Sometimes you need to make sure that a file is clean before you dare to open it. For those occasions, VirusTotal.com’s free online service is invaluable. VirusTotal.com scans files with dozens of security programs to check for viruses and other malware. The VirusTotal Uploader also adds a one-click mechanism to Windows’s context menu to make this process even easier.
VirusTotal.com uses a boggling number–32 at last count–of programs to check for viruses. There are no guarantees, of course, but if your file gets a clean bill of health from Avast, AVG, Kaspersky, McAfee, Panda, and Sophos (to name a few), you may not feel the need to seek out opinion number 33.
Scans on VirusTotal.com are pretty fast–especially considering how many scanners are firing at once–but queue info and status bars let you know how things are going. VirusTotal Uploader speeds things up further, inserting an option into the Windows context menu. Right-click a file, select “Send To,” and choose “VirusTotal” from the send-to options. Then just sit back and wait for the diagnosis, the second opinion…and on through the thirty-second opinion.
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