Check If Your PC Is Protected Against Malware And Viruses

Test Windows computer security to verify that the antivirus is working and the PC is safe from virus and malware attacks

To effectively fight against computer viruses, it is necessary to have an active virus protection program and keep programs and the operating system up to date.

Unfortunately, these tips are not always enough to stop the most powerful malware. There are many settings and programs that can leave vulnerabilities open on the PC and make it vulnerable to malware and virus attacks of all kinds. and of all kinds.

The following guide will show you how to check if your computer is properly protected against modern malware attacks using automatic and easy-to-run checks on any type of computer or laptop.

Create A Dummy Test Virus

Without infecting your computer, risking rendering it unusable and damaging the system, you can create a small, harmless virus by simulating the false presence of malware created by the European Institute for Computer Antivirus Research ( EICAR ).

Virtually all anti-virus programs recognize this small file created by EICAR as a virus (although in reality it is not). However, the file does nothing but display the word ” EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE! ” on the screen and only does this if an antivirus does not block it.

Without downloading anything, we can create the EICAR test virus by opening an empty text file with Windows Notepad and pasting the following line:

X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*

Now we close notepad and save the file with the name, giving it the name eicar.com. If there is a working antivirus on the computer with real-time checking, we should get a warning before the script can be run.

For further testing, you can email the file to yourself and try opening it to test the antivirus’s ability also to capture attachments and files downloaded from the Internet. Keep in mind that this is a reasonably old test, so before closing everything and rest assured, also check that the antivirus is and remains up to date.

If the fake EICAR virus is not detected, consider that not all antiviruses support this test, so some may ignore it (because in fact it is not a virus but a small, completely harmless test script).

Use the Malware Prevention Tool

Microsoft provides all Windows users with a Malware Prevention Tool, which checks that the Windows computer’s security settings are configured correctly and cleans up any viruses and malware that have escaped active antivirus.

An excellent strategy to keep your PC clean requires downloading this tool every month, using Windows Update (where it is included if we use Windows Defender) or manually downloading the scan tool.

Microsoft also provides a program called Microsoft Basic Security Scanner. After downloading and installing it from the Microsoft website, you can go to the list of programs in the Start or Start menu and start it. The first screen asks you to identify the computer by name or IP address or, if you want to control more computers, by writing the range of addresses to scan.

Use the Nessus Professional program

A more effective and powerful test to see if your computer is well protected against outside intrusions, malware and viruses is obtained by checking with the free program Nessos, which detects PC safety and security issues indicating countermeasures to be taken in the event of an event.

The trial version of the program is available for 7 days, more than enough to scan your PC for undiscovered vulnerabilities or weaknesses that can be exploited by malware or unscrupulous hackers. However, since the program is only available in a trial version, it is advisable to test it only if we really need to test our computer.

Use The OPSWAT Client Program.

The Opswat program allows you to check for security vulnerabilities in programs and Windows, as we have seen in the indicated article.

Running the scan with OPSWAT Client is possible to get accurate information about known computer vulnerabilities including a list of outdated programs, Windows features to enable (or disable) and much more.

Use ESET online scanner.

As a final proof of the effectiveness of the antivirus and security systems used so far, we can run a scan with ESET Online Scanner, probably one of the best on-demand scanners available for free on the market.

After downloading the installer, let’s start it, allow internet access and start the full system scan; if a virus or malware is detected, our security configuration is weak or insufficient to block all threats.

In this scenario, it is advisable to scan all used security programs and, if necessary, replace them with a premium security suite (with free trial) or with free security suites.

Conclusion

By performing all the steps described in the guide, we will be able to check if your PC is protected against malware and viruses, avoiding the most severe infections and the most sophisticated hacker attacks. Of course, even the most advanced security configuration is not immune to attacks, but it at least makes it more difficult to lose personal data or block the proper functioning of the system.