How To Scan A Zip File For Viruses The Right Way?

Zip files are a great way to store files safely. .Zip is more of a secure file format than most of the other file formats.

Since most people feel it is more secure, they tend to store the most sensitive and important files in the format. Now, if somehow in such cases, your files are infected by viruses, how disastrous that would be? Unimaginable, right?

So, you need a better plan so that you never end up losing your files on the treadmill of malware infection.

And, in this post, I’ll show you how you can properly scan your zip files regularly to check for vulnerabilities.

Let’s jump right, in!

What Is Zip File?

The zip file is a file format that allows to compressing of multiple files into single locations. In fact, the file format even offers compression of its size which allows sharing files faster. Anyone who shared the file can unzip it anytime using unzipper software and restore the original files.

Benefits of .zip files

There is a tremendous benefit to using zip files. The file format can make your life easier.

Some of the benefits of Zip files are as follows:

1. Save storage and increase the efficiency of your computer.
2. Effective file transfer.
3. Secure file format. You can even password protect your zip files.
4. Encrypt your data so the security protection is high. This also protects your privacy.
5. Requires less time to download.

There are negligible disadvantages of the format like every other format has including the limit of file size, file types and corruptions.

How to scan .zip files for viruses?

The best way to scan .zip files for viruses is using antivirus software. 

Some of the best antivirus to shield zip files are:

1. Bitdefender
2. Norton
3. Avast
4. Kaspersky
5. Avira
6. Eset
7. Total Av

If you are looking for scanning your zip files for free without having paid antivirus installed on your computer, VirusTotal might be useful.

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You might be wondering if there is any other ways to manually scan the zip files, right?

The good news is yes! You can manually check for viruses in zip files.

Heres’s how:

1. Open the file folder where your zip files in.
2. Chcek the extension of the file.
3. Generally, windows shows files format when you check “show file extensions”. Now, check from the options.
4. Now, when windows shows you the extension, you can see the file format.
5. If you see .zip at the end of the file name that means the file is not infected by viruses.
6. But, if you see something more like “.zip.exe” which means the file has been a prey of ransomware attacks.

In this way, you can also check manually with utilizing little to no effort at all.

How to scan a zip file for viruses mac?

Scanning zip files for viruses in mac is not difficult either. You can easily check it using an antivirus. There is an array of antivirus software you can make use of!

Apart from third-party antivirus, you can use mac’s built-in x-protector to scan zip files.

How to scan zip files for viruses On Android?

The android phone supports zip file format, so you can also zip files from your phone as well as can extract them.

So, you should have better ideas on how to clean zip files for viruses on anroid. As unlike windows you will have no options to manually input command programs to check for viruses. Thus you need an antivurs software to get the job done.

For android the best antivirus softwares are:

1. Bitdefender
2. Norton mobile security
3. Avast mobile security
4. Kaspersky mobile security

How to scan zip files for viruses online?

If you don’t have antivirus or antimalware installed on your pc, you can still scan for viruses in zip files.

There are various online scanners that allow it to do for free. Here is a popular online zip files scanner. Another great one is- Meta Defender

Which type of virus attacks Zip files?

zip bombs are potent viruses that can attack zip files. Zip bombs work in a different manner than other viruses. Zip bombs hid inside the zip files and they are created such that it can take a huge amount of time and system resources to unpack zip files.

Thus, unpacking them makes it harder for other programs, such as antivirus software, which are the main targets of these zip bombs, to function. ’42.zip’ is one of the most well-known examples of a zip bomb. Despite being only a few kilobytes in size, the file will occupy 4.5 petabytes when decompressed!

Thus, zip bombs can easily cause a computer system to crash. In essence, zip bombs exhaust your system’s resources so that your antivirus software is disabled and your system crashes, which opens the door to other malware. Zip bombs, however, can be detected by antivirus software as well. A zip bomb is identified by looking for overlapping files and by not unpacking layers of recursive data, a sure sign that it is a zip bomb.

Ransomeware can also attack zip files. There are other types of viruses that attack zip files like Unlock92 Zipper which is also another potent zip virus.

FAQ

Can antivirus scan zip files?

Yes, antivirus scan zip files very well. But, how effectively can scan depends on which antivirus you are using! So, before choosing antivirus do your homework.

Key Takeaways

Everyone keeps sensitive and important files in a zip file format. So, it’s crucial to ensure the safety of those files, right?

And, in order to keep them safe and secure, you must audit and scan your files on a regular basis.

There are lots of ways to perform scanning but the best way is to have an antivirus installed on your pc. If you can’t afford paid anti-malware you can also use a free alternative to scan as mentioned above.

But, the main takeaways here are to scan it regularly and have a good antivirus installed on your pc.