Torrent downloader with virus scan

The anti-virus you run ideally needs to remain active in memory, scan downloads and function in Safe Mode. To properly attempt to rid a Windows computer from a virus, you will need to run a full scan from within Safe Mode.

Make sure your anti-virus definition files are up-to-date and reset the computer normally. Immediately after it starts up, tap the 'F8' key and continue to tap it until a Safe Mode menu comes up.

Do a complete scan with your anti-virus software, and choose to quarantine and remove any malicious files found. Reset the computer afterwards, and then run a full scan again from inside a normal boot of Windows. Unfortunately, any number of scans may not solve the problem. Some particularly bad root-kits and trojans are almost impossible to remove with any antivirus software.

Attempting to remove them may even leave the Windows installation in a damaged state afterwards. In these instances, or to be absolutely certain the malware is off the computer, the only effective option is to format and re-install Windows.

Most computers these days come with a restore partition on the disk and can be formatted and recovered to factory state easily, or you may need a Windows install disc. The downside is complete loss of all data that was not backed up, but you can be sure the malware is off for good. More often than you'd think, they're just plain wrong. Here's what to do when you're not sure whether a download has a virus. On a regular basis, we get email from readers saying that some download we posted contains a virus, and we assure them that said download is clean.

Over the past five years, our track record in this arena is next to spotless. So how do you know if a download really has a virus or not? There's no exact science when it comes to figuring out if a file has a virus or is just being detected as a false positive, but today we'll share a little background and some tips that will help you figure out whether a file really contains a virus or not.

A false positive is when your virus scanner detects a file as a virus, even when it really isn't a virus, and then tries to quarantine or delete that file. If you've read about the recent McAfee fiasco, you'll begin to see the problem—they released a virus definition update that detected internal Windows files as a false positive, deleted them, and then suddenly Windows couldn't boot anymore. Antivirus software is not perfect.

McAfee corporate customers across the globe using Windows XP experienced massive shutdowns today as …. Some virus scanners also employ an additional line of defense called heuristic analysis, which attempts to identify new forms of malware right away by scanning for smaller sections of code that might indicate some bad behavior, even if the virus has never been detected before. Unfortunately, because this method is not exact, it also will detect a lot of files as viruses incorrectly.

Whenever there's a possibility that a file you've downloaded might contain a virus, the first thing you should do is upload it to online virus scanning service VirusTotal, which instantly scans the file against 40 different antivirus engines at the same time, and gives you the results. You should take all the necessary steps of precaution before downloading a torrent file.

These steps include the following:. Downloading a torrent file is harmless. Opening the file is not. This software automatically scans every file before you open it. So, once you download a torrent and launch it, the antivirus can notice harmful data. If it does, it will automatically remove it. On the downside, sometimes antivirus recognizes cracked files, keygens, and other software as malicious, even when they are not. This means you may have trouble opening certain files.

If you are sure they are not harmful, you can disable your antivirus until you open them, but that is always a risk. Some torrent sites are extremely popular and used by many. The harmful torrents are reported and quickly removed. Websites like x or ThePirateBay have a huge number of seeders and leechers and are therefore much safer to use. There are also private torrent trackers which are known to be secure, but you usually need an invitation from a member to register a new account.

When you are torrenting, you are connected to peers seeds and leeches via your IP address. Because your IP address is public, your location and metadata are visible to those who may track your internet activity.

For example, your business or even government. To hide your activity while downloading torrents, it is best to get a Virtual Private Network. One of the nice things about uTorrent is that there is no set-up required to get started.

Once the program is installed, you can go to any working torrent site and start downloading. Magnet links are the easier of the two to use. The Download link will download a file to your computer. In the end, whether you choose the magnet or download link before the torrent begins downloading a pop-up window will appear. This gives you some crucial information, such as the files included in the torrent and the file size. Click OK and the file will start the download.

When you download PeerPeer P2P files , such as torrents, the actual file is comprised of hundreds of thousands of little parts, coming from seeders around the world. It collects all of the pieces of the files and combines them into a single, high-quality file. It does all this while running in the background of your computer, using up very little resources so your computer will still run smoothly and without any noticeable lag. Check out this list for the best VPNs for torrenting. In addition to the classic uTorrent client, there is uTorrent Web, a web-based platform that can be downloaded.

The biggest advantage of the uTorrent Web is the functionality to instantly stream videos while the files are downloading. It also has a search feature that makes it easier to find the torrent files you want. The biggest downside is that if you are downloading multiple files it tends to lag and slow down your computer.