A virus chest is a secure storage area, often called a virus vault, that isolates potentially harmful files. It provides the ability to view and manage the contents of the virus vault on a device, group, or organizational level.
Think of it as quarantine for computer files. When your antivirus software detects a file it suspects is infected with a virus, malware, or other threat, instead of immediately deleting it, it moves the file to the virus chest. This gives you the opportunity to:
- Examine the file: You can inspect the file to determine if it's a false positive (a safe file mistakenly identified as a threat).
- Restore the file: If you determine the file is safe, you can restore it to its original location.
- Delete the file: If you confirm the file is malicious, you can permanently delete it from the virus chest.
- Submit the file: Security software often allows you to submit suspicious files to the vendor for further analysis. This helps improve the accuracy of their threat detection.
Here's a breakdown in a table:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Isolates potentially harmful files. |
| Actions Possible | View contents, restore files, delete files, submit files for analysis. |
| Benefit | Prevents malicious files from harming your system while allowing you to review and manage potentially infected files. |
Essentially, the virus chest provides a safe and controlled environment for dealing with potential threats on your computer.
