Computer scan for viruses online

Introduction Online antiviruses: truth or myth?

Once you get here, it means you are looking for the answer to this question: how to scan your computer for viruses online? And before answering it, you need to know some information about the verification system itself. After that you can even answer your own question. So let's start in order.

Computer scan for viruses can be done online.

How does the normal antivirus scanning system, which is installed on the computer, work? First, the program periodically updates the database of virus signatures, according to which it can verify your data with those in the database. That is, if anti-spyware software does not carry out such an update, then the latest “new” malicious codes that hackers release will not be reflected in the system’s arsenal. It turns out that when you capture your data with a modern virus, such an application will simply be powerless. Then it will be impossible to talk not only about the recovery of your data, but also about the safety of documents, images, music, films and other types of information contained on your personal computer.

Secondly, the antivirus program conducts in-depth analysis of files for the presence of similar codes, which lies in its database, which we discussed above. When a match is found, the system informs the user about the infected documents and possible outcomes: treatment, deletion and quarantine. This process can take an impressive amount of time - it all depends on the amount of checked information, the speed of reading and data exchange with the disk (that is, how fast and powerful your computer is).

Now remember the work of any online service. For example, any online photo editor allows you to add different effects to your photos or pictures from the Internet on your own server. But how to open your image file there? This document is uploaded to the server, after which editing becomes possible. It turns out that online programs can not get into your computer without the knowledge, especially on a global scale. Then you can ask a leading question: how can an online antivirus access all data on your computer?

Still, really?

Probably in your head you were able to answer the above question. And if not, then explain this interesting point. You can check for viruses using online services, but with one big “BUT”: the scan can be performed only on a separate file, which, as in the case of the photo editor from the example, will be uploaded to the anti-virus server. This may be relevant if you need to check just a few files (for example, from external media).

Suppose you were given documents on a flash card, and you do not have an antivirus on your computer. Then, you can enter the online antivirus and without opening these files check using a network server. Another very important point is that there are extensions for the installed browser, which can also carry out checks for malicious code. Or online utilities available for one-time download, after which it is possible to scan your computer for viruses without installation. You may notice that there are a lot of network checks, so for convenience we will divide them into categories and consider each of them separately.

Online Antivirus

Here we will talk about the first category, which was mentioned above - these are real online antiviruses that scan individual files or even entire sites for malicious software. There are a lot of such servers, so we will consider the most popular ones.

  1. Virustotal. The site of this antivirus //www.virustotal.com/ru/ allows you to select a file to upload to the server or insert a link to the site, the contents of which you would like to check for trojans, worms, other types of spyware. After that, just press the "Check" button and wait for the operation to complete. At the end of the scan, a report on the work performed with all the resulting data will be presented.
  1. Dr.Web. Approximately the same principle is the online version of the popular Dr.Web anti-virus. You need to go to the site //online.drweb.com/ and select the file to download, then click on "SCAN!". The difference between Doctor Web and the previous one is that you cannot check the sites here. But the database of virus data may also differ, therefore you can use both services for persuasiveness.

Browser Extension

In this category, the list of products is sharply reduced to one popular representative - BitDefender QuickScan. Judging by the reviews, the service BitDefender is good enough in terms of performing its work. You can open it at the link //quickscan.bitdefender.com/. What to do next? And then you will need to click on the SCAN NOW button, after which the service will install an extension that gets access to the data on the computer. Only then the system will automatically start the minute scan for malicious software.

It's a little confusing here: how can you scan all files in such a small amount of time? There can be several explanations: either the program does not work at all (paradox), or it checks only the names of documents and some system parameters. According to the manufacturer, the scan is performed in the cloud, thanks to which the verification takes little time. It’s hard to believe, because why do other companies produce a whole series of products that can hold an impressive amount of time, if BitDefender does it in a minute?

Mini-programs

There are also one-time mini-programs (why mini-you will learn more), allowing you to conduct a full online computer scan for viruses. Many companies on their websites provide them in open access (Kaspersky, ESET and others). You just need to download the file that runs and then works on the network. The size of this file is very small (usually does not exceed seven to nine megabytes). After launch, the application will download the necessary latest virus signature database, after which it will scan the computer for viruses without installation: after all, we simply opened the downloaded file and did not install anything.

Here it must be said that online is not always work in the browser. This is any process of interaction with the network. But when the program does not need access to the network to work, then this is something else. Therefore, do not think that this method does not apply to online verification.

Conclusion

Today we talked not only about the possibility of the existence of online antiviruses, but also made sure of it. In addition to this, now you know how the antivirus works and what types of online computer checks for viruses exist without installation. From now on, you yourself can decide which option to use. But still, for security, it is recommended to use full-fledged anti-virus utilities that will constantly update databases and keep your information safe and sound. Share in the comments with us and other users: which method did you like more?