How can I scan a file for viruses? I'm talking about before I dl it. What can I do to make sure my computer doesn't get a virus while downloading?
Printable View
How can I scan a file for viruses? I'm talking about before I dl it. What can I do to make sure my computer doesn't get a virus while downloading?
I may be wrong, but I would think its pretty tricky to scan a file for viruses when you dont actually have the file. The best way (in my opinion) is to dl the file and scan before opening. I have found however that Norton AV picks stuff up before it is compeletely dl so I can stop it before wasting my time.
Well I have one more question: Can the virus infect my computer while I am downloading it or do I have to open it for it to realease the virus.
As far as I am aware, it wont infect the comp unless you open it. The biggest problem is if your Av is not up to date or if it is a new virus. Either way...even if you could VC before download it wouldn't help. I have found that the odd virus on Kazaa that I have picked up are not too serious and Norton just chucked em out with no problems.
Just the fact that somebody has tacked a virus on to a file doesn't mean that you necessarily have to abort your DL. Frequently the rest of the file is still good. If you have Norton set to repair as the first option, it will just come back and tell you that the file has been repaired. I've opened several files that have been so repaired (after one more precautionary scan). Of course, if the file is just a renamed virus with fluff wrapped around it or is seriously corrupt, then just dump it after taking a look. There are several widely available apps for viewing a .dat to see if it's a real video file
Yeah, and sometimes the corrupted or infected file is only one for something you dont really need like a bit of the credits so it doesnt mean that the whole thing is unusable. However, I have found that most of the time, there is more than one file infected dotted around the whole thing and so it wont run anyway.