VirusTotal: Check File, URL, and IP Maliciousness in One Search
- Built from a real malicious-link incident, this post shows exactly how VirusTotal fits into day-to-day security work.
- You will learn to turn multi-engine scan results into clear response priorities instead of vague risk guesses.
The Day a User Uploaded Content with a Malicious Link
This happened when I was running a design tool service at my previous company. Users could publish their designs directly, and one day we received a report from a user. They said their antivirus was triggering when downloading a specific design. Upon investigation, we found a malicious link embedded in the published content.
That was the first time I put the URL into VirusTotal for analysis. I could see it being detected as malware by multiple engines. Eventually, we contacted VirusTotal to resolve the issue. After this experience, I started using VirusTotal occasionally whenever I encountered suspicious files.
What is VirusTotal
Created in 2004 by Spanish security company Hispasec Sistemas, VirusTotal was acquired by Google in 2012 and is now part of Google Security Operations under Google Cloud. It's a service that analyzes files, URLs, domains, and IP addresses using multiple security engines simultaneously. The key point is that it runs 70+ engines at once instead of relying on a single engine. Engine A might miss something that Engine B catches. It's free to use and accessible directly from your browser.
3 Key Features
File — Upload and Scan Files
Simply drag and drop suspicious files. After upload, you get detection results from each engine along with file hashes (MD5, SHA-256, etc.). If someone has uploaded the same file before, you can view the previous analysis results immediately.
URL — Check Website Safety
When a link looks suspicious, paste the URL to check if it's a phishing site or distributing malicious code. You can see domain information, server location, and past analysis history at a glance.
Search — Hash, Domain, and IP Lookup
You don't need to upload files directly—just having the hash value is enough to search. You can also search domains and IP addresses to quickly check if a specific server has been involved in malicious activities.
Wrapping Up
VirusTotal was mentioned in the previous OpenClaw security article, and I remembered an article I had written but never published. So I'm organizing and posting it now. When you have suspicious files or URLs, don't rely on just one antivirus—make it a habit to run them through VirusTotal.
