Bonus tip 1: I strongly recommend seeking a second opinion every time your antivirus scan says your PC is malware-free. This post explains how. Bonus tip 2: Want to make sure you never miss one of my tips? Would you like to ask Rick a tech question? If so, click here and send it in! If you found this post useful, would you mind helping me out by sharing it? It is not hard to pick up some clues along the way. For starters, if you are downloading something from a shady source, chances are that your package may come with a virus hidden in the download.
Pirated content, in particular, runs a heavy risk. The website you are downloading it from is another factor. If you are grabbing something from a very basic site, you are probably being duped into downloading malware.
Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule. Most software developers are not web designers. Downloading files is not the only way you can end up with malware on your machine, though. Even loading a website sometimes can expose your computer to malicious code. This is called a drive-by attack, as it happens without you doing anything and simply loading the website. That said, there are ways to block the virus at its primary stage.
There are certain precautions you can take to insure against malware and reasonably ensure that the file you are downloading is safe. At the end of the day, it all comes down to your usage, browsing and download habits. There are certain, shall we say, best practices before clicking on download links. Listed below are the precautions and preventive measures you should take before clicking the download button. Assess your downloads: Always be aware of what you download on your PC and where you download it from.
Also, if your download source has a forum or user comments section, it is never a bad idea to scan that and read what others are saying. Check the source: Always download your programs from a trusted source. If you are downloading an addon from Mozilla or an installer from Microsoft, it is logical that it will not likely be a virus. But if you are nabbing pirated content from shady sources, or a plugin from a random site, then be doubly careful.
Use your judgement: A very important consideration before initiating a download. Look at the size of a file. If it is too small or large for what it is, it may well be junk.
Be extra wary of executable files, not just the ones with the. EXE extensions but also. SCR, and so on. Downloading and running these without proper scanning can potentially open up a can of worms on your computer.
Here's what you should do instead. Your best option is to scan the file using VirusTotal. This is a simple online tool that allows anyone to scan a file for malware—it will inspect the potentially problematic file with all sorts of different anti-malware products.
To begin the scan, simply click the Choose file button to post your file. Note that you won't be able to upload a file larger than MB. As you can see below, the file we uploaded an MS Word document was found to contain no known malware after VirusTotal ran it through over 60 antivirus scanning engines. Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great.
By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Author Info Last Updated: November 5, Method 1. Click on the "Submit a URL" tab and enter the address of the website where you are about to download the file from. Hit the "Submit URL" button.
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