How to test your antivirus software

Is your antivirus actually doing its job? Let's Find out

Well its easy, just download and run a virus on your computer.

Just kidding DON'T do that.

A virus can harm your computer, So how to test your antivirus software without actually infecting your pc with viruses?

Yes there is an easy way to that, by creating an EICAR antivirus test file.

All you need is a text editor like notepad.

Open notepad and copy the following string into it :

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

Then save the file with any name you like.

If your antivirus software is working properly then it would detect a virus just after you saved it.

Don't worry this file wont do any harm to your pc.

If nothing popped up then its time to change your antivirus software.

How does this work?

The EICAR file is a non-malicious file that contains a string of text within it and antiviruses are trained to detect it as a severe infection so that you can test your antivirus safely.

The file is also an actual DOS program, and if you run it then it will  print the message "EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!".