is your antivirus working well? Here's how to find out!

There are many different versions of antivirus programs available either as free, trial or paid versions all promising to get rid of all kinds of viruses and anti-malware that may infiltrate our devices.

However, we may never get to know just how WELL these antivirus programs are up to the task of detecting malware and viruses until its too late!

This is why an organization known as EICAR (European Expert Group for IT Security) has come up with a safe method of testing whether your antivirus program does what it claims to be doing.

Want to know which antivirus to go for? Easy, just skip the reviews and opinion articles and try it out for yourself via these simple steps.

1. Open Notepad
2. Copy the below code known as the 'EICAR Test File'

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

3. Save the file as EICAR.COM

If you cannot copy paste the above code, please download the actual text file from HERE

Scan the file using an antivirus and if your antivirus is working well, it should detect it as a threat!

NOTE: This is NOT a virus and it is completely harmless!