[wicked.ludicrous]

I know that you can look at a site's comments and all that. But I downloaded a program to convert movies on my computer to DVD-playable format. So will scanning the downloaded .exe file be enough to tell whether it's a virus? Or should I scan whatever it unpacks (or whatever the .exe file does) as well?

[Elvandil]

The virus scanner will scan within archives, so right-clicking and checking with your AV should be enough.

But downloading from trustworthy locations is the best piece of advice. Persoanlly, if I have any question at all, I open the archive with IniExtract and examine the contents.

[Gizzy]

Another good way to check downloads is to use the Dr. web link scanner extension for firefox (I noticed you use firefox from another thread), https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/938

It's atleast an extra step other than checking site comments and a second opinion from a different scanner than your installed AV.

[imrui]

Most AVs scan archives. I suggest you download official links, google its name and find its website.

[Dudeofthed]

Download and install either Web Of Trust (WOT) or McAfee SiteAdvisor to determine if a site is trustworthy/safe or not.

Most Anti-Virus scanner software come with Real Time Protection, which means that they scan files entering and leaving the system constantly, and can scan non-Password Protected archives. But if you open a password protected file and launch a file in there, it'll be scanned with Real Time Protection

NOTE: Not all security vendors offer Real Time Protection. It is a good feature to have with an Anti-Virus

[lunarlander]

Upload the thing to VirusTotal.