Scan files online for virus is an alternative for those who needs to be very sure about the safety of the files downloaded from the internet. Most of the online virus scanning providers offer their services for free, so you can scan a file either from your computer or from an URL even before you download it with as many antiviruses as you like without spending money to buy them. However, the more online virus scanners you choose, the more time it takes to visit them one by one.
In this case, if you’d like an efficient way where you can scan files with many antivirus engines at once, there are two websites you can go. Just like most of the other online antivirus providers, they also provide their virus scanning services for free.
Scan Files Online with NoVirusThanks
NoVirusThanks is a free online virus scanner that currently offers 24 antivirus engines to scan any file. Its “Local Virus Scanning” feature lets you scan a file from your computer, and “Scan Web Address” allows you to scan an URL or a downloadable file from an URL.
“Local Virus Scanning” is useful to double-check files that you already have in your computer but marked as being suspicious by your currently-installed antivirus software. “Scan Web Address”, on the other hand, is useful to ensure that an URL contains no virus and the likes before you visit it and useful to check if a downloadable file contains viruses or not before you download it.
I’m sure most of you know well already about how to use both of these features, but there are some people out there that ask how to use an online virus scanner to scan downloadable files. So, here you are how to do it.
How to scan downloadable files online with NoVirusThanks:
- Before you visit NoVirusThanks, visit the URL of the downloadable file and find the direct download link. For example, let’s pretend that we will download Veoh Video Downloader that I have posted here earlier. Visit the download page and copy the direct download link, that is http://www.downloadtoolz.com/files/veoh_d_setup.exe.
- Now visit NoVirusThanks website and click on the “Scan Web Address” tab. Paste the copied URL into the “Web Address to Scan” box and click “Submit Address”.
- Wait until the scanning process is completed.
A detailed report will be provided once the scanning is finished. You can check it to see if the file that you’re going to download is free from viruses. Note that you cannot upload a file with size more than 20 MB.
Scan Files Online with VirusTotal
VirusTotal is also a free online virus checker, but it offers more antivirus engines than NoVirusThanks. Currently there are around 40 antivirus engines being used to detect any virus, worm, trojan and other kind of malwares online. However, VirusTotal doesn’t have an option to scan URL. It only lets you scan files from your computer.
You can scan your files with VirusTotal in 3 different ways:
- Visit the website and upload the file using the online uploader.
- Send file via email as an attachment to scan@virustotal.com with SCAN as the title of the subject. The allowed maximum size is 20 MB.
- Use the desktop application, VirusTotal Uploader. A perfect choice if you want to instantly send files from Windows explorer for an online scan.
- Scan Files Online Free with 37 Antivirus Engines
- Scan URL for Virus & Scan File Before Download
- Antivirus & Antispyware Uninstaller – Uninstall Antivirus & Antispyware Software Completely
- Fake Antivirus Remover to Remove Rogue Antivirus Programs
- Split or Join PDF Files Online for Free with Split Merge PDF
- Clean Unwanted Files with Your Cleaner
- Unrar Rar File Online for Free
- Restore Deleted Files with DiskDigger
- Kaspersky Removal Tool for Kasperksy Anti-Virus, Kaspersky Internet Security, Kaspersky Pure
- Zap Messenger Software
- Combine Two PDF Files Without Adobe Acrobat
VirusTotal also allows you to send files over SSL for a computer that runs behind a proxy with antivirus support. Additionally, there are small icons used as an indicator of how high the current service load level is. Once you visit the website, check the icons first to see if it is the right time for you to scan file online using the service.
Once again, both of the online virus detectors are free services. Even though they offer such a big number of antivirus engines to scan your file, they’re not meant to be a replacement for any desktop antivirus application. You shouldn’t leave your computer without any real-time antivirus protection.
In addition, if any of the online virus engines provided by either of the two providers mark a file of yours as a suspicious file, then you should take a look carefully at the report before you decide that the file will harm your system. If only one or two antivirus engines that alert you, I think it is only a false alert and should be ignored. It’s just my opinion, anyway. If the marked files are not that important, perhaps it is better to just leave or remove them if you’re really worried about the safety of your system and your other data.
If you’re looking for a desktop antivirus application, you might be interested in the official offer from Norton that provides Norton Internet Security 2009 free for 90 days. But you should hurry up as this promotion can end anytime.
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Tags: online antivirus, online file scanner, online spyware detector, online trojan scanner, online virus checker, online virus detector, online virus scanner
