What's This File? whatsthisfile.net

Discussion in 'other anti-malware software' started by guest, Jul 3, 2017.

  1. guest

    guest Guest

  2. Mr.X

    Mr.X Registered Member

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    So this is a next step beyond virustotal.com?
     
  3. Bill_Bright

    Bill_Bright Registered Member

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    To me, it seems like a waste of time for the normal user. Security analysts may find it useful, but regular users will (should) already have real-time scanners analyzing every file downloaded to our systems. If we stumble on a file already saved on our computer we don't recognize, besides probably already being too late, you typically can just right click on it and scan it manually.

    Note the first sentence of the last paragraph in that Security Week article where it says (my bold added),
     
  4. itman

    itman Registered Member

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  5. guest

    guest Guest

  6. NormanF

    NormanF Registered Member

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    If you download a legitimate file, like a dll. file, its usually safe.

    There is a rarely a need to scan known clean files. Most malware is delivered through phishing e-mails or exploit kits.
     
  7. Bill_Bright

    Bill_Bright Registered Member

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    Ummm, are you caffeine deprived this morning? ;) When is a "legitimate" file not safe? And when is there a "need" to scan a "known clean" file? :confused:

    The fact is, most malware these days is delivered through socially engineered methods - that is, when the bad guy tricks a user to click on a malicious link, most often on a webpage or popup message. These days, via emails is much less common because spam blockers, regular anti-malware solutions and email providers are much more capable of detecting malicious emails. That is why spam has steadily been declining for more than 12 years as seen here.

    And actually, even new malware is on the decline because more and more users have migrated to more secure versions of Windows AND those versions of Windows are kept updated. This is why bad guys tend to be concentrating on (often Linux based) corporate sites. Sadly, macOS systems are not faring as well as Windows either. While New Malware Declines Overall, macOS Malware Spikes.

    This does NOT mean Windows users can relax their guard. On the contrary, we must not get lackadaisical but instead, keep our systems fully updated and NOT be "click-happy" on unsolicited links, popups, downloads and attachments.
     
  8. roger_m

    roger_m Registered Member

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    A couple of months ago I started seeing more spam than ever before. One of my email accounts which usually receives just a few spam emails a day, started receiving tens of spam emails a day, probably getting as high as 50 or 60 a day. In the past couple of weeks it has gone back to just a few a day.
     
  9. J_L

    J_L Registered Member

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    I think he meant non-executable file types like text, pictures, and videos. Excluding some rare exploits on outdated software, opening those won't execute code.

    Then there's PDF and Office documents, but those are only potentially dangerous due to macros or scripts (which usually can be disabled).
     
  10. daman1

    daman1 Registered Member

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    Less spam? :argh: I'm seeing more spam then ever before also roger its terrible on both my email address, Gmail and Hotmail and phone calls.
     
  11. imuade

    imuade Registered Member

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    I'm also getting a lot of spam on my hotmail inbox, more than 10 per day... :eek:
     
  12. Bill_Bright

    Bill_Bright Registered Member

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    Sure that can happen if this email address suddenly came up on another spammer's list. Perhaps you recently used that address to register for a new account somewhere. Spammers sell and trade lists with each other all the time. When one batch of spam starts getting automatically blocked or blacklisted, they trade lists and start over. Then it settles down again as email clients and spam blockers learn the new tactics. And sadly companies sell and trade our addresses with their "affiliates" all the time too. :(
    10 is a lot? I wish I only got 10 a day.

    Spam will ebb and flow all the time. But over all, globally, the numbers are down and have been in a downward trend for many years. This is due in part to it becoming less effective as gmail, ISPs, and other providers implement their own blockers. Also, users are just more savvy. If you are getting a bunch of spam in your gmail accounts, maybe you should look at your gmail spam settings.
    Well, phone calls are another extremely irritating issue all together. :mad:

    BTW, if you have several email addresses from multiple providers (including webmail) and you might be interested in a single inbox to manage them all, I highly recommend MailWasher Pro (MWP). It is first, a great spam blocker but it is unique in that it processes the messages on the server. Most other blockers download the entire message to your machine, then checks it for legitimacy. I feel that is like inviting the stranger into your home and then asking what he wants.

    I get between 50 and 70 forum notifications every day. MWP lets me "work" those messages right from it's inbox without having to download the message or visit gmail's inbox. Then I simply mark it for delete and click the wash mail button and all the messages I had marked for deleted are deleted from all my accounts - with one click. Only the "keepers" get downloaded to my computer.

    I've been using MWP for nearly 15 years! I currently use MWP to monitor 9 different emails accounts hosted by gmail, my ISP, an email forwarder and my own domain. One inbox to rule them all! :)
     
  13. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    Seems to be an addition to VT, based on heuristics. But it isn't capable of actually identifying malware. Perhaps this can be integrated into VT, that would make more sense.
     
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