: Upload the file (or its hash) to VirusTotal . This service scans the file against over 70 different antivirus engines. If multiple engines flag it as "Trojan," "Adware," or "Downloader," delete it immediately.
Before opening the file, determine where it came from and what it actually is. download140188a87ed6ff269f
: If the file has no extension, right-click it and select Properties . Look at the "Type of file." If it is an .exe , .msi , .bat , or .js , it is an executable script and should not be run. : Upload the file (or its hash) to VirusTotal
Do not double-click the file to "see what it does." Instead, use these tools to analyze it: Before opening the file, determine where it came
: If the file is not flagged but you don't recognize it, it is likely a "fragment" download—a file that failed to complete or was a temporary "blob" used by a website to deliver content. These are safe to delete if they aren't tied to a program you are currently installing.
: If it’s in your Downloads folder, check your browser history to see what you were downloading at that exact time. If it’s in a Temp directory (like AppData\Local\Temp ), it was likely created by a background process.