Advanced PDFSafeScan

Hosted-ready PDF scanning with the Advanced PDFSafeScan API service.

Advanced PDFSafeScan — know what's inside a PDF before you open it. PDFs are one of the most common ways malware reaches people, because they look routine and get opened without a second thought. A PDF can carry JavaScript, actions that run the moment it opens, and hidden embedded files. Advanced PDFSafeScan checks PDFs for you and tells you plainly what it found. How it works Scans happen in three ways. Automatically when you download a PDF. Automatically when a PDF opens in a browser tab. Or on demand, by right-clicking any PDF link or pressing Scan in the popup. Each scan returns a clear verdict Benign, Suspicious, or Malicious with a confidence score and the specific reasons behind it. The toolbar icon shows the result at a glance: green for clear, amber for caution, red for danger. What makes it different Most scanners give you a verdict with no reasoning. This one lists exactly which structural indicators were found JavaScript, auto-run actions, embedded files, encryption — and explains each in plain English. It also treats files it cannot read as a warning sign rather than ignoring them. Malformed PDFs are frequently malformed on purpose, to defeat analysis tools while still opening normally in a reader. Files like that are flagged rather than skipped. Privacy To analyse a PDF, the extension sends its web address to the Advanced PDFSafeScan service, which retrieves and inspects the file and returns a verdict. The file's address and the analysis result are stored so results can be shown in your dashboard. A randomly generated identifier groups your scans; no account, name, or email is required. Automatic scanning of downloads and of PDFs opened in tabs can both be switched off in the extension's options. Please note This tool inspects a PDF's structure without opening it in an unsafe way. It is an aid to judgement, not a guarantee, and should be used alongside normal security precautions. It was developed as part of an MSc Cyber Security research project.