I have been using Mozilla Firefox as my primary web browser for years and have installed several extensions to improve the web browsing experience. Since I need to test new software on a regular basis, I use the VirusTotal service to scan the developer’s page as well as the software for viruses and other threats before clicking the download link.

Many of the computer users regularly use VirusTotal’s service to scan software and URLs for viruses. I recently noticed that most users manually visit the VirusTotal website then paste the URL to scan it against threats. Some users use the VirusTotal uploader to upload and scan the downloaded file.

What many users don’t aware is that one can actually scan files for virus and other threats even before downloading them on to your PC by installing a simple browser extension, meaning you don’t need to manually upload a file to VirusTotal service to scan files using over 60 antivirus engines.

VirusTotal extension for Chrome and Firefox

It seems that many users are not aware of the official VirusTotal extension available for popular web browsers. The official VirusTotal extension available for Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Firefox aims to simplify the process of scanning URLs and files using VirusTotal.

NOTE: The extension doesn’t work great on Internet Explorer (Windows 10 & 8.1) for some reasons but it works flawlessly on Firefox and Chrome.

Once VirusTotal extension is installed, you’ll be able to scan a link (URL) with a click. To scan a link on a webpage, all you need to do is right-click on the link and then click Scan with VirusTotal option to start analysing the link using VirusTotal.

Likewise, when you click a download link, you’ll see Scan with VirusTotal button in addition to Save File and Cancel buttons. Clicking Scan with Virus Total will begin the scan.

Please note that when you install the extension in Firefox, it will add VirusTotal toolbar, which you can easily turn off by right-clicking and then unchecking VirusTotal toolbar option.

The Chrome extension also works in a similar way. If you regularly download files from the web using Chrome or Firefox browser, we suggest you install this official VirusTotal extension to quickly scan suspicious URLs and files before downloading. This is a must have extension if you don’t have a solid antivirus or internet security software installed on your PC.

Visit the following link to install VirusTotal extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer. As of now, the extension doesn’t support Microsoft Edge in Windows 10.

VirusTotal Extension