You installed antivirus months ago…
But is it actually protecting you?
Here’s how to find out if your antivirus is doing its job — and what to do if it isn’t.
✅ 1. Check that real-time protection is ON
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Go to your antivirus dashboard
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Look for “Real-time protection” or “Active shield”
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Make sure it’s enabled and up to date
Some free antivirus tools turn off real-time features after a trial ends — without telling you.
✅ 2. Use the EICAR test file (safe test)
The EICAR test is a harmless file designed to trigger antivirus detection.
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Go to https://www.eicar.org
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Download the test file
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Your antivirus should block or quarantine it immediately
✅ If nothing happens… something’s wrong.
✅ 3. Review your protection logs
Check:
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Detection history
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Quarantined files
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Scheduled scan activity
If it hasn’t found anything in months — either you’re extremely lucky… or something’s broken.
✅ 4. Run a manual full system scan
Just to be sure:
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Open your antivirus
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Choose “Full Scan” or “Deep Scan”
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Let it complete (may take 1–2 hours)
Do this once a month, even with real-time protection.
✅ 5. Watch for red flags
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You can’t open the antivirus app
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Updates fail constantly
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You see frequent pop-ups saying “Your PC is unprotected”
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It lets you run clearly dangerous files (like EICAR) with no warning
In that case:
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Reinstall your antivirus
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Or try a different trusted brand (Bitdefender, Kaspersky, etc.)
Key points to remember
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Antivirus only works if real-time protection is on and updated
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Test it using the EICAR file or full scans
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No detections ≠ no threats — review logs and behavior
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Switch antivirus if your current one isn’t doing its job
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Trust, but verify