Security and antivirus web links

[thenry]

Nod32 version 5 > http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?page...nt&id=SOLN2735

I'll monitor its resources on a basic machine and post back its usage, performance.

[thenry]

VirusTotal Adds Kaspersky URL Scanner As New Scan Engine.

http://stuffstech.blogspot.in/2013/0...l-scanner.html

[Qtx]

EICAR test file is the safest way to check your AV is working ok on websites you visit: https://secure.eicar.org/eicar.com.txt

Should get blocked by your AV.

[joglynne]

Nice to see my Norton Internet Security removed the EICAR download virtually instantaneously. What is in that thing!!!!!

At least i know my AV is working even if I do only have it installed as it came as a 60 day trial with my new laptop.

Thanks for the link Qtx, bookmarked for future use when I decide which AV to use.

Blocked by MSE.

Good find, Qtx.

[SnoopZ]

Avast didn't stop the download, but it detected it as a threat from a manual scan.

[iadom]

Is this not the same test file that has been around for many years now? I remember references to it before 2000.

[Qtx]

Originally Posted by SnoopZ

Avast didn't stop the download, but it detected it as a threat from a manual scan.

Then Avast is not checking websites as you visit them, which is unusual for AV's these days. It probably just checks files as they are accessed instead. This gives a lower overhead on your computer which can stop the AV slowing down lower spec pc's. This kind of protection is not as good though as a drive-by exploit could overwrite the memory space of an already running process with a dropper which then downloads the fully monty trojan. If Avast detects it at boot up its ok but until you shutdown the computer you could be infected. SO many scenarios though!

---------- Post added at 16:42 ---------- Previous post was at 16:41 ----------

Originally Posted by iadom

Is this not the same test file that has been around for many years now? I remember references to it before 2000.

Yeah it has been around for donkey years. Sort of an industry standard for simple AV check.

---------- Post added at 17:05 ---------- Previous post was at 16:42 ----------

Originally Posted by joglynne

Nice to see my Norton Internet Security removed the EICAR download virtually instantaneously. What is in that thing!!!!!

This is what is in the text file: X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EICAR_test_file

You can paste that line in to notepad and save it to get your av to test it too. If you like fiddling, you can do that and add/change a random letter in the file to see if the AV still detects it. Hackers (not really the term I would use) often use a cryptor to avoid AV's but many times they can just Hex-edit a single part of a virus to make it undetectable if they are lazy.

[joglynne]

Originally Posted by Qtx

Then Avast is not checking websites as you visit them, which is unusual for AV's these days. It probably just checks files as they are accessed instead. This gives a lower overhead on your computer which can stop the AV slowing down lower spec pc's. This kind of protection is not as good though as a drive-by exploit could overwrite the memory space of an already running process with a dropper which then downloads the fully monty trojan. If Avast detects it at boot up its ok but until you shutdown the computer you could be infected. SO many scenarios though!

---------- Post added at 16:42 ---------- Previous post was at 16:41 ----------



Yeah it has been around for donkey years. Sort of an industry standard for simple AV check.

---------- Post added at 17:05 ---------- Previous post was at 16:42 ----------



This is what is in the text file: X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EICAR_test_file

You can paste that line in to notepad and save it to get your av to test it too. If you like fiddling, you can do that and add/change a random letter in the file to see if the AV still detects it. Hackers (not really the term I would use) often use a cryptor to avoid AV's but many times they can just Hex-edit a single part of a virus to make it undetectable if they are lazy.

I did do a little researching after I had had such a quick response from Norton and saw the line of gobbledy gook. What did strike me was, seeing how long ago the test had been written - 1999, why it was still an industry standard for testing AV installations. Do newer virus threats still use the same old programming tools. Probably worded that wrong but I hope you get my drift.

[Qtx]

Its only a check to see if your AV is working as expected rather than testing how good it is. The fact its just a text file means it is safer than trying to test the AV with a newer real virus. If the EICAR text file doesnt get caught by your AV for whatever reason, nothing bad happens. If you tested with a real virus, you would get infected.

Probably not the best way of explaining it from my side either lol, but hopefully you get the drift too

[joglynne]

I do indeedy get your drift Qtx. Thanks for taking the time to explain.

[simon125]

why dont this list contains VPNs like PureVPN, express & others?

Aside from the fact it was posted 13 years ago, they are not "online security and antivirus scanning tools" anyway.