Cybercriminals use link malware checker  links to infect users’ devices with malware or lure them into phishing sites. Fortunately, there are easy ways to check if a link is a virus without clicking it. By examining the links in emails, websites, and social media posts and by using free tools to verify link safety, you can protect yourself from fraud and malware attacks.

If you receive a suspicious-looking link in an email, it’s best to assume that it’s malicious. Even if the sender is someone you trust, cybercriminals can hide dangerous URLs behind seemingly innocent text and logos.

By hovering your mouse over any link, you can see what URL it is actually linking to. This will help you spot many common warning signs. However, some scammers will shorten a dangerous URL to hide it from antivirus scanners and browser add-ons.

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You can also test a suspicious link with a service such as VirusTotal, which scans files, URLs and websites against more than 70 antivirus scanners and domain blacklist services. Finally, if you have anti-malware software installed on your device (and if you’re using an encrypted VPN connection), it should warn and block any malicious links. Many security suites come with add-ons that will automatically check links as you click on them. For mobile devices, there are free apps such as Lookout’s Antivirus & Mobile Security (download for Android) and AVG’s Mobilation (download for iOS).