Tips and Tricks•Viruses

How to create a fake virus for testing the anti-virus program on your computer

April 10, 2009 by Ian Brown 4 Comments

If you want to know whether or not your anti-virus program is working, then here is a very simple way to create a fake virus so that you can test it (this is completely safe to do):

1. Copy and paste the following line into Notepad:

X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*

2. Go to File>Save, and save the file as “EICAR.COM”. Include the quotes when saving it, as this tells Notepad that this is the exact name you want to give the file, including the extension.
4. Scan it on the test machine or e-mail the file to the test machine
5. Delete the file when done testing

AVAST Antivirus picked it up right away on my system!

NOTE: This is a FAKE virus and is completely SAFE to create for testing the anti-virus program on your computer. Be sure delete it when you are done.

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Written by Ian Brown
Ian has been involved with computers since very young. He took his first computer class when he was just 8 years old. He always had an affinity for computers, but never really took it seriously. It was not until he graduated from college and experienced the real world for a while did he realize that computers may be where his talent and passion lie. He has since branched out into Internet marketing and LOVES it. He currently resides in Los Angeles where he services clients ranging from residential to small business to celebrities.