VirusTotal: Free Tool to Analyze Suspicious Files, URLs, and IPs

VirusTotal: A Free Tool to Investigate Suspicious Files, URLs, and IPs

When something looks suspicious, like a strange file, email link, or unknown IP address, VirusTotal is one of the best free tools you can use to analyze potential threats.

VirusTotal helps cybersecurity professionals, IT teams, and everyday users analyze suspicious activity using data from dozens of trusted security vendors.

What VirusTotal Can Analyze

You can submit or search for:

• Files (or file hashes)
• Domains
• IP addresses
• URLs

VirusTotal scans the input against a wide range of antivirus engines and threat intelligence sources. The result is a community score that helps you determine if the item is likely malicious.

A score of 0 means no vendors flagged the item as malicious.

The higher the score, the more vendors have marked it as suspicious or harmful.

Why Use VirusTotal?

• Fast and free threat detection
• Easy to use
• Uses credible and verified intelligence
• No install required - runs right in your browser

VirusTotal is a valuable resource for quickly analyzing files or URLs, particularly when working in security operations or conducting threat hunting.

For more tools and strategies to improve your skills, check out:

Have I Been Pwned: Free Tool to Check for Data Breaches

What Are CTFs and Why Should You Do Them?

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re investigating a phishing email, scanning a suspicious file, or just doing your due diligence, VirusTotal gives you fast, actionable insights. And best of all? It’s free.