Be ensured about the file you are opening

Often, while accessing the Internet or using your PC, you may encounter situations that you may find strange. Let’s suppose you receive an e-mail attachment from an unknown source or a pop-up lures you to download certain content, the credentials of which you aren’t aware of. In another instance, you may expect a physical document from somewhere, yet you receive the document in a DVD. An air of suspicion engulfs you; what if the file is infected? Stop! Don’t download such files from the Internet or copy them on your computer. Such files may contain malware and virus that might damage your PC. However, even if you’ve done so, you still have time to rectify. Scan them instantly to prevent your PC from getting infected.

Read on to know the various procedures you can adopt to scan a file without opening it.

Check the file:
To check a file for malicious content, you need to have reliable security software on your PC. Once you have it in place, follow the steps given below to get the issue resolved.

1. Right-click on the file you need to check. (A menu will pop up)
2. As you already have security software installed in the menu, you will have the entry labeled ‘Scan file’ and some other options similar to it. You need to click on that entry to scan the file you want to open.

If you are still not completely sure that the file has been scanned in a proper manner or not, then it is better not to open the file and leave it as it is.

Security software does not help you?
In case your security software does not provide you with contextual menu, do not worry. In such a case you can:
1. Go to the ‘Control Panel’ of the security software.
2. Under ‘Control Panel’, go to the ‘Scan’ section.
3. Then, go to the ‘Advanced Option’ menu and choose the files which you want to scan.

Keep your security software up-to-date
Security software is important for your PC without which running it can be dangerous. But just having security software will not work for you. You need to regularly update its virus definitions as well. If your security software requires updating, it will prompt you accordingly. So, you need to act as per instructions.
All the latest versions of security software have features that can warn you whenever you try to visit any site or open any software that can be harmful for your PC. They can also block all the incoming threats, malware, Trojan horses, infected e-mails or any other PC threats.

Internet- A solution for your problem
Sometimes it may happen that you have tried all the ways to scan the received file and still you fail to scan it. It may happen even if you had the best security software installed in your PC. In such a case, you can go to the Internet, the best source of knowledge. You can search for all the information related to that file or software there. In this way, you can easily get to know about that software and how much useful or destructive it can be for your PC. It is always advisable to check the reputation of the website from which you are getting the information. This ensures that the information written has been approved of and is best to fix your issue.