Test your antivirus installation

Now, now don't get calm after you have installed some fancy new antivirus. Let me ask you a question, "Is your antivirus working as it is supposed to?" . Now, you probably are thinking this guy has some screws loose. I am not joking around. There are hundreds and thousands of antivirus out there and all of them promote themselves by saying stuff like "You won't catch a virus" or so on.

So, here I have a test, a simple test to check whether what you have installed is the real deal or not. This test was actually created by EICAR to test an antivirus.  Don't worry, I am not saying go ahead and download a virus. Nope, all I am saying is:

• Open Notepad.
• Copy and paste: X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*
• Click the File menu and choose Save as.
• Change the Save as Type to All files.
• Name the file eicar.com

Now, if your antivirus is working it should stop you from saving this file. If not, then don't worry, just tell your antivirus to scan the folder containing this file. Your antivirus should be able to find this file. If you didn't get it this time, it is better for you to install a new antivirus.

Thanks for reading and as always please comment.

A thing or two about Antivirus

Let's start at the beginning, The question is What is a virus?
From www.thefreedictionary.com we have

(Computer Science) computing an unauthorized program that inserts itself into a computer system and then propagates itself to other computers via networks or disks; when activated it interferes with the operation of the computer

Some signs that may indicate you have a virus are:

• Your computer becomes slow, I mean really slow.
• Your internet connection is slow, your downloading sucks.
• There are softwares installed that you don't know of.

These may indicate a presence of a virus, but they could also be due to other factors. These days, due to the media frenzy about virus, THE VIRUS has broaden it's territory to a very big extent. Nowadays, it includes ad-wares, mal-wares, spywares and pretty much every other wares.

Now, lets go back to the topic: What is an Antivirus?
From www.thefreedictionary.com we have

A software program designed to identify and remove a known or potential computer virus.

Now, I have seen people, that just install a simple antivirus and then they say protection of the system is complete. They do not follow THE PROCEDURE. Installing an antivirus and then doing nothing does didly squat. So, for everyone's sake here is THE PROCEDURE:

• Keep the antivirus updated.
• Scan any media (USB, external hard disk,etc...) you attach to you PC before opening it.
• Scan you whole computer atleast a month.

Just following THE PROCEDURE does not guarantee 100% safety but for a PC, it does the job. There are antivirus suites,but for a common PC, just go ahead and download the free version. For a complete list of antivirus click here . If this list does not contain your antivirus, then please tell them.

If, I have missed something or you want to add something, then please comment.