VirusTotal.com - Free Online Virus & Malware Scan

Have you ever received a suspicious file? Not sure whether to open it or not? If you suspect that a file in your PC is infected by any virus or Trojan, or any type of malware, you can now verify it online. VirusTotal allows you to upload a suspicious file in order to be scanned by multiple antivirus engines, which are updated in real time. This application allows you to upload and scan a file with more than 20 antivirus engines, such as AVG, Panda, McAfee, Avast, and Nod32. The result that you obtain is detailed by each of the antivirus engines used, and is added to the stats, which can also be seen in real time. The service has been awarded by PC World as one of the best 100 products of 2007 in the Security Web Site category, but it doesn’t replace any antivirus software installed in a PC, as it only analyzes individual files. Nor it substitutes common sense in the use of your PC. The site is also available in French, Italian, Portuguese, Polish, and German, among other languages.

“VirusTotal is a service that analyzes suspicious files and facilitates the quick detection of viruses, worms, trojans, and all kinds of malware detected by antivirus engines. VirusTotal is a service developed by Hispasec Sistemas, an independent IT Security laboratory, that uses several command line versions of antivirus engines, updated regulary with official signature files published by their respective developers.”

As new and more effective methods of intrusion are developed everyday, there’s a growing demand for this type of services. VirusTotal is a free independent service that uses multiple well-known antivirus engines, helping users to quickly detect viruses, worms, trojans, and all kinds of malware.

However, this tool is a little bit slow and if there’re many users using it, you should have to wait in the queue. How are they planning to make a profit from the site?