Viruses beware – NordVPN adds another free safety tool everyone can use

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Malware be gone!

A woman browsing the internet
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Not content with being the provider of our current choice of best VPN, NordVPN has been working hard recently to protect people's cyber security even when not connected to a VPN. 

One of these is its Threat Protection Pro system, a cutting-edge tool for those subscribing to its Plus and Ultimate level plans, but even if you don't want to pay for NordVPN its website has a couple of handy services worth using.

Alongside its free Link Checker, NordVPN has just added a File Checker to give the safety-conscious extra peace of mind. Every day millions of people are emailed suspicious files and attachments, and now you can safely put them to the test without exposing your PC to malware. 

How to use NordVPN's File Checker 

It really couldn't be simpler. You don't need to sign up for an account or even log in with your email address. 

If you need to access a suspicious document or image then make sure you download it but do not open it. Instead, Just visit NordVPN's file checker and select "Add file" then upload the file and click "Analyze" for the results. If your suspicions are confirmed then delete that file ASAP!

NordVPN File Checker

(Image credit: NordVPN)

This is a great add-on for people who don't have a large number of files to vet each day and works for both mobile and desktop. It might however be a bit impractical for larger-scale use. NordVPN's Head of Project Strategy Vykintas Maknickas agrees.

“We believe that File Checker will become an extremely valuable tool for the internet community to manually check a file already downloaded to the computer. But if the user wants to check a number of files at once or needs file checking service constantly, one should consider using the Threat Protection feature,”

Which files should you be wary of?

Well, any file from an unknown source could be dangerous to open. It could be a virus, malware, or part of a phishing scheme designed to relieve you of your personal data.

According to Nord's own research, there are a two types of files you should take extra care with: .exe and .zip – so watch out.

Malware warning on a Mac

(Image credit: Shutterstock)
Andy Sansom

Andy is a freelance writer with a passion for streaming and VPNs. Based in the U.K., he originally cut his teeth at Tom's Guide as a Trainee Writer before moving to cover all things tech and streaming at T3. Outside of work, his passions are movies, football (soccer) and Formula 1. He is also something of an amateur screenwriter having studied creative writing at university.