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European Institute for Computer Antivirus Research

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Win10 EICAR test file scan by clamwin
ClamWin scanning an EICAR test file

The European Institute for Computer Antivirus Research (EICAR) was founded in 1991 as an organization aiming to further antivirus research and improving development of antivirus software. Recently EICAR has furthered its scope to include the research of malicious software (malware) other than computer viruses and extended work on other information security topics like content security, Wireless LAN security, RFID and information security awareness. EICAR also organizes international security conferences most years,[1] as well as a number of working groups or 'task forces'.[2]

Acronym

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"EICAR" was originally an abbreviation for "European Institute for Computer Antivirus Research", but the organisation no longer uses that full title, and now regards "EICAR" as a self-standing name, as it has expanded into a broader range of IT Security work than just antivirus research.[3]

EICAR test file

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EICAR, in collaboration with CARO (Computer AntiVirus Research Organization), developed the EICAR test file: a 68-byte file with a .com extension, which is a harmless executable string that tests the integrity of anti-virus software.[4][5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "General Info ° EICAR - European Expert Group for IT-Security". Archived from the original on 2018-07-05. Retrieved 2017-08-16.
  2. ^ "Projects ° EICAR - European Expert Group for IT-Security". Archived from the original on 2018-06-02. Retrieved 2017-08-16.
  3. ^ "About EICAR". EICAR official website. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  4. ^ David Harley, Lysa Myers & Eddy Willems. "Test Files and Product Evaluation: the Case for and against Malware Simulation" (PDF). AVAR2010 13th Association of anti Virus Asia Researchers International Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 29, 2011. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
  5. ^ Randy Abrams. "VB99 paper: Giving the EICAR test file some teeth". Virus Bulletin. Archived from the original on May 24, 2024. Retrieved November 27, 2024.
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