scanned before downloading? I have the latest norton antivirus instaled, which I purchased from the shop just to be sure:. Pirate software is not only illegal, it is often full of malware. If you download, you are also uploading as a list of the IP addresses are displayed by the torrent program which the owners of that software can check and get the courts to get the ISP to turn over your name and address.

I agree. Then you recommend running an AV scan on the downloaded file. I do agree that post-download rescans would be beneficial if scanned with another program — kind of like a second opinion, or applying a different type scan Malware scan vs AV scan. TIA, Dale…. I second use of VirusTotal. VirusTotal scans uploaded files with 50 or more anti-virus programs and gives the results. It also tells if that file had been uploaded before.

We sometimes find ourselves trying to pick the least-worst place to link you to from 10 bad options. This is especially the case with freeware software.

In those situations, most of the issues you'll run into on software download pages we link to include programs wrapped in installers and download managers , confusing DOWNLOAD advertisements, and bundled adware. The next several sections below talk about those dangers and more, as well as some really easy ways you can avoid them.

Have you ever downloaded a program that you thought was free and then, after using it for a while, saw a warning or some other message appear, prompting for payment to continue? Assuming you weren't tricked into the download see the next section for help avoiding that problem , you either downloaded the wrong version, especially if a number of different download options were available, or were mistaken about the cost of the program. Trialware: This means that the program is free to use for a certain period or time, or for a certain number of uses, and then will need to be paid for.

This is also sometimes called shareware or just trial software. Commercial: This means that the program is not free at all and must be paid for before you can use it. Even most commercial programs these days provide limited-time trial versions before asking for payment, so we see this designation less often. Be wary of a program that just says it's 'free' since there are plenty of ways to spin that. More about this next.

Unfortunately, some software makers intentionally confuse visitors with this trick on their download pages. Of course, the download process is free! The software, however, requires payment for use, sometimes right away but often after a short period of use. Some software makers do this in the hopes of driving revenue from people who thought they were downloading and using free software and then see little choice but to pay up. It's unethical and a rampant problem among lower quality software programs.

So, before you download something that's labeled as 'free' or as a 'free download,' check to see that the program description clearly states that it's freeware or completely free to use. Some of the most 'successful' advertisements are those that trick a page's reader into believing that the ad isn't really an ad, but something useful on that site. As much as these large buttons might appear to be what you need to click to download the software you're after, trust me, they're not. Worse yet, these DOWNLOAD advertisements don't go to benign websites - they usually go to a malware-ridden page where you really do get to download something, just not the something you thought you were getting.

Real download buttons tend to be smaller and located closer to the downloadable file's name, version number, and last updated date. Not all software download pages have download buttons, either - many are just links.

Full-time software download sites, like Download. One way these download sites make their money is by serving advertisements on their sites. Another, increasingly more common, way they make money is by wrapping the downloads they serve inside of a program called an installer , or less often inside a download manager. These programs are often referred to as PUPs potentially unwanted programs and have nothing to do with the program you're trying to download and install.

The download site earns money from the makers of those programs by including them with the one you were after.