These days, you can download files from the internet without a second thought. This is because browsers like Chrome ensure your safety by running preliminary checks on every file you download. But sometimes, the process can fail for many reasons, and Chrome can end up showing an error indicating that the virus scan failed.
But these download errors shouldn't take you away from your important files. If the usual fixes like restarting Chrome or your PC haven't helped, this post covers some potential fixes that should help you get rid of the error. So, let's take a look at it.
1. Clear the browser cache
Most browser problems and errors appear with an outdated or corrupted cache. The virus scan failed error can occur when your old or corrupt cache data conflicts with Chrome's scanning operations. Purging the old cache data will help.
Step 1: Launch Chrome. Click on the three-dot menu in the upper right corner, navigate to More tools, and select Clear browsing data.
Alternatively, you can also use the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Del to open the Clear browsing data panel.
Step 2: Use the Time Interval option to select All the Time from the drop-down menu. Check the checkboxes that say "Cookies and other site data" and "Cached files and images."
Lastly, press the Clear Data button.
Restart Google Chrome and see if that solves the problem.
2. Use the Chrome malware scanner
Your PC may have already been infected by malware, preventing Google Chrome from running a mandatory file scan before downloading. Fortunately, Google Chrome has a built-in malware scanner that can identify and remove threats from your PC on such occasions. Here's how to use it.
Step 1: Launch Chrome and use the three-dot menu in the upper right corner to navigate to Settings.
Step 2: Expand the Advanced tab on your left and go to Reset and Clean. Next, click on the Clean Computer option.
Step 3: Lastly, click the Search button next to Search for harmful software to allow Chrome to scan your PC for threats.
Wait for the scan to complete (it may take a while) and restart Chrome to see if the problem is resolved now.
3. Disable the antivirus temporarily
When an antivirus finds threats with the file you are trying to download, it may block it. Sometimes it also locks some safe files, like an open source application. To allow that, you may need to momentarily disable the antivirus program on your PC and try to download the file again.
4. Adjust registration
In addition to the antivirus program, Windows also monitors and analyzes your Internet downloads. But, if you are getting an error scanning your downloads, you can try to bypass the process temporarily by modifying the Windows Registry.
Many users have reported that they fixed the virus scan error by making this adjustment. But before continuing, it is important to note that unknowingly making changes to the Windows Registry can have serious consequences. So make sure you follow the steps precisely and backup your log files beforehand.
Step 1: Press Windows Key + R to start the Run command. Type regedit in the Open field and press Enter.
Step 2: Use the address bar at the top to navigate to the next entry.
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPolicies
Step 3: Expand Policies and find the Attachments key.
If you can't find it, right-click Policies, go to New, and choose Key. Now call it Attachments.
Step 4: Now right-click on the Attachments entry, go to New and choose DWORD Value (32-bit). Name the new entry ScanWithAntiVirus.
Step 5: Double click on the ScanWIthAntiVirus key, change its value to 1 and press OK.
Close Registry Editor and restart your PC to apply the changes. Then start Chrome and try running a virus scan again.
5. Reset Chrome
Lastly, if the above solutions don't work, you may need to reset Chrome to its default settings to fix the problem. It is important to know that resetting Chrome will remove all extensions, cache, and your settings preferences. So be sure to use this as a last resort.
To reset Chrome, type chrome: // settings / reset in the address bar at the top and press Enter. Under 'Reset and Clean', click 'Restore settings to original defaults'.
In the pop-up confirmation box, click Reset Settings to confirm.
Security First
The Internet is full of people with bad intentions who seek to take advantage of the smallest vulnerability. Chrome's built-in security tools are your first line of defense against them. To further ensure your safety, consider enabling Enhanced Protection Mode in Google Chrome.
The entry The 5 best ways to fix the virus scan error in Google Chrome was first published in TecnoTuto .
