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The article below is currently in beta and has not been reviewed for factual errors.

Contents 1 Online antivirus/antitrojan Scanners 1.1 Full disk scans 1.2 Single file scans 1.3 Multiple engine scans 1.4 Sandboxing single file scans 1.5 Other Online scanners (mostly antispyware) 1.5.1 Parasite Activex Check

[edit] Online antivirus/antitrojan Scanners

Why use online scanners as opposed to downloading and installing local scanners?

• Avoid conflicts with existing security software
• Ease of management, single file scanners allows quick checks when you are not allowed to install security software.
• Some sites allow multiple engine checks.
• Quicker updates (some sites), always most up-to-date signatures (some sites)

Disadvantages

• No real-time protection
• Requires internet access
• For full disk scans, it is generally slower than installing and scanning with local copy, although subsequent checks require only signature updates
• Uploading single files is definitely slower than scanning with an already installed scanner.
• In either case, not suitable for dial-up.
• Fewer scanning options and control than your local software copy.
• Some scanners hosted on third party sites might have signatures that lag behind the official ones.
• Single file scanners have file limits.
• Some scans do not disinfect, some only have limited scan abilities.
• Privacy/confidential issues for those that require file uploads of sensitive files.
• Almost all the full disk scans requires the use of ActiveX , and occasionally vulnerabilities have being found in them that can be exploited. (E.g see this

[edit] Full disk scans

Below are a list of scanners that scan your full hard-disk. The engine underlying each scan is noted so you can avoid duplication with scanners you already have. If a freeware version of the scanner (or at least roughly the same engine) is available for local use it is indicated. Most allow you to scan specific folders as well. Almost all have options to scan archives, those that do not are "tested" by scanning with a zipped version of eicar, though this is not a foolproof test. A few scanners only detect problems but do not offer to disinfect or even delete the offending file; these are indicated.

Name	Screenshot	ActiveX required	Java required	Engine used	Freeware downloadable scanner available?	Scans selected folders?	Scans archives?	Cleans?	Notes
A-squared Web Malware Scanner		Yes	No	a-squared	a-squared Free	Yes	Yes	Yes	Allows customized whitelist.
Arcaonline		Yes	No	ArcaVir	ArcaMicroScan	Yes	Yes	Yes	Does not work in default internet zone. Add http://arcaonline.arcabit.com/ to trusted zone.
Ahnlab or alternative		Yes	No	Ahnlabs	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Allows backup before attempting to repair
Bitdefender Online		Yes	No	Bitdefender	BitDefender 8 Free Edition	Yes	Yes	Yes	Popular. Recommended.Alternative site
Command Online		Yes	No	Command Antivirus based on F-prot engine	No,except for unsupported F-prot dos	Yes	Yes	Yes	Similar to Freedom Online Virus Check
ESET Online Scanner		Yes	No	Eset NOD32	No	No	Yes	Yes	-
eTrust Antivirus Web Scanner		Yes	No	Etrust	One year trial	Yes	Yes	Yes	-
Ewido online scan		Yes	No	Ewido	AVG Anti-Spyware	No	Yes	Yes	Does memory,registry scan as well. Recommended.
Freedom Online Virus Check		Yes	No	F-Secure	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Similar to Command Online.
F-Secure Online Virus Scanner		Yes	No	F-Secure	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Includes scans for rootkits (Blacklight?)
Hauri LiveCall Scanner		Yes	No	???	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	-
Kaspersky Online Virus Scanner		Yes	No	KAV	MWAV or Active Virus Shield	Yes	Yes	No	French http://webscanner.kaspersky.fr/
McAfee FreeScan		Yes	No	McAfee	No	Choose between C:, My Documents and Windows files	Yes	No	-
MKS_Vir		Yes	No	???	No	Yes	???	???	-
Panda ActiveScan 2.0		No	No	Panda	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Needs free registration for disinfection of worms,trojans and virus(not spyware) and custom scansPopular.
Panda NanoScan		Yes	No	Panda	No	No	No	No	Beta. Only detects Active malware.Uses TruPrevent. One minute or less to scan whole hard-disk. NanoScan or ActiveScan are able to detect more than the installed, active and updated Panda security products.
Panda TotalScan		Yes	No	Panda	No	Yes (see note)	Yes	Yes (see note)	Checks for all type of malware. Requires free registration to scan selected folders, and a paid subscription to disinfect.
PC Pitstop virus scanner		Yes	No	Panda	No	Yes	Yes	No	Pitstop also hosts McAfee FreeScan which has the same capabilities as the one hosted on McAfee.
Rising AV		Yes	No	Rising	No	Yes	Yes	No	Took a long time to download
Windows Live™ OneCare™		Yes	No	RAV	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	-
Symantec Security Scan™		Yes	No	Norton AV	No	No	No	No	-
Trend Micro HouseCall		Yes	No	Trend	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Gives you choice of Java or Activex scanner. Pre-release Popular
Trend Micro (Euro) HouseCall		No	Yes	Trend	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	The only one that uses Java and not ActiveX.But works only in Firefox not Opera.
TrendSecure		Yes	No	Trend	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	-
TrojanScan		Yes	No	a-squared	a-squared Free	Yes	Yes	Yes	This is exactly the same as the one hosted on the offical a-squared site.
Virus Chaser Online Scan		Yes	No	DrWeb	Dr.Web CureIt! or Dr.WEB link checkers in your browser	Yes	Yes	Yes	Unable to get this one to work. see also http://www.viruschaser.com/enwi/4_01.jsp

