Sometimes we need a portable antivirus to scan some files on to go, and free online antivirus tools are one such security tool that comes in handy such times in order to scan files to detect and remove infected files.
One of the usual security tips is one that recommends not downloading files from unreliable sources. Either from an unknown email or from a website that you access for the first time, we must be cautious with those suspicious files. At some point, you have seen how your computer has been attacked by some type of virus or malware by downloading files from some websites.
Although the normal thing is that most of us have a security tool like antivirus installed on the computer to detect different types of infected files. But when using someone else’s computer without an antivirus to download files may open doors to different malware and spyware.
In that case, online antivirus tools come to the rescue. They are portable antivirus engines that we can use from the browser.
Here we will list some of the best online antiviruses that we can use for free to detect and eliminate viruses on your computer.
As far as free online antivirus is concerned, it is important to know that they are not designed to replace antivirus programs since online tools do not offer real-time protection. In addition, it is necessary to differentiate between online tools that perform a complete analysis of the system to detect and eliminate infected files and those that are more focused on analyzing files individually.
Advantages Of Online Antivirus Tools:
An online antivirus is an online program or application that we can run directly from our browser to scan our computer or certain files to detect any virus or threat. This means that they offer certain advantages over traditional antivirus:
- Constant update: the versions available through its official website will always be the latest.
- Availability: Regardless of the computer we are using, we can have access to any of them since they do not require installations. All you have to do is go to the website of the particular antivirus to carry out any analysis. All we need is a web browser.
- Various results: Many of the online antiviruses carry out inspection of files with different security tools. This makes the result very reliable since we can check what each antivirus says about the file analysis.
- Free: we can find a lot of free antiviruses online, like the ones we have mentioned below.
Disadvantages Of Online Antivirus Tools:
- Less effective: They are not as complete as the antivirus that is installed on the computer.
- No permanent protection: They do not offer permanent protection. They allow analysis or protection until we close the browser.
- They only serve to scan: They scan our computer or certain files in search of viruses, but they do not usually protect sensitive areas of the system, nor do they have advanced functions.
Best Free Online Antivirus Tools:
Below are several recommendations for scanning suspicious files and discarding whether they are reliable or contain malware. In common, online antivirus tools are free, do not require registration and use several antivirus engines to make the scan as complete as possible.
1. Google Chrome Antivirus
Although many users already know it, others still may not know that Google’s browser has its own integrated antivirus. To use it, we only have to write in the Chrome address bar, Chrome://settings/cleanup and press Enter. After that, a page will be shown where you have to click on the Search button, and the process will start automatically.
2. VirusTotal
VirusTotal — one of the best known online tools to scan files for virus. Simple but effective, Google acquired this tool years ago, but it still works independently. You can scan suspicious files on your devices or scan a link before downloading it. You can also search for previous scans by searching by link, IP, domain, etc.
VirusTotal currently employs 70 antivirus engines and blacklists of links and websites. According to its creators, it can be used to detect false positives and to scan files before downloading them to your device. VirusTotal allows us to analyze a file up to 256MB.
3. Jotti
With Jotti, you will be able to scan loose files for malware with 15 different antivirus engines. It is the simplest service next to VirusTotal. Simply upload the file, and you’ll get the result in a few seconds. At most, you can upload five concurrent files of a size of 250 MB per. Jotti provides its API to use on your own website or in your apps if you’re a developer. Otherwise, it is one of the most suitable online antivirus tools if you are looking for simplicity and efficiency.
4. Hybrid Analysis
With Hybrid Analysis you will also have at your disposal a handful of antivirus engines to detect malware in loose files and links. To do this, this online service uses sandbox technology, databases, and various engines. Another incentive of this tool is that it allows you to search for previous analyses in its extensive database with more than 15 million detections. You will see the type of analysis, the file in question, what it detected, its hazard score, etc.
Hybrid Analysis combines the use of quick detections combined with statistical data, in-depth analysis using sandbox and other tools, such as running the file in a secure environment indicating which operating system you want to recreate and what network options to play for detection.
