Many rogue software disguised as virus/malware scanners get downloaded to your PC, knowingly or unknowingly. However, when tested for their utility, they are found to be far from satisfactory. Noralabs, an American-based company, offers a good tool – Norascan that can be used as a second opinion malware scanner for your Windows systems.
Even if you use a good antivirus application, there are chances that some malware or a new variant of spyware may sneak through and harm your important files and folders. Hence, as an additional precaution, you can use Norascan to scan and detect potential threats that may compromise system security. You can use the utility to Fast-scan a system, relying on cloud-based knowledge. The tool also lets you switch to the auto-update function to keep up-to-date with the latest signatures.
Norascan antimalware scanner for Windows
Norascan will scan, find, and assimilate known and unknown active malware on Windows systems.
Fast-scan a system, relying on cloud-based knowledge
On the first run, the stand-alone program downloads the latest definitions and then waits patiently for your instructions. The main screen then makes three default options visible, namely,
- Perform a quick scan (recommended)
- Perform full drive scan
- Stop
While running the program on my Windows 10 machine, I only had the option to perform a Quick Scan. As you can see in the image, the Full Scan option was greyed out.
If any suspicious files are found, Norascan will display them in a list, if it, on the left side of its interface.
Surprisingly, it managed to find a few suspicious files on my system even though my PC is well protected. If you are not entirely sure about the suspicious files listed, you may Upload and verify it on the cloud. Simply choose one of the files and click a button, beneath the list. It is also possible to quarantine files and access a detailed log.
2Switch to auto-update function for keeping up-to-date with the latest signatures
On the good side, Norascan features an auto-update function for keeping up-to-date with the latest signatures and program versions. This assures you have the latest updates installed.
Norascan is likely to throw up false positives in the Suspicious files category. So you may need to check each file carefully before you decide to quarantine it. If in doubt, it is best you do not delete or quarantine it. To download Norascan, visit its homepage.