[edit] Single file scans

These scanners are useful in that you don't require Java or ActiveX enabled to work. There is no need to download sizable files, you just upload the file to the site, and it gives you a reply on whether it is clean or not. Besides some privacy concerns of such scanners (you need to send the whole file through the net) , a big downside is that almost all of the existing single file scanners allow you to check only very small files. In fact, if you want to check single files, most of the time it is better to use one of the third party multiple engine scanner sites because they not only scan with more engines but also have a larger size limits. Still such multi-engine sites are often very busy and they might not have as updated signatures as the single file scanner sites which are "official".

Name	ActiveX required	Java required	Engine used	Freeware downloadable scanner available?	Maximum File size	Notes
AVAST	No	No	AVAST	http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html	512 kb	-
Avert(r) Labs WebImmune (registration required but free)	No	No	Mcaffee	No	3 Mb	Free Registration required, allows email submission also if greater than 3mb
ClamAV	No	No	ClamAV	ClamWin	500 kbytes	-
Dr Web	No	No	Dr Web	Dr.Web CureIt! or Dr.WEB link checkers in your browser	12 Mb	The online scanning is made by the Dr.Web anti-virus with the most up-to-date virus databases updated once or twice an hour and by the special base for detection of spyware,adware and other unsolicited software.
Eset Online Scanner	No	No	Eset ThreatSense	No	unknown	In Slovak
Fortiguard	No	No	FortiGuard	No	1 Mb
Hitman Pro	No	No	See comments	See comments	8 Mb	HitmanPro is actually a utility to manage multiple scanners.
IKARUS Free Email-Scanner	No	No	Ikarus	No	1 Mb	Sent sample through email.
Kaspersky File Scanner	No	No	KAV	MWAV or Active Virus Shield	1 Mb	Updates every three hours ensure that even the very newest viruses can be detected.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.
UNA online	No	No	UNA	No	2 Mb	-
VBA32	No	No	VBA	No	?	Belarus

[edit] Multiple engine scans

These sites allow you to check files against multiple AV engines. The catch is you are allowed to only check one file at the time. As you might expect, using more engines gives you greater assurance that a checked file is really clean as compared to using one engine only but it also increases the chance of one or more engines giving a false positive (it doesn't help some of the engines are set to the highest levels for heuristics). It should also be noted that the engine/definition versions employed by the online multi-engine services may lag behind the latest released for one or more of the engines although this situation steadily improved through 2006.

In the past year (2006), use of such sites have become very very popular, and as such it often takes a while to get results. Virus.Org Malware scanning service is probably currently the least well known of the sites and perhaps least busy.

Filterbit™ allows scanning of multiple files contained within a file archive (ie: Winzip, WinRAR, PKZip etc.). This is a great feature when compared to other sites that allow uploading and scanning of a single file at a time.

