Get a Computer Virus
Are you interested in network security, or want to test your antivirus software? Intentionally infecting your own computer with a virus is incredibly risky, and should only be done under extremely controlled conditions. If all you want to do is test your antivirus software, there are test files available that can safely trigger your antivirus software. If you want to get your hands on an actual virus, you can use bad browsing habits to quickly get infected. See Step 1 below to learn how.
Contents
Steps
Intentionally Testing Your Antivirus Software
- Ensure your computer is in a secure environment. Viruses are designed to spread, and it is irresponsible to test viruses on a computer that is not isolated from the internet at large. Ensure that your test environment is contained so that the viruses you are testing cannot spread to computers that you don't want infected.
- Make sure that the computer or computers you are testing on are not connected to the internet.
- For greater security, test viruses using a virtual machine on a physical computer that is not connected to the internet.
- Download the EICAR test file. EICAR is the European Institute of Computer Antivirus Research. This file is designed to trigger antivirus and antimalware detection, and can be used to test that the antimalware or antivirus software is configured correctly.
- This file is not malicious, and will not spread to other machines. It is simply designed to set off your security software's detection system.
- You can download the test file for free from eicar.org
- Run the EICAR program or run a virus scan. The EICAR test file should be detected during a virus scan. It can be in a Zip file or extracted somewhere on the computer. Running the file will trigger your antivirus as well.
- After being detected, you most likely will not be able to access the file again, as it will be quarantined.
Using Bad Internet Habits to Get Infected
- Understand the risks and legality. Infecting your own computer can jeopardize your data and personal information, and if your computer is connected to the internet or other computers on a network, you run the risk of infecting others. Intentionally infecting someone's computer with a virus is illegal in most countries.
- If you are trying to test your antivirus software, it is strongly recommended that you use the test file in the previous method.
- Use an old, non-updated operating system. Many viruses rely on exploiting security flaws in the operating system software. These flaws are eventually patched out and fixed as the operating system gets updated and new versions are released.
- Windows XP without any of the Service Packs installed is one of the most unsecure operating systems still in use. Windows XP is also no longer receiving any security updates, meaning that more and more exploits will be targeting it.
- Use a non-updated version of Internet Explorer to browse the internet. The Downgrade-to-Internet-Explorer-6 were far less secure than other browsers, so it is the best browser to use when you are trying to get a virus. You can download old versions of Internet Explorer from sites like Download.com. Look for Internet Explorer 6, and don't install any of the updates.
- Connect your computer directly to the internet. Most routers contain hardware firewalls that can help protect your computer. For maximum vulnerability, you should connect your modem directly to your computer, bypassing the router.
- Turn-off-Firewall if it is enabled as well.
- Disable or uninstall your antivirus. Most antivirus programs do an admirable job of catching the majority of viruses, so you'll want to disable or remove your antivirus software completely before trying to infect the computer.
- Some antiviruses can be disabled by right-clicking on the icon in the System Tray and selecting "Disable" or a similar option. Not all antivirus programs can be disabled.
- There are a variety of wikiHow articles detailing the uninstallation process for most antivirus programs, including Uninstall-Norton-Internet-Security, Uninstall-Avast-Free-Antivirus-2014, Uninstall-AVG-Antivirus-Free-Edition-2012, and many more.
- Visit internet security communities. There are a variety of communities online dedicated to testing internet security, and you may be able to find links to known viruses in the community discussions. One of the most popular internet security (NetSec) communities is the NetSec Subscribe-to-New-Reddit-Boards. You can find a variety of discussions and links to sites containing specific viruses.
- Download files with known viruses. One of the most popular ways for viruses to be spread is through pirated media and software. Look for "cracks" or "serials" for popular programs that require a file to be run. These files often contain viruses that execute when your run the crack program.
- Torrents are a very popular way to share these files. When browsing torrent sites, look for torrents with low ratings and comments from other users warning about viruses. These are the ones you want.
- P2P sharing programs are another popular way to spread viruses. Programs like Kazaa and Connect-to-Gnutella-Using-FrostWire are some of the more popular options.
- Lots of websites, known as "warez" sites, will offer "free" downloads for virtually any program. These are almost always infected with viruses and adware, and the program itself rarely works.
- Click on shady banners and advertisements. Visit some Not-Get-Caught-Looking-at-Porn and click all of the banners and ads that you can. Try to watch videos that require you to download extra software. While this will probably lead to more adware than anything else, you may be able to get a virus this way.
- Sign up for mailing lists with a disposable email address. Create-an-Email-Account that doesn't contain any personal information whatsoever, and sign up for as many mailing lists and other registrations as possible. This will get your email out and increase the chances of receiving spam with links to viruses or infected attachments.
- This may take a little longer than some of the other ways to get viruses, but some of the most devastating viruses are spread through email attachments.
- Download every attachment possible, and visit all of the spam links. All of this will increase your chances of getting a virus.
- Make sure to check the Spam folder in your email program to check messages that are filtered out automatically. These are often the most likely to infect you.
- Download screensavers. These are traditionally some of the most infected files out there. Search for ".scr" files and download as many as possible. Make sure to run them when they are downloaded, as .scr files act as executable files.
Warnings
- Intentionally infecting a computer that you do not own is illegal in most areas. Even downloading a virus onto your own computer runs the risk of unwittingly infecting other computers, either through the network, through email, or even over a USB drive.
You are risking your information and privacy by downloading viruses. Not all antivirus programs can remove every virus, so be warned.
