Yes, PDFs Can Have Viruses: How To Stay Safe (2024)

You might have encountered a PDF document that seems suspicions, and so, you’re wondering if it can even have a virus.

The answer is that, yes, PDF documents can also have viruses, regardless of what some people may say about them.

It’s important to know how you can stay away from malicious PDF documents, so this is what we’ll cover in this post.

Can PDF files have viruses?

Yes, PDF files can also carry viruses. Downloading them implies the risk of infecting your device, so you have to be careful with which PDFs to trust.

PDFs are one of the most used file formats, and you have to be really careful with which files you actually want to trust to download.

How do I know if PDF has virus?

To scan if a PDF has viruses, you can use a file scanning app. Chrome, Gmail, and other popular apps already have this feature to prevent you from downloading a PDF which is most likely to be a virus.

You can also go to the Chrome Extension Store and look for a ‘File Scanner’ so ti hold you from downloading PDFs that are actually malware.

Tips to avoid malicious PDF files

Here are a couple of things you can do to avoid virus PDFs:

• Scan the PDF before downloading (even using a Chrome extension);
• Download & Open PDFs only if you trust the sender;
• Disable JavaScript (JS) on your PDF reader;
• Set your PDF reader to stop from opening on start-up;
• Find & Use an antivirus that suits your preferences.

At the end of the day, the best way to keep yourself away from PDF files with viruses is to think twice whether you really have to download a file or not.

Always stay away from websites & PDF files that look strange or risky! Better safer than sorry.