Scan for Windows Malware

system · 2017-09-25T15:53:19.000Z

Hello. Sorry if this is a basic question or one that’s already been answered, but I was wondering if Avast Mac Security also scans for windows malware. I’ve done a bit of research and I’ve found some conflicting answers.

Source which says Avast does scan for windows malware
https://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=47427.0

Source which says Avast does not scan for windows malware
https://lifehacker.com/the-best-antivirus-app-for-mac-488021445

The reason I’m asking this question is that I own both a windows laptop and a macbook, so I was wondering if I could use Avast on my mac to scan files for windows malware. Specifically there are some portable windows apps at http://www.winpenpack.com/en/index.php and https://portableapps.com/ that I’d like to scan before I run them on my windows laptop.

Thanks

system · 2017-09-25T16:03:30.000Z

As an update, I tried downloading/creating some test windows files with viruses, but I’m still receiving conflicting results.

File that correctly reported malware
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EICAR_test_file

File that didn’t report malware
https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/documentation/70/wildfire/wf_admin/submit-files-for-wildfire-analysis/test-a-sample-malware-file

Pondus · 2017-09-26T07:54:22.000Z

Avast for Mac will also detect malicious windows files and avast for windows will detect malicious Mac files … even if a file will not run on your OS you can still send it to somone with another OS so to avoid spreading they will be detected

File that didn't report malware https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/documentation/70/wildfire/wf_admin/submit-files-for-wildfire-analysis/test-a-sample-malware-file

This seems to be a[b] test file[/b] made for PaloAlto Wildfire, so detection for this may not be added by other AV vendors

Specifically there are some portable windows apps at http://www.winpenpack.com/en/index.php and https://portableapps.com/ that I'd like to scan before I run them on my windows laptop.

You can upload and scan suspicious files with a online multi engine scanner www.virustotal.com www.metadefender.com www.jotti.org

If scanned before (check scan time/date at scan result) In virustotal the will be a blue button up to the right, click it and select reanalyze for a fresh result

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