Concerned whether your antivirus software is good enough? Here are some ways to test your antivirus and know whether it’s working efficiently.
Test Your Download Protection
The EICAR file is a great way to check your antivirus. It’s a file that contains a particular string of text within it. Antiviruses will detect this file and report it as an infection.
It’s important to note that the EICAR file is not a virus itself. It will not damage your system at all. You can even make one yourself. Just paste the following into a text file to create an EICAR file:
X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*
Don’t stress when the antivirus tells you your PC is infected; that means everything is working as intended.
Test Your Keylogger Protection
What happens if an actual corrupt file tries to download itself?
The SpyShelter Test Tool is the best way to test this. It is a data logger and can screen your keyboard inputs, webcam feed, and computer clipboard.
You can download the tool and check if your antivirus catches it. If it doesn’t, see what kind of logging you can do without your antivirus warning you.
Perform various attack checks
AMTSO has a good selection of tests you can perform on your antivirus, and an effective way to check if there are gaps in your defense. Every “attack” that you perform is not harmful to your hardware, so you don’t have to worry about damaging your computer.
AMTSO includes drive-by protection, phishing site detection, and potentially unwanted application safety. Give all of them a try and see where your current security software trips up. If it does fail, the website tells you how to fix it.
Test your internet Firewall
There is a way to check if your ports are secure with ShieldsUP.
It’s simple to set the test going. Click on Proceed then on GRC’s Instant UPnP Exposure Test. The website will then attempt to access your router by sending it requests. If your security is strong, the website should receive no information back, due to your firewall blocking the incoming requests.
Read the Test Results on AV-Comparatives
If you don’t want to do any work, AV-Comparatives will do it for you. Click on Test results. After that, click your provider on the list. You’ll see the result of a range of tests that AV-Comparatives have conducted, along with an overall score to let you know how competent it is.