Name	ActiveX required	Java required	No of Engines used	Maximum file size	Notes
Jotti's malware scan	No	No	21	10 Mb	Uses linux versions of scanners, might not have the same results as windows version.
Virus.Org Malware scanning service	No	No	23	Unknown	-
Virscan	No	No	36	10 Mb	-
VirusChief	No	No	11	??
VirusTotal	No	No	31	10 Mb	VirusTotal Updater is a tool for sending samples to VirusTotal that you can download here. Once installed, you'll have the 'Send to -> VirusTotal' option in the Windows contextual menu when you right-click on a file. Once the file transfer is done, you'll get the reply through the web interface using your browser
Filterbit™	No	No	6	20 Mb	Filterbit™, powered by OPSWAT Metascan™, is a free service where you can upload files for scanning, analysis and identification by multiple antivirus engines. In many cases, Filterbit can also scan, analyze and individually identify multiple files contained within a file archive such as Winzip, WinRar, PKZip and other types. Filterbit also analyzes the types of each uploaded file such as Microsoft Word, PDF, TXT and other types and reports back in a human readable format.

[edit] Sandboxing single file scans

Probably more useful for advanced users.

Name	Technique used	Maximum file size	Notes
Anubis	System emulation (Qemu)	Unknown	Results obtained directly in browser or via email, protects against attempts to check for virtualization and more
Joebox	Function intercepting	5 mb	Submit here
PC Tools Threat Expert	Unknown	5 mb	Results via email, free registration
Microsoft Malware Protection Center	unknown	10 mb	Results via email
Norman Sandbox	System emulation	Unknown	Results via email
Sunbelt Sandbox	Function intercepting	8 Mb	Results via email, Alternative demo site

[edit] Other Online scanners (mostly antispyware)

1. Aluria - Free Spyware Scanner - http://www.aluriasoftware.com/index.php?menu=litescan
2. CounterSpy Spyware Scan - http://www.sunbelt-software.com/dell/scan.cfm
3. Earthlink Scanner - http://www.earthlink.net/software/nmfree/spyscan/
4. myNetWatchman SecCheck - http://www.mynetwatchman.com/tools/sc/ - Uses ClamAV and F-secure + hash checks, behavior checks and audit checks.
5. MySpyZero - http://global.ahnlab.com/global/products/myspyzero.html
6. Panda Xposer - http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/spyxposer/com/
7. Pest Patrol online scanner - http://store.ca.com/v2.0-img/operations/safer/site/ab/promo53025scan.htm and http://www.pestpatrol.com/pestscan/index.htm
8. RegFreeze - http://www.actualresearch.com/rf_onlinescan.php
9. StopSign - http://www.stop-sign.com/
10. Tenebril - http://www.tenebril.com/scanner/main_start.php
11. Trend Antispy for web - http://www.trendmicro.com/spyware-scan/
12. Webroot spy audit- http://www.webroot.com/services/spyaudit_03.htm and http://www.webroot.com/services/entaudit/index.php
13. Xcleaner - http://www.spywareguide.com/onlinescan.php also http://www.spywareinfo.com/xscan.php
14. ZoneAlarm Spyware Scanner - http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/promotions/spywarescanner/index.jsp?dc=12bms&ctry=US&lang=en and http://download.zonelabs.com/bin/promotions/spywaredetector/index4.html

[edit] Parasite Activex Check

1. Aumha check (limited to Activex controls) - http://www.aumha.org/a/noads.php and http://www.microwavecookingforone.com/ParasiteCheck.html
2. Computer Helpdesk - http://helpdesk.uvic.ca/security/adware/adware_check.html
3. Doxdesk.com - Parasite Check (limited to Activex controls)- http://www.doxdesk.com/parasite/

This article is part of the Lists of Freeware Security Software: Malware Control series.

Freeware Anti-Viruses | Freeware Anti-Spyware | Freeware Anti-Trojans | Freeware Anti-Keyloggers | Freeware Anti-Rootkits | Freeware Firewalls | Freeware Behavior blockers | Freeware Sandboxes | Freeware Virtualization | Freeware Security analysis tools | Freeware Hardening tools | Freeware Blocklists | Freeware security services (excluding virus scanners) | Freeware Anti-Phishing | Freeware URL scanners | freeware security suites | List of unclassified tools Related : Lists of online scanners

While reasonable attempts have been made to avoid the listing of any malicious or ineffective software, an entry listed here should not be taken as a mark of approval from CastleCops. The selection of freeware (see definition) here is more inclusive, to provide more experienced users scope for experimentation and not just the usual half dozen or so freeware security software that are often mentioned. While there are many gems in the list, some are in beta and unstable or require fair amounts of skill to use. Less experienced users should probably refer to Roll your own Free Security Suite for a shorter list of popular and safer freeware.

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