VirusTotal (A Powerful Tool to Detect and Protect Against Malware)

Cristian Nedelcu
3 min readApr 11, 2023

Malware attacks become increasingly likely and dangerous as new technologies are developed. Hackers and other online criminals are always coming up with new methods to break into computer systems and steal sensitive information. In this day and age of rampant cybercrime, it is absolutely necessary to be equipped with the tools necessary to detect and stop these assaults. VirusTotal is one example of such a tool; it is a powerful website that scans for viruses online and helps users identify malware.

Image created by the author using midjourney

What is VirusTotal?

VirusTotal is a free online virus scanner that enables users to check files and URLs for malicious software. Users can upload files to VirusTotal. It accomplishes this by running the file that has been uploaded through more than seventy distinct antivirus engines, some of which are well-known brands such as Bitdefender, Kaspersky, and Symantec. After that, the service will supply a detailed report of any threats that were identified, along with the particular engines that identified them.

How does VirusTotal work?

When searching for malicious software in files, VirusTotal employs a technique known as “hashing.” After a file is uploaded to the website, the system generates a one-of-a-kind cryptographic hash of…

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