Have you downloaded a file that you think is a virus by accident? What if you suspect a link leads to a rogue website? Here’s How to see whether It’s Malware-Infected when you downloaded something suspicious.
What is Malware?
Malware is a catch-all term for viruses, trojans, and other damaging computer programs that threat actors use to infiltrate systems and networks in order to get access to sensitive data.
Malware (short for “malicious software”) is a file or code that infects, explores, steals, or performs virtually any behavior an attacker desires. Malware is typically delivered over a network. Because malware comes in so many different forms, there are many different ways to infect computers. Malware usually has one of the following goals, regardless of its type or capabilities:
- Allow an attacker to operate an infected machine remotely.
- Send spam to unwitting recipients from the infected system.
- Examine the local network of the affected user.
- Take critical information.
On a blue background, a question mark appears on folder and file icons.
Never click on questionable links, download files from untrustworthy websites, or open email attachments from unknown senders.
Still, mistakes happen, and you’re always at risk of putting yourself in danger.
Under no circumstances should you open a file on your computer if you suspect it contains malware. Instead, here’s what you should do to know How to see whether It’s Malware-Infected when you downloaded something suspicious. Let’s look on that.
How to see whether It’s Malware Infected when you downloaded something suspicious?
The best approach is to use VirusTotal to scan the file, when you go to see How to see whether It’s Malware-Infected when you downloaded something suspicious.
This is a simple web application that allows anyone to scan a file for malware—it will examine the possibly dangerous file with a variety of anti-malware programs.
Simply select your file and click the Choose file button to begin the scan. You won’t be able to upload anything bigger than 600MB.
After VirusTotal ran it through over 60 antivirus scanning engines, the file we supplied (an MS Word document) was deemed to contain no known malware, as you can see below.
The entire procedure normally takes a few seconds, but depending on the file size, it may take longer.
And here’s what happens if you accidentally upload a malware file. As you can see in the table below, 51 of the 64 malware search engines utilized by VirusTotal indicated that this file (a ZIP file) includes malware.
VirusTotal can also be used to determine whether a link is safe. Go to VirusTotal, select URL instead of FILE, paste the link into the address bar, and hit Enter.
Even if your device has good anti-malware security, you should still use VirusTotal because it can’t hurt to have a few dozen antivirus companies analyze a file rather than just one.
Now you know How to see whether It’s Malware-Infected when you downloaded something suspicious. Then what’s next?
What Should I Do If a File Is Malware?
In many circumstances, simply downloading a malicious file will have no effect on your machine.
If a VirusTotal check reveals that a file includes malware, delete it from your computer as soon as possible by selecting it and pressing Shift + Delete on your keyboard.
Following that, do a thorough system malware scan.
You can utilize one of several powerful online antivirus scanners. They can’t really replace an offline antivirus suite because they don’t provide real-time protection, which is why excellent anti-malware software is so important.
Through this article you learnt about How to see whether It’s Malware-Infected when you downloaded something suspicious and what you should do if it’s Malware. Hope this article will secure your computer and files.
Need to know more , click below links and get the knowledge:
10 Steps to Perform When Detecting Malware on Your Computer
How to Detect and Disable Mac LaunchDaemons and LaunchAgents
Is there an Antivirus Requirement for Mac? Here’s the solution
7 Free Antivirus Bootable Disks to Remove Malware from Your Computer