5. MetaDefender Cloud
MetaDefender Cloud combines different strategies for analyzing files and links for malware. In addition to scanning using several antivirus engines, more than 30 of them, allows you to do more thorough scans and even use sandbox techniques to run suspicious files in controlled environments.
6. VirScan
VirScan is one of the free online antivirus tools that, unlike the previous ones, allows us to scan a specific file. The file limit is 20MB per file. If we want to scan several files at the same time, the only thing we can do is compress them all into a ZIP or RAR file and scan that file, yes, the limit of files that the ZIP or RAR can contain is 20 MB.
7. Internxt Virus Scanner
Internxt Virus Scanner allows you to upload a file of a maximum 1GB to check if it is clean or hides any type of malware. It does not require registration or downloading anything. Just upload the shift file and analyze it for viruses online.
8. Kaspersky Threat Intelligence Portal
Kaspersky Threat Intelligence Portal is the online solution of one of the best antivirus of the moment. Simply drag a file into the search box or enter a URL to scan. In a few seconds we will have the result. The free version allows you to perform 15 analyses per month and 5 analyses per day. Sandboxes include Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and multiple options for customizing your environment and analyzing specific code.
9. Joe Sandbox Cloud
Joe Sandbox Cloud will find a good solution that allows you to choose different operating systems and browsers to reproduce the environment conducive to unmasking a virus or malware as soon as it gets underway.
10. AntiScan.me
AntiScan.me is another online service for scanning files for antivirus. Therefore, the only thing that we will have to do to know if a file is infected or not is to visit the site and upload the file to analyze. AntiScan uses up to 26 different antivirus services to check our file and once analyzed, it offers the result that each one of them has given.
11. Panda Cloud Cleaner
Panda Security is one of the benchmarks when it comes to antivirus. Panda Cloud Cleaner is a tool that allows us to eliminate all unnecessary processes before starting the analysis to try to identify any malicious file that may be camouflaged behind other processes. Panda Cloud Cleaner is very easy to handle. Once the analysis is finished, all we have to do is select the malicious files and click on delete.
12. ESET Online Scanner
ESET Online Scanner is perhaps one of the complete free online antiviruses that we can find. It has an intuitive and very easy-to-use interface. This online antivirus can do a complete, fast, or personalized scan or analysis of our PC. We can select a mode as we want. In addition, it also offers the possibility of indicating if we want to keep it in chest or delete suspicious files that it has detected — something quite useful in the case of false positives.
13. F-Secure Online Scanner
F-Secure Online Scanner is perhaps one of the fastest online antiviruses that we can find, although it is also one of the most basic. It does not offer the possibility of choosing if we want to make a complete, simple or personalized scan, but it will always do it completely. However, its speed is the strong point, so we will not have to wait so long for the full scan to be carried out every time we use this free online antivirus.
14. Trend Micro HouseCall
Trend Micro HouseCall is a free online virus detection scan. It is used to find and remove viruses, spyware, and other malicious threats for free.
Among the antiviruses used, it is worth highlighting security companies such as Avast, Avira, BitDefender, BullGuard, Comodo, DrWeb, Eset, Kaspersky, F-Secure, McAfee, Windows Defender, etc. Go to AntiScan.
15. Any.Run
When you open the official Any.Run website, the first thing that catches your eye is its world map organized from the statistics on the right. With that information, we can get an idea of the importance of scanning links and files for viruses, malware or ransomware.
Any.Run allows you to analyze individual files and links using a Sandbox-type system that replicates a Windows environment. To perform the analysis, you must register an account, although a free account is enough to scan your files for viruses online.
These online antivirus solutions can get us out of a bind by scanning the system or a specific file, but it will always be better to have a complete security solution installed. In the case of Windows 10, the protection of its free integrated antivirus is more than enough, although we can always choose to entrust the security of the system to other of the advanced solutions that the market offers us.
