Safely Testing Your Anti-Virus Protection

Great - you've installed a decent Anti-Virus package, you're up to date with the updates, and you're nicely protected. But how do you know you're definately protected? How do you know how your Anti-Virus program reacts to a virus?

There's one safe way to find out - the eicar.com Anti-Virus Test File. It's a 70-byte DOS executable containing a signature which all major Anti-Virus programs will detect as a virus. The file itself is harmless - if you do get it to run, all it will do is print out "EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE". However, if it does that, you know that your Anti-Virus protection isn't working well, since it should not have allowed you to execute it. If you see a box similar to the one shown on the right when you try to download, save or execute the eicar.com file, you know you are protected. The example shown is the response generated by AVG Anti-Virus. As long as your Anti-Virus program shows a similar alert and blocks accesss to the eicar.com file, you are protected.

However, the eicar.com test only proves that your Anti-Virus protection is working correctly. You must never assume that your Anti-Virus protection will protect you against every virus out there, since no AV product can detect every single virus in existence at any given moment. However, any decent Anti-Virus system, including those from Grisoft (AVG), Norton and McAfee will protect you from the most common threats in circulation. You should still take sensible precautions.

Downloading the Test File

For your convenience, I have made the eircar.com test file available for download directly from my website. You should go to the download page, read the terms and conditions under which it is offered, and then download the file.

Receive Test File by Email

If you want to check that you are protected by viruses received by email, you can enter your email address and the file will be sent to you as an attachment. You will first have to confirm your email address before the test file will be sent to you - this is a precaution to guard against abuse. If you are worried about giving your email address, see my Privacy Policy for re-assurance.