If you’re a little worried about how active your anti-virus software is why not test it? Creating an EICAR (European Expert Group for IT-Security) test file would be the easiest and the safest way to do it. All you need to do is create the text file, save it on your computer and use the virus scanner on it. If the scanner detects something it is working as intended, if it does not you should consider changing immediately to a more reliable one (updating definitions will not help because your anti-virus is sleeping dead).

Your first virus

• Open up notepad (or in my case notepad++)
• Code and paste the following code.

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

• Save it as test.com not test.txt to c: or desktop.

Now that file becomes a test virus. Don?t worry, it’s safe because it’s just a test virus, no harm will be done to your system even if you execute the file.

When executed it displays the message EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE.

Testing your AV

Now right click the file and click scan it with your anti-virus software.

AVG kicked in even before the right click menu appeared.

This does not necessarily mean that it will detect every virus that exists but it means that at least your anti-virus is not sleeping and is working.