Online virus scanner

Question

What is the 'best' online virus scanner for Windows. Although the target machine is running Vista the more platforms supported, the better.

A quick Google search reveals a few from the top security vendors, but without using them I am not sure which are lame and which are good. Are there other 'hidden' ones from smaller vendors that a Google search would not return?

Answer 1

ESET online scanner has worked wonders for me in the past. I am an avid NOD32 user as well so it made the choice a little easier. A full system scan does not take much longer than having the software installed itself.

For scanning single files, the following sites will compare your file against multiple anti virus applications in one shot:

• http://virscan.org/
• http://virusscan.jotti.org
• http://virustotal.com

Answer 2

Kaspersky has a good online virus scanning service:

• http://www.kaspersky.com/scanforvirus

Free online virus scan

If you discover a suspicious file on your machine, or suspect that a program you downloaded from the Internet might be malicious, you can check the files here.

Indicate the file to be checked; it will automatically be uploaded from your computer to a dedicated server, where it will be scanned using Kaspersky Anti-Virus. Multiple independent tests and publications acknowledge the solution to have exceptional detection rates. Updates every three hours ensure that even the very newest viruses can be detected.

Only one file of up to 1 MB can be checked at any one time. If the file is too large, a window with an error message will be displayed. Type the name of the file in the window at the top of this page, or find the file using 'Browse'. Then click on 'Submit'.

If you have several potentially suspicious files, you can check them one after the other, or create an archive file (in zip, arj or similar format) and check that. The archive should not be larger than 1 MB.

Other options:

• TrendMicro Online Virus Scanner
• BitDefender Online Scanner
• Panda ActiveScan 2.0
• F-Secure Online Scanner
• VirusTotal (for scanning a single file)

Answer 3

ClamWin has been popular for some time.
ClamAV is open source and free.

ClamWin is a Free Antivirus program for Microsoft Windows 98/Me/2000/XP/2003 and Vista. Comes with an easy installer and open source code.

One downside is,

[It] does not include an on-access real-time scanner. You need to manually scan a file in order to detect a virus or spyware.

Another important point is -- its not really an online scanner, you download and install it.

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An online option is at OneCare.Live.Com, but I have never tried it.