How to use Virustotal to scan downloads.


Ghot

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Here is the Virustotal page you want to bookmark:
Best practice is to scan everything you download, locally, and at Virustotal.
Just drag and drop the file in question on this page...


There is a size limit on the files you can upload.
I don't know the exact amount, but I've uploaded files as large as 400MB, recently.




Interpreting Virustotal results, accurately...


Here is the scan result for Firefox 94.0.1.
You want to pay attention to the results of the well-known scan engines that I marked with RED dots.
All the engines that think the file is bad, will float to the top, and be marked with RED text.

Image1.png

Just use your head. If only 1 or 2 "off-the-wall" engines find a problem, you can usually assume they are false positives.
If you get 6-10 RED results at the top, you should be a bit more suspicious.
Check the "names" of the scan engines, that are calling the file... bad.

If most of the scan engines (marked with the RED dots), find a problem with a file, you should probably just delete the file.






Now this would probably be the other extreme.
This is a cheat engine for a game. (Just used for an example).
It's actually a clean file, but 99.999% are not.
Stay far away from cheats, hacks, keygens, etc., Your computer will thank you.

So if a program gets results like this... delete the file... fast.

Image1.png





Last but not least we have the false positives. This is WhyNotWin11.exe from GitHub
This is a tiny program for checking to see if your computer can run Windows 11.
It's definitely a safe, clean program.

Image1.png







Like anything else, you just have to use your head.
Think about the kind of file you are scanning at Virustotal and think about the results you get.

If ALL those "top shelf" scan engines (marked with RED dots in the 1st pic), say a file is bad...
Delete the file... immediately !!!

Remember, it only takes a second to get infected. It takes hours or days to remove an infection. If it's even possible.



And of course, one of the "best" ways to protect yourself, is to use backup software. :cool:
 
Last edited:

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    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
It's also worth noting that even after checking with an AV, if you are going to open an unknown file (or website), it's always best to do it in a sandbox.

 

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    doofenshmirtz evil incorporated
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    Ryzen 9 5950X
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    Windows 10
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    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop
    CPU
    i7
It's also worth noting that even after checking with an AV, if you are going to open an unknown file (or website), it's always best to do it in a sandbox.




Another excellent option.
You can't be too careful, when downloading things from the internet.

Remember, "It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you". :-)
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦22631.3374 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?
Max file size is 650MB
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (22631.3155)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
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    Asus TUF Gaming B550-Plus
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    Kingston 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 3200MHz
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    Gigabyte Radeon RX 580 AORUS 8GB GDDR5
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    Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe M.2 500GB (OS)
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    Logitech K520
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    Logitech G700S
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    Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Opera
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    Windows Defender

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
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    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
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    Erica6
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    Micron Technology DDR4-3200 16GB
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    Samsung SyncMaster U28E590
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG MZVLQ1T0HALB-000H1
It's also worth noting that even after checking with an AV, if you are going to open an unknown file (or website), it's always best to do it in a sandbox.

This is one of a few reasons i recently switched from vmware workstation/esxi to hyper-v. I could have a sandboxed vm there, but its not as easy as sandbox. Vmware's last update was supposed to make vmware and hyperv play nice together, but only if you turn off virtualization for the vmware machines processor making it dog slow.
 

My Computer

System One

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    Windows 11
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    Self Built
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    ASUS Prime X570-P
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    32gb DDR4 - 3200Mhz
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    Standard Logitech
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    Logitech M535
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    Gigabit (Cable)
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    Firefox, Chrome, Edge
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    Defender

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