Is this file safe?

No, you can’t scan files before downloading them — but you can scan files while they’re downloading with NordVPN’s Threat Protection Pro feature. Threat Protection Pro automatically checks each file you’re downloading for known malware signatures and stops them from executing if they’re deemed to be unsafe.

You can only upload one file at a time to our free File Checker tool — but NordVPN’s Threat Protection Pro feature will easily scan any number of files that you’re downloading.

Yes, PDF files can harbor viruses. However, many PDF documents with viruses aren’t really PDF files at all, but rather executables disguised as PDFs using double extensions.

Yes, you can submit any type of file to NordVPN’s File Checker. Keep in mind that the file won’t leave your device — instead, File Checker will upload a hash of it to scan for malware signatures.

If you discover that a particular file contains a virus, delete it immediately without opening it. Then, use a reputable antivirus tool to thoroughly scan your system for infection and remove any latent recursion mechanisms or executed malicious scripts.

In most cases, simply downloading an infected file will not automatically compromise your system — the majority of malware is tied to executable files and won’t cause harm until you open them. However, some files are set to run automatically once downloaded, which may lead to infection without you knowing about it. For this reason, we recommend using NordVPN’s Threat Protection Pro to weed out malware while your files are being downloaded.