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     Amiga Virus Encyclopedia    
     EICAR AV-Testfile
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     Name         : EICAR AV-Testfile - THIS IS NOT A VIRUS

     Rating       : Harmless

     Info         : The EICAR Anti-Virus Test File or  EICAR test file is a computer file that was  developed
                    by the European Institute for Computer Antivirus Research (EICAR)  and Computer Antivirus
                    Research Organization (CARO), to test the response of computer antivirus programs. 
                    
                    Instead of  using real  malware,  which  could cause  real damage,  this test file allows
                    people to test anti-virus software without having to use a real computer virus.
                    
                    This  test  file  has been  provided  to EICAR  for  distribution  as the “EICAR Standard
                    Anti-Virus Test File”,  and it  satisfies  all the criteria  listed above.  It is safe to
                    pass around, because it is not a virus,  and does not include any fragments of viral code
                    Most products react  to it as if it were a virus (though they typically report it with an
                    obvious name, such as “EICAR-AV-Test”).
                    
                    You are encouraged to make use of the EICAR test file. If you are aware of people who are
                    looking for real viruses “for test purposes”,  bring the test file to their attention. If
                    you are aware of people who are  discussing the possibility of  an industry-standard test
                    file, tell them about www.eicar.org, and point them at this article.

     Testfile name: The test files has the name in xvs.library 'EICAR AV-Testfile'.
     
     Testfile size: It is also short and simple in fact it consists entirely of printable ASCII characters so
                    that it can easily be created  with a regular  text editor. Any  anti-virus  product that
                    supports the EICAR test file should detect it in any file providing that the file  starts
                    with the following 68 characters, and is exactly 68 bytes long:
                    X5O!P%@AP[4\PZX54(P^)7CC)7}$EICAR-STANDARD-ANTIVIRUS-TEST-FILE!$H+H*
     
     Download info: In order  to facilitate various  scenarios,  we provide 4 files  for download. The first,
                    eicar.com, contains the ASCII string as described above.  The second file, eicar.com.txt,
                    is a copy of this file  with a different filename.  Some readers  reported problems  when
                    downloading the first file, which can be circumvented when using the second version. Just
                    download and rename  the file to “eicar.com”.  That will do the trick.  The third version
                    contains the test file inside a zip archive. A good antivirus scanner will spot a ‘virus’
                    inside an archive. The last version is a zip archive containing the third file. This file
                    can be  used to see whether  the virus scanner  checks archives  more than only one level
                    deep.

                    Once downloaded run your AV scanner. It should detect at least the file “eicar.com”. Good
                    scanners will detect the ‘virus’ in the single zip  archive and may be even in the double
                    zip archive.  Once  detected the scanner  might not allow  you any access  to the file(s)
                    anymore.  You might not  even be allowed by  the scanner to  delete these files.  This is
                    caused by the scanner which puts the file into quarantaine. The test file will be treated
                    just like any other real virus  infected file.  Read the user’s manual of your AV scanner
                    what to do or contact the vendor/manufacturer of your AV scanner.

     Download link: Test file: EICAR.COM - 68 bytes.
                    Test file: EICAR.TXT - 68 bytes.
                    Test file: EICAR.COM-ZIP - 184 bytes.
                    Test file: EICAR.COM2-ZIP - 308 bytes.
                    
     EICAR Link   : EICAR AV-Testfiles, from Eicar website.    
     
     EICAR Website: Link to European Institute for Computer Anti-Virus Research.
                    
     Important    : Please do NOT send e-mail the programmers about viruses in this package. Oki?
     
     
                        Screenshot of VirusExecutor finding the 'EICAR AV-Testfile':