Comments for How can I tell if an exe is "safe" or not?

Comment from ipodboy on 2008-07-22

2008-07-22T09:56:36Z

Hey, i read your article and I have few questions. Why do people care so much about scanning viruses if you can actually scan downloaded files before you download them. I've been using this nice tool for a while and I like it a lot - http://smart-ip.net/en/tools/virus-scan.
It does scan files really quick and I haven't got any viruses since I deleted Norton application from my PC :)
Agree, you have to be online all the time to do the scan but it doesn't require any updates.

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A comment on: How can I tell if an exe is "safe" or not?

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Comment from Michael Horowitz on 2006-08-15

2006-08-16T05:17:00Z

At virustotal.com a single file is scanned by about 18 different antivirus products.

Also look into siteadvisor.com, a browser plugin that rates web sites as to their safey. Their green approval rating isn't a perfect guarantee, but if they say a site is bad, that's good enough for me. Their testing procedures are impressive.

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A comment on: How can I tell if an exe is "safe" or not?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
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Comment from Lou Gascon on 2006-05-20

2006-05-20T16:55:59Z

The Question: Someone's pointing me to a downloadable program as solution for a problem I'm having. I'm really hesitant to download and run unknown EXE files. Is there any way I can scan it with some program or otherwise ascertain if it's clean or riddled with subtle spyware, viruses, or what ever else could be bad?

I sympathise ~ until recently I used Vexira AV, and an integral part of their program was a facility on the right click menu to scan the file clicked upon...
This was great for First line of defence stuff, simply because the exe or other was scanned before it was opened...
Sadly, I have moved on and I'm now using Prevx1 which replaces all and offers "just that" A First line of Defence to anything that wishes to run... whooo, now anything that moves gets to be cautioned and can't run until my specific say-so, and sometimes, if Prevx have it in their DB, not at all unless I request special permission from their DB staff... wow
But, to address the question: I now use Jotti's malware scan 2.99-TRANSITION_TO_3.00-R1 at
http://virusscan.jotti.org/
Just add the PC nav to the browse button, and off it jollywell jotts and returns info from about 10 AV engines - oui ou pas - yes or no - nix or nacht ooops sorry, me germans not very well - but yes, Jotti's search is in the German domain - Thanx Jotti

Thanx Leo

and viewers of Leo's Lunchtime leaflets & Letters ~ try it before you open that file

bon chance
Lou

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A comment on: How can I tell if an exe is "safe" or not?

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Comment from Dan U on 2006-05-19

2006-05-19T20:03:55Z

"....download it from the XYZ corp website."

One point. A fair number of devs will have their programs hosted by a download site such as tucows. A link to a thirdparty site from the author's website can be as trusted.

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A comment on: How can I tell if an exe is "safe" or not?

Tech Questions? Get Answers! - Ask Leo! ... by Leo Notenboom
Leo's Answers Newsletter - Ask Leo! in your inbox every week.