It can happen, even often, that the antivirus signals false positives, that is, that it takes files for viruses that are actually clean and innocent. Sometimes, for some files or programs found on the internet, it can be written to disable the antivirus if it is reported as a suspected infection.
Who to believe "> AV-Comparatives the only antivirus that does not detect false positives is Microsoft MSE (which, however, is also the one that makes the most viruses run away so it is not a good thing).
The best antivirus with less false positives are, according to the report, Eset, F-Secure, Kaspersky and, among the free ones, Avast best antivirus free currently.
If you download a file and which the antivirus detects as harmful, it probably is, but if you think it is a false positive, better check it and check if the other antivirus detects it as such .
When a file is detected as a virus by the antivirus, if you are not sure or if the site from where it was downloaded has warned about possible errors, to have an appropriate control you can use one of the online services like VirusTotal to check with 30 or multiple antiviruses together .
If it's a false positive, only a few antivirus programs should report it as malware, while most should say it's safe.
Sites like Virustotal.com allow you to send that file to their servers and receive the safety test result in return.
In general, however, it is important to evaluate the download source .
It may be that a file is downloaded from a secure and trusted site that is taken for viruses by the antivirus and then the message can be ignored.
But keep in mind that there is still no guarantee and it may also be that the company's website may have been compromised or that the site is a fake copy of a famous one, full of viruses.
If the file detected as a virus was downloaded from a half-unknown site, then it is better not to trust it and even if it comes from peer-to-peer networks.
To be more calm we have already seen that you can install browser security plugins to avoid dangerous sites with viruses .
Are you sure that you are on the real company website and not a fake website created to trick you into downloading malware?
For some files detected as harmful by the antivirus, it is worth noting the type of virus detected and searching with Google what it is to find out if there are articles that speak of it as dangerous malware or just a suspect.
In some cases there are files that have legitimate uses which are reported as malware and blocked because they can be used for malicious purposes.
For example, some blog programs have been reported as false positive viruses to spy on other people's computers as a keylogger, which can actually be used fraudulently.
Another example is the Eicar test used to check if an antivirus works or not.
In conclusion, there is no surefire way to know for sure if a file is actually a false positive or if it is a true virus.
What we can do is gather information and receive second opinions with other antivirus programs and check that the file comes from a reliable source.
If in doubt, if a file is listed as a virus, running it is not recommended.
