How to Scan Google Drive for Viruses

The introduction of cloud storage a few years back now was revolutionary. The feature of uploading and storing data online on cloud storage was brilliant and accepted across the globe. Google Drive, Mega, Onedrive are names of some of the most popular cloud storage.

Cloud storages are great for sharing files, storing data that is highly secure & protected by cyber security, and for several other purposes as well. A usual hard disk or a physical storage medium faces the risk of hardware damage, theft, etc.

However, cloud storages are a lot safer than them. The only things that can pose a threat to cloud storage and data stored in it are malware and viruses. So, how do we deal with them?

In this article, we’ll be learning how to scan Google Drive for viruses in an efficient manner. So without any further ado, let’s begin.

Table of Contents

How to Scan Google Drive for Viruses

Google Drive is a cloud storage service from Google itself that is used by countless people all across the globe. It can be used on Android and iOS smartphones and PCs as well.

It can upload all sorts of data, media, files, and folders to its cloud storage for safekeeping. Google Drive also offers its users a total of 15 GB of free cloud storage.

Let’s now talk about how we can ensure the safety of our files and data stored in Google Drive and secure them from being harmed by malware or viruses.

Viruses and malware are the only elements that can harm the files/data stored in online cloud storage, and Google Drive is no different. So now, let’s look at how we can scan Google Drive for viruses and malware.

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1. For Files of size less than 100 MB

Small files or files that are less than 100 MB in terms of size are actually relatively easy to scan for viruses and malware in Google Drive. Google Drive does this job itself.

Google Drive has an inbuilt antivirus system that scans all the uploaded files that are less than 100 MB in size on its own.

Most of the data uploaded on Google Drive consists of files usually of size below 100 MB, and in that case, Google Drive does the job for us automatically. It doesn’t matter what kind of file it is.

If it is below 100 MB in size, the integrated antivirus system will scan it for security purposes. Hence, you don’t need to worry about scanning your Google Drive for viruses if most of the data stored there consist of files below 100 MB.

Google Drive will automatically scan all of it and warn you if it finds any suspicious file or malware.

2. For Files of size greater than 100 MB

As mentioned earlier, Google Drive has an integrated antivirus system that runs an antivirus check every time a file is uploaded to the cloud storage.

However, despite how functional this integrated antivirus system in Google Drive is, there are some possible instances where we can find ourselves looking for a different way to scan our Google Drive cloud storage for viruses and malware.

The only shortcoming of the integrated antivirus system of Google Drive is that it cannot scan files that are larger than 100 MB. Any file under 100 MB will be scanned by it, but it cannot do that for larger files.

There is not any other dedicated service for this purpose as of now, and resorting to third-party software just for scanning the Google Drive cloud storage isn’t something we’d recommend. The third-party security software promise to provide can’t be relied on.

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How to Scan Google Drive for viruses if the file size exceeds 100 MB?

The most straightforward answer would be scanning the files before uploading them to the Google Drive cloud storage.

There are a lot of apps and software that can scan files & folders for viruses. As for now, the only way of keeping Google Drive secure is to scan all the data before uploading it to the cloud storage.

With that being said, we’ll be providing a step-by-step guide to scan your data for viruses before uploading it to the Google Drive cloud storage. We’ll be using the default Windows defender for this process.

Press Windows + I on your desktop to launch Settings
Type ‘Windows Security’ in the search bar in Settings and hit the Enter key
Under Windows Security, navigate to Virus & threat protection
Select the ‘Scan options,’ and under it, check on the box that says ‘Full scan’
Click on ‘Scan now’

Windows Defender will run a thorough scan of the data in your computer and will notify you if it notices anything suspicious like malware or virus. Restart your machine after the scan is completed.

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Conclusion

If you still wish for a more thorough and in-depth scan for viruses or malware in your computer, you can use any antivirus software if it is installed on your computer.

You need to have the Google Drive client installed on your computer for the antivirus software to include its contents while scanning.

Antivirus programs tend to provide slightly more accurate and reliable results than Windows Defender, and you can trust your Google Drive cloud storage to them. A good antivirus program will scan your Google for malware & viruses, and will immediately notify you.

Cloud storage is a great utility that has become quite important to many of us. It is equally crucial that we keep it secure and protected all the time.

Though Google Drive doesn’t provide any dedicated service for protection against viruses yet, we can do that by scanning the files & data before uploading it.

Windows Defender and antivirus programs are a great way to scan your computer for suspicious files that can harm your Google Drive and eliminate them.