The European Institute for Computer Anti-Virus Research (EICAR) provides a standardized method for testing Anti-Virus implementations safely and effectively.
To create a test file is quite simple and straight forward.
Open a text editor and input the following string:
X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*
save the file.
Next, simply run a virus scan on the file and watch the fun.
Alternatively, test files can be downloaded from here:
eicar | THE ANTI-VIRUS OR ANTI-MALWARE TEST FILE
Some other ways to have fun:
- Testing out your own email protection.
- Renaming the file to alternative file extensions. A few of my favorites are
- *.com, *.exe, *.bat
- Sending it to friends who are technically inclined and can take a joke. (I am in no way responsible for what happens with this one
)
- Placing the string in a simple program and then scanning the executable.
- Compressing it into various formats.
- Distorting the string to see how an anti-virus responds
Important Notes
This file only tests some of the functionality of Anti-Virus implementations. It does not test the complete reliability or detection rates of Anti-Virus products.