when one of my frens wanted to download somthing from the Net, he always checked for viruses before he did it.

Question

... he right clicked the object he wanted to download, and he he said there would be an option to scan the file. i tried it and it didn't work. Why?

Answer 1

when you download something from the internet there will be a window that come up and it will ask you if you want to...run or install, save or cancel. If you choose save then you will have the option of where to save the file, click the drop down arrow and choose desktop then click ok.
The file will save on the desktop (easier to find) and when it is done go to your desktop and right click on the icon of the new file. If you have an anti-virus program installed you should see an option to scan.

This does add the file to your computer but you haven't installed anything yet. If all checks out ok then you can open the file and install or move the file to where you actually want it and install from there.

If your anti-virus program does find something the delete the file (right click on the icon then left click on delete). For added security then empty the recycle bin.

Hope this helps

Answer 2

Many websites scan for virii as a matter of course, before listing an application, but I've never heard of this.

He probably finished the download and scanned the file by right-clicking on it and choosing Scan with AVG (or?) before installing it.

I use AVG and do this religiously.

Answer 3

You have to actually download to your local machine before you can scan it.