How Do I Know If My Free Antivirus Is Working?
So, you just shelled out $200 to a computer repair shop because your computer was ridden with viruses and Trojans, and now that your machine is recovered, you want to know if your free antivirus is truly doing its job this time around. Unfortunately, some antivirus programs don’t provide users with the luxury of actually notifying and telling them that the program is actively protecting their computer. Even if this is the case, there a few ways to easily find out whether or not you are protected out in cyber space.
Make Sure The Antivirus is Running
In most cases, if your antivirus program is running, then it’s actively protecting your computer. One way to make sure your free antivirus is running is by looking at the lower right task bar on your PC. There are a series of icons situated by the time that let you know about current applications that are running. Search for your specific free antivirus icon to determine whether or not it is working. Usually making sure that the icon appears there is enough to know that it’s working.
Create a Harmless, Dummy File
Sometimes seeing the icon in the taskbar is not enough to really know whether or not the free antivirus is doing its job. If you’re still suspicious, try this step out. Open Notepad, and paste this exact code into it:
X5O!P%@AP[4PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*
You are not creating an actual virus, this is just a test file that almost every antivirus will certainly detect. Make sure to save the file as, “EICAR.COM” This will create the file, which should trigger the antivirus to notify you of a new threat. If your free antivirus cannot detect this file, consider getting another program. If your antivirus cannot detect the test file, you run the risk of it not detecting others.
Related posts:
- Who Has The Best Free Antivirus?
- How Long Do Free Antivirus Trials Last?
- How Many Free Antivirus Programs Should I Have?
- Why Did My Spam Filter Stop Working?
- When Should I Use A Free Antivirus?
2 Responses to “How Do I Know If My Free Antivirus Is Working?”
Leave a Reply
Very thoughtful and exciting post! I’ve been looking around for the best Limewire Alternative and found a great site for them and your site looked like your readers might value it so I’ve linked to it here!
Check it out!
- All the best
Very thoughtful and thrilling post! I have been trying round for the most effective Download Free Music and located an ideal website for them and your site appeared like your readers might value it so I’ve linked to it here!
Check it out!
- All the perfect