Free online programs for scanning your phone files for malware

Are you tired of installing / uninstalling virus scanners on your phone? There is a worthy alternative to traditional virus scanners and it's online malware checkers. Their main pros are:

• They don't require an installation as they work from the browser of the phone
• They are free so there is no need to buy an expensive license
• They are cross functional i.e. they work on both mobile devices and desktops
• There is no need to update them: all the antivirus databases are already downloaded to the online scanner

For the review we chose 5 reliable, free and effective malware scanners for Android. They will help you to figure out whether there is a virus on your phone without downloading third party programs and also they will help you to search for the spyware or malware and delete it (put in quarantine).

A list of reviewed online virus scanners:

ESET Scanner -  online virus removal tool and malvare detector

ESET Online Scanner is an another service for malware scanning which works through browsers. It scans the files comprehensively and effectively and doesn't require an installation on your computer.

Unlike the desktop version of ESET Nod this online file scanner is free for usage. On the one hand, it makes no sense to demand a full scanner from a web application. On the other hand, according to the creators, the online virus scanner successfully copes with trojans, malware, the latest viruses, worms and phishing threats.

The user can select the files on a computer disk for scanning, specify the region of memory and etc. Moreover you don't need to have the administrator rights to run the online scanning.

At the end of the search ESET Online Scanner suggests removing the viruses it has found and placing the infected files in quarantine.

Thus, searching for viruses via the web virus scanner ESET Online Scanner makes sense:

1. if you want to scan someone else's computer or phone,
2. check the flash drive for malicious files online but you don't have the rights to install applications.

VirusTotal is a total online scanning of files for viruses

VirusTotal is an another one free service for online virus scanning. Details:

• It checks the code of Internet sites and the contents of files.
• VirusTotal checks any content for malware, worms, trojans and other virus threats.
• The service allows you to search for malicious links in the comments and files
• VirusTotal keeps in its database the results of the analysis.
• The search returns the stored results of the last scanning on the specified resource.

Kaspersky Online Scanner (VirusDesk)

Malware online scanner from the makers of Kaspersky Antivirus. It scans files and links on the Internet and doesn't require an installation of additional modules. When you download a file Kaspersky scans it through its database for existing threats and then shows the result. During the process it also checks md5, SHA1 and SHA256 hashes. All the databases are regularly updated.

If after the scanning a virus was detected VirusDesk reports: the file is infected or potentially dangerous.

Important! In contrast to usual virus scanners software with this one you can only scan a file for viruses, but the file won't be put in quarantine or automatically deleted. It can be done only manually.

Kaspersky Online Scanner is also suitable for an urgent scanning of a phone for viruses. You can upload files with the size no bigger than 50 MB. The batch mode isn't supported which is inconvenient if we're talking about a massive infection of files. The online scanner for Android doesn't remove viruses so the users should do it themselves.

Go to online virus scanner website

VirSCAN is an online virus scanner for Android

With the service VirSCAN.org it's possible to:

• scan online your Android for viruses,
• scan online files for a malicious code.

You can send for scanning apk-apps or other files (with the size no bigger than 20MB). These can be rar and zip archives and files with password protection (you can set only 'infected' or 'virus' passwords).

The main feature of VirSCAN online virus scanner is an extensive database of regularly updated scanners: kaspersky, avg, drweb, symantec and others. In addition to this, VirSCAN checks the MD5 and SHA1 hashes through its databases.

As the authors of this web virus scanner warn sometimes a false alarm can be triggered, which isn't surprising when taking into account such an impressive list of antivirus bases. But as experience shows it's better to be safe and put suspicious files in quarantine.

The cons of the online virus scanning are pretty obvious:

• a slow speed
• the lack of any settings
• no scanning options: it allows to download only a single file for virus scanning.

AVC UnDroid is a service for scanning apk files

Free online service AVC UnDroid is designed to search for viruses in the contents of apk files. Such engines like Buster Sandbox Analyzer, ssdeep and APKTool are used during the scanning process.

In order to scan an apk for viruses, you need to click the "Select APK" button and download the installer file for scanning on your phone. AVC UnDroid supports the data with the size no bigger than 7 MB (which is enough for the majority of apk files). Other data types aren't supported and you can only upload one file at a time.

The uploaded files are analyzed by AVC UnDroid and then the user receives a detailed report on the scanning with such data as file hashes, security assessment and more information.

You can register as it will be more convenient. With the registration you will get an access to the statistics and comments, expand the limit on uploaded files and increase the priority of the scanning.

As stated in the terms of use, the service is experimental. The apk files you download as much as it contents can be used by the service without user's knowledge.

Go to AVC UnDroid website

Online website virus scanner Dr Web

This service is intended for scanning links for safety. It works in the following way:

1. The user adds a link to a suspicious website into a text field,
2. Dr Web scans the attached files on that html page,
3. After examining the site code the service presents a report with the number of checked, safe and infected pages.

Usually a virus threat of online resources is hidden in its javascript files. If the scripts are contained on the database of malicious sites or the site redirects to another resource Dr Web Online will notify you.

Among the set of tools only a web anti-virus shell is available which isn't very convenient. It would be better if Dr Web Online got, let's say, an Android app for online validation or an online malware cleaner extension. Right now the online version of the virus scanner isn't suitable for full use on a phone.

Tip of the day. If you need a free and reliable virus scanner to check your computer (or your memory card/usb stick) I suggest you downloading Dr. Web CureIt curing utility. The program uses the actual database of Dr. Web desktop version. Its features contain everything you need and there is no need to download additional modules.

Doctor Web Online

• scanning of links and files
• scanning of javascript scripts on web pages
• a huge antivirus database

ESET Online Scanner

• doesn't require an installation on your computer
• is free
• scans both files and links
• you can check the online folders on your computer
• puts the viruses in quarantine

VirusTotal

• online website scanner (scanning of links on the Internet)
• reading the file comments
• its own online database for scanning

Kaspersky Online Scanner

• you can scan files and links online
• it has an extensive antivirus database
• scans for viruses online through hash databases

VirSCAN

• checks files and Android apps
• online security scan (scans online archives and files with password protection)
• has a huge virus database for scanning with signatures

Conclusion. This article lists only a small part of online services for scanning files via the Internet. In addition to it, we suggest getting acquainted with our guide on [how to scan your phone for viruses].

Do you know any other ways or services that will help to detect viruses and other threats? You can share via the feedback form and we would be grateful!